Annie Heskett Gordon was named the new softball coach at Male High School on Tuesday, taking over a program that went 39-0 last season and won state and national titles.
Gordon was an assistant coach at Male the past two seasons under Josh Bloomer, who stepped down in July to become an assistant coach at Duke.
“Annie is an outstanding choice to lead the Male softball program,” Bloomer said. “She developed an amazing rapport with the players and will do an outstanding job leading them to become strong, confident young women. I am excited for her to be given this opportunity. She has no shoes to fill. I have no doubt she will do great wearing her own shoes.”
Gordon played college softball at two California schools — Butte College and Cal-San Diego. She coached at Feather River College in Quincy, California, before moving to Louisville to pursue her master’s degree in sports administration at the University of Louisville. She currently works for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as an events and outreach specialist.
Male won its first state softball title in June, becoming just the second fast-pitch program in state history to go undefeated. (Greenwood went 44-0 in 2013.) The Bulldogs were No. 1 in the final USA Today Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Super 25 poll, earning national championship honors.
Male lost just one player to graduation — second baseman Madison McCoy — and figures to be in the hunt for state and national championships again in 2020. The Bulldogs also expect senior shortstop Morgan Zuege to return after she was limited to just 10 games in 2019 because of a hamstring injury.
“Coach Gordon is well-prepared for this opportunity, and we look forward to providing her with all the support needed to continue the tradition of excellence in Male softball,” Male athletic director John Kelsey said in a news release.
