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2021 Softball Roster roster
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Jeff Harger

Jeff Harger

TitleAssistant Coach
Head Arizona State softball coach, Trisha Ford, announced the elevation of Jeff Harger to the position of Assistant Coach for the 2019 season in the fall of 2018.. 

In 2020, Harger’s hitters took full force, never yielding their offensive prowess even in a shortened season. The 2020 squad led all NCAA teams in home runs with 50 dingers in only 29 games played. Harger’s attention to hitting mechanics pushed ASU’s strongest hitters including Kindra and Maddi Hackbarth, Alynah Torres, and Jazmine Hill to new heights. The team’s batting average ranked 12th nationally and fourth in the Pac-12. With 58 doubles, the Sun Devils ranked second in the country and first in the conference. Once the Sun Devils’ bats were hot, there was no slowing down. Out of 295 programs, ASU’s average of 7.79 runs per game led the conference and ranked third in the NCAA. The squad’s massive .648 slugging percentage led the nation. 

In 2019, Harger helped the softball team with their overall 35-20 record, Pac-12 13-11 record, and secured a spot in the NCAA tournament for the 15th- consecutive postseason.

Harger, a California native, served as a Volunteer Assistant through the 2018 season, working primarily with the Sun Devil offense.  

Harger guided an ASU roster that combined for 155 extra base hits during the 2018 season, including 66 home runs, a mark that stands as the most long balls for a Sun Devil offense since the 2015 season saw the Devils club 81 home runs. The powerful Sun Devil offense, combined with one of the nation's most prolific pitching staffs, proved to be a formidable duo in 2018, resulting in ASU reaching the NCAA Women's College World Series for the 12th- time in program history. 

"He and coach Richardson did a great job working with our hitters last season," Ford added. "Those two did a great job working together. I think Jeff brings an intensity and a standard every day that focuses on no wasted time, no wasted movement. He really understands swing mechanics and I think our players are starting to really understand that piece of the game. This year already we have seen huge growth in that area."

The successful 2018 season for the Sun Devils also earned Ford, Harger and fellow assistant coach Carly Wynn their second NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honor. The trio also earned the honor in 2016 after guiding Fresno State to an impressive 42-12-1 record that included the Bulldog's first NCAA Postseason win since 2011.     

The 2016 Fresno State team remains one of the most impressive Bulldog offenses in program history, setting all-time season records in most home runs (61), slugging percentage (.499) and finishing the year with the second-best conference record (22-1) in program history.

Prior to joining the Fresno State staff in 2016, Harger served as the head coach of the 18Gold Central California Dirt Dogs Organization, which was constructed in 2007 to help players from central California hone their skills to compete in the highest levels of softball.