Jeff Cottrill Joins Houston Softball as Assistant Coach

Credit: Missouri Athletics

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON www.si.com/onsi/softball

Chrissy Shoonmaker has made her first hire since becoming head coach of the Houston Cougars softball program. The university announced in a press release on Wednesday afternoon that Jeff Cottrill, the long-time hitting coach between Missouri and Oklahoma State, is joining Houston as an assistant coach. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Jeff and his family to Houston," Schoonmaker said in the press release. "Jeff has immense experience at the highest levels of collegiate softball, and his knowledge and experience will immediately impact our student-athletes. Jeff has a passion for developing young people; he has deep recruiting ties both in Texas and nationally, and when you pair that with his commitment to excellence, it makes him a perfect fit for this program. Jeff is a proven coach with a desire to build the Houston program into a contender. It's an exciting time to be a Houston Cougar, and we are excited to welcome Jeff to the coaching staff."

Cottril most recently served as the hitting coach at Mizzou and served multiple roles at

OSU, like director of operations, pitching coach, and hitting coach. 

At Mizzou, Cottrill assisted the Tigers to two NCAA Regional appearances and a Super Regional appearance in 2024. While at OSU, he saw two trips to the Women’s College World Series and led the team to set new single-season record in runs scored, runs per game, home runs, runs batted in, runs batted in per game, total bases, total bases per game and slugging percentage, while as hitting coach. 

"I am super excited to get started," Cottrill said in the press release. "I want to thank Coach Schoonmaker and the University of Houston for this opportunity. It was evident early in our discussions that Chrissy and I share the same philosophies and values in coaching, which will allow our staff to provide and promote a positive experience for our student-athletes."