Kendra Kirkhoff Named Assistant Indiana Softball Coach
7/5/2023 4:45:00 PM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Softball head coach Shonda Stanton named Kendra Kirkhoff as the newest addition to the Indiana program. Kirkhoff joins the staff after serving as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina Greensboro for the past two seasons.
"I am thrilled to announce Kendra's hiring and to welcome her, her husband David, and daughter Kayden home to Indiana," Stanton said. "As a prolific hitting pitcher, Kendra is a versatile addition who can help oversee our offense and work in the bullpen alongside associate head coach Chanda Bell. Her Indiana ties are a plus in terms of recruitment, given our strong intention to continually and actively recruit in-state. Kendra has been a winner at every stage of her career, from playing to coaching, and her knowledge and work ethic will greatly benefit our student-athletes."
While at UNCG, the Spartans were the 2022 Southern Conference Regular Season Champions and in 2023 claimed both the regular season and tournament Championship while advancing to the NCAA tournament. Kirkhoff helped mentor the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year.
"I am so grateful for Coach Stanton and the opportunity to work with such a great staff and an outstanding group of student athletes," Kirkhoff said. "I can't wait to get to work and be a part of the continued success of the Hoosiers!"
Prior to her time at UNCG, Kirkhoff held a three-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Central Florida coaching the Knights to a 96-45-2 record. UCF earned their eighth NCAA tournament bid and the Knights advanced to the regional final.
Kirkhoff, a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Finalist, began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Florida State during their 2018 national championship season.
Before beginning her coaching career, Kirkhoff was a member of the University of North Carolina's softball program from 2014-2017 and named an NFCA Second Team All-American in her final season. The captain and All-ACC performer was a tremendous two-way player and as a senior posted a .374 batting average with 21 home runs and 68 RBI along with an 11-4 record in the circle leading the Tar Heels to the NCAA Regional Finals.
In her playing career, Kirkoff appeared in 208 total games, starting 206 of them and totaled 188 hits, 52 home runs, 168 RBIs, 378 total bases, 81 walks, and just 52 strikeouts over 587 at-bats. Kirkhoff finished second all-time at UNC in career slugging percentage, home runs and RBIs, third in total bases and eighth in walks. Inside the circle, Kirkhoff made 114 pitching appearances, posting a 45-29 record with 496.0 innings pitched.
As an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete, Kirkhoff earned her bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sports Science from UNC in 2017. She completed her Master of Science degree at Florida State in 2018.
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