Winning has started to become the norm for Wildcat softball, which made it to the WAC postseason tournament for the first time in three years under first-year Head Coach Jo Koons. That same winning DNA stretched into the summer, as Koons was a bit busy winning a title in the big leagues.
Koons was called on by the general manager of the Talons, a team in the professional Athletes Unlimited Softball League, to serve as an assistant coach for the team, assisting on defense. The Talons competed in their inaugural year with three other teams composed of first-year players drafted from across the country.
As of now, the plan for the AUSL is to tour around the country in hopes of establishing itself before transforming into a city-based league in 2026.
With Koons on the Talons’ roster, they made history, finishing with a strong 18-6 mark and capturing the inaugural AUSL title.
“Defense makes champions,” Koons said. “We had the league’s best defense, so that was awesome.”
Although excited about the championship win, Koons said she is more excited about what she gained from the experience – knowledge.
“That was incredible, an unforgettable experience for sure,” Koons said. “Just super grateful for the opportunity, and, yeah, I learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it.”
Part of these lessons included some insightful things to bring back to the team in Abilene, which will be valuable and important as the tide changes with 17 newcomers and only six returning players on the roster.
“They were so selfless,” Koons said. “It wasn’t about the stats. It wasn’t about yourself and what you were doing; it was about what everyone was doing collectively to help us win.”
This type of range of experience and humility to learn from others, said Vice President of Athletic’s Zack Lassiter, was exactly why he chose Koons for the job just over a year ago.
“Her ability to make somebody a better softball player, but in an environment that is led with joy, love and enthusiasm around that, I think that is a unique combination,” Lassiter said. “She’s committed to being the best at improving, and that process is going to serve her and ACU well.”
Lassiter also mentioned the opportunity brought a positive bright light to ACU’s brand.
“This was an opportunity that may never come around again,” he said. “What a great platform for her to be able to share who we are. What a powerful story to tell young people that I am the head coach of you, but also thought of well enough in our industry to be in a position to work with the best softball players in the world.”
Koons added her time with the Talons not only enhanced her coaching eye for the game but also put into a greater gear the vision for the Wildcats moving forward.
“I think just for myself, it’s like rejuvenated, like, we can do it here,” Koons said. “And I’ve always known that, but just to be on this experience and on this side of it, I can just bring that momentum into my staff and then into our team itself.”
