Courtesy of UC Davis Athletics
DAVIS, Calif. – UC Davis head softball coach Erin Thorpe selected former San Francisco State head coach Cristina Byrne as her new assistant coach as announced on Tuesday.
“We are very excited about the addition of Coach Byrne to our staff. She has a great deal of experience working in all aspects of the game and brings with her a tremendous amount of knowledge in the workings of a collegiate softball program,” said Thorpe. “We are very fortunate to have her, I am excited about the future of our program.”
“I want to thank Coach Thorpe for this opportunity. I am very excited and honored to be a member of the Aggie family and look forward to helping this coaching staff guide the softball program to new heights,” said Byrne.
Throughout her eight-year tenure, Byrne’s teams garnered 13 All-California Collegiate Athletic Association awards, four All-West Region selections, 20 National Fastpitch Coaches Association scholar-athlete and 37 academic all-conference awards.
In all, 135 softball student-athletes were named to San Francisco State’s honor roll with 60 also capturing a spot on the Dean’s List. One Gator earned Academic All-American recognition from ESPN the Magazine, another collected Academic All-District honors and an additional three softball players received the Arete Award – the highest honor presented to a SFSU student-athlete for excellence in academics, athletics and community service.
While at San Francisco State, Byrne was the program’s main recruiter and handled all aspects of her team’s budget and correspondence with alumni. She also organized the Gators’ fundraising and community outreach events.
Throughout her time at SFSU, Byrne developed strong relationships with numerous organizations, a list that includes: San Francisco RBI, Special Olympics, Wounded Warrior Project, Swing for Life and Friends of Jaclyn. Since she first arrived to campus, Byrne’s teams organized numerous events with each group throughout the season to support the community and provide an opportunity for her players to serve as an ambassador for San Francisco State Athletics.
In addition to her responsibilities as a head coach at SFSU, Byrne and a group of student-athletes competed in an overseas softball tournament against numerous international teams as representatives of USA Athletes International throughout the last two off-seasons.
Last summer, Byrne and her team competed against other squads from Russia, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Two years ago, USAI competed in nine games throughout a six-day block of action against teams from the Netherlands and Belgium. That summer’s slate of opponents included matchups against Robur ’58 Series – one of the strongest Dutch softball teams in the country.
Byrne arrived to San Francisco State in 2008 and became the first head softball coach in school history to post a winning mark in her inaugural year when the Gators finished the season with a 29-23 overall record and a berth at the West Regionals.
By compiling a 17-7 record throughout the last month of the 2009 season, the Gators finished with 31 victories and recorded its second winning record in as many years.
A NCAA West Region committee member since 2010, Byrne served as its chair last season in addition to her duties as a Division II national committee member.
Byrne accepted the position at San Francisco State after spending three seasons at UC San Diego as its assistant softball coach and director of recruiting. In her final season at UCSD (2007), the CCAA honored Byrne and her Triton coaching colleagues as its staff of the year.
Byrne’s coaching resume also includes one season as the helm of Dominican University’s softball program and another as an assistant varsity softball coach at the University of San Diego High School.
A member of San Diego State’s softball team from 1996-99, Byrne transferred to the University of San Diego for her final two seasons. A mainstay in the Toreros starting lineup as one of their outfielders, she committed only two errors, stole 18 bases – the seventh-highest total ever recorded by a player in a single season – and was named the team’s Offensive Most Valuable Player as a junior.
The following year, Byrne led the team in steals, hits, runs and received all-tournament team honors at the Hawai’i Classic and Western Intercollegiate Softball League Championship.
Byrne graduated from San Diego with a degree in biology and received her certification in orthopedic technology from Grossmont College in 2002.
