SARAH CAFFREY | HEAD COACH

Sarah Caffrey, a former standout pitcher at Jacksonville University who spent five years as the lead assistant coach at Penn State, was named head softball coach at Bucknell by Director of Athletics and Recreation Jermaine Truax on August 21, 2020. She recently completed her third season at the helm of the Bison softball program.

Caffrey continued the program's ascent in 2024, winning 19 contests, despite losing nine games to cancelation, and finishing 9-9 in Patriot League play. Bucknell earned the #3 seed and defeated Lehigh 1-0 for the first tournament win since 2019.

The Bison placed four players on All-League teams (Savannah Jones on First Team for "At Large" and Makenzie Hilling/Madison Roukey/Zoie Smith on Second Team for First Base, Pitcher, and Catcher). Roukey and Smith made the Academic All-League Team.

In 2023, Caffrey doubled the win total from 2022, despite missing nine games to weather cancelation, by going 16-30 overall and 8-10 in Patriot League play. The program returned to Patriot League Tournament competition for the first time under Caffrey and the first time since 2019. Bucknell won its last six conference games by sweeping Holy Cross and Lafayette to pull out the fourth and final seed. The result exceeded the preseason selection of sixth place.

Bucknell placed three players on All-League teams (Zoie Smith on First Team at Catcher and Savannah Jones/Chase Knapp on Second Team at "At-Large" and Shortstop) and Zoie Smith made the Academic All-League Team.

Caffrey guided the pitching staff to a team ERA of 3.50. Olivia Marinelli shined by averaging more than one strikeout per inning. Madison Roukey earned Patriot League Pitcher of the Week and became the first Bison pitcher since 2020 to toss double-digit strikeouts in a game.

Caffrey's work with Smith at catcher paid immediate dividends as the junior backstop shined, committing only two errors in over 180 chances and throwing out five base stealers.

Caffrey guided Bucknell to a 12-18-1 overall record in her first season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 public health threat. Bucknell finished with a 9-14-1 mark in Patriot League play, and the Bison placed players on both the All-Patriot League First Team and the Academic All-League Team.

Bucknell jumped out to a hot start in 2021, winning seven of the first eight games in Patriot League play. The Bison just narrowly missed qualifying for the four-team Patriot League Tournament, finishing fifth overall in the standings.

Caffrey has coached in the collegiate ranks since graduating from Jacksonville in 2012. She started as a volunteer assistant at Texas Tech, then spent two years as the first assistant at Utah State, where she helped All-Mountain West pitcher Noelle Johnson break the school's single-season strikeout record.

In August 2015, Caffrey was hired at Penn State, where she served as the Nittany Lions' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Amanda Lehotak, who was also Caffrey's college coach at Jacksonville. At Penn State, Caffrey also had duties in the areas of scouting, academic enhancement, external relations, and camps. She was part of a staff that brought in the nation's 11th-ranked recruiting class in 2019, according to Extra Innings Softball, and that season she mentored a pitching staff comprised primarily of first-year players to the lowest team earned-run average and most strikeouts in eight years. In the abbreviated 2020 season, sophomore Bailey Parshall ranked eighth nationally in strikeouts and 15th in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In the summer of 2020, Caffrey served as Penn State's interim head coach amid a change in leadership.

"I am extremely excited to welcome Sarah to the Bucknell Athletics family," said Truax. "Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program, and I appreciate her holistic approach to enhancing her student-athletes' collegiate experience. The Bucknell softball program is well-positioned to compete for Patriot League championships, and Sarah is prepared to lead the way."

"I would like to thank Jermaine Truax, Michelle Manning, and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me to be the next head coach of Bucknell Softball," said Caffrey. "It is an incredible honor to be a part of such a well-respected program and athletic department. I am excited to meet our student-athletes, staff, other coaches, and the entire Bucknell family. I can't wait to get to Lewisburg and get to work."

Caffrey, formerly Sarah Sigrest, is a native of Daphne, Alabama, and is a member of the Daphne High School Hall of Fame. She earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science at Jacksonville and a master's degree in sports and physical education from Utah State in 2015.

Caffrey is Jacksonville's all-time wins leader with 68, with a school-record 27 of those wins coming in 2011 when she was named Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year while leading the Dolphins to a conference championship and their very first NCAA Tournament appearance. Her ERA of 1.10 was the eighth-best in the nation that season, and she became the first hurler in school history to strike out 200 batters in a season. Caffrey also continues to hold the Jacksonville record for career saves (6), while her 613 strikeouts and 1.97 career ERA rank second.

Caffrey took over a Bucknell softball program that posted five straight winning seasons from 2015-19 before the 2020 campaign was shut down early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caffrey is the eighth head coach in Bucknell softball history, which dates back to 1979.