The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Softball’s Zaleski promoted to Associate Head Coach
02.03.2026 | Softball
Zaleski enters her fourth season with the program and has been monumental in Texas’ recent success.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 1/1 Texas Softball Head Coach Mike White announced the promotion of Kristen Zaleski to Associate Head Coach on Tuesday, solidifying a key piece in the Longhorns' leadership.
Zaleski is in her fourth season with the program after being hired on July 1, 2022, as an assistant coach by White. Prior to Texas, she had stops at Oklahoma (volunteer assistant), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (head coach) and Temple College (head coach).
"Coach Zaleski's promotion to Associate Head Coach is richly deserved," said White. "She has been instrumental to our success – leading our outfielders, serving as first base coach on game day, and elevating our hitters with her approach. Her standards, teaching acumen, and ability to connect with our student-athletes has raised our program's ceiling year-after-year. Texas Softball is better because of Coach Zaleski, and I'm thrilled to keep building with her in this expanded role. Hook 'Em."
In her third season on the Forty in 2025, Zaleski helped the program reach new heights and win its first Women's College World Series National Championship. Zaleski and the coaching staff were honored as the ATEC/NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year following the season. The Longhorns topped Division I with 630 base hits, finished second with 460 RBI and third with a .352 batting average and 486 runs scored. They also ranked inside the top-15 in win/loss percentage (5th / .824), doubles (9th / 99), home runs (9th / 94), slugging (10th / .583) and scoring (14th / 7.15). The Longhorns nabbed three NFCA All-America selections in Reese Atwood, Teagan Kavan and Mia Scott, including Atwood becoming the program's first Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year, to round out yet another enormous postseason awards haul. The three NFCA All-Americans for the Horns are the most by a single Longhorn squad since 2013 (Taylor Hoagland, Blaire Luna and Taylor Thom) and is just the fourth time (1998, 1999, 2013, 2025) in program history three different players were selected to a NFCA All-America team. Texas concluded its inaugural SEC season with seven All-SEC nods, with Atwood, Kavan, Scott and Joley Mitchell earning First-Team All-SEC accolades. Texas was the only SEC program this season with four landing on the All-SEC First Team. Kayden Henry, Ashton Maloney and Katie Stewart were named to the All-SEC Second Team. Working with the outfielders, Zaleski mentored All-SEC selections in Kayden Henry and Ashton Maloney, who were staples in the Longhorns' everyday lineup. As a sophomore, Henry hit .409/.553/.454 with 85 hits, 72 runs, 12 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 30 RBI, and 33 stolen bases in addition to holding a .987 fielding percentage with 71 putouts and five assists in center field. Maloney sported a .415/.478/.456 slash line with 93 hits, 62 runs scored, 10 doubles, two triples, 23 RBI and 11 stolen bases in addition to boasting a 1.000 fielding percentage with 53 putouts.
In 2024, Zaleski helped a then-true freshman Kayden Henry not only adjust to collegiate softball, but excel in her first season as the Dickinson, Texas native was named a D1Softball Freshman All-American, All-Big 12 Second Team, All-Big 12 Freshman Team and NFCA All-Central Third Team. After opening her season in left field, Zaleski worked with Henry as the freshman moved to center field midway through the season. The move provided to be a great asset as Henry made a throw from the 220-feet marker in center field to her cutoff to begin a game-ending play at the plate in Texas' one-run win over then-No. 1 Oklahoma. Henry also made countless outstanding defensive plays in center throughout the Longhorns' five games at the Women's College World Series (WCWS). Zaleski was also instrumental in the mental aspect of the game and was a focal point for student-athletes to be able to work on their mental health throughout the lengthy season. As a result of taking the regular season series against then-No. 1 Oklahoma, winning the Big 12 Conference regular season championship and appearing in the WCWS Championship Series, Zaleski and the rest of UT's four-member softball coaching staff were selected as the 2024 ATEC/NFCA Division I Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.
In her first season working with the Longhorns in 2023, Zaleski worked alongside Steve Singleton to guide the Texas offense to a team batting average of .325 to go alongside 52 home runs, 326 runs batted in and 797 total bases. Under the duo's guidance, five different student-athletes finished the 2023 season with 50-or-more hits, led by sophomore Mia Scott's 75. By season's end, the Longhorns finished the season with a .390 on-base percentage and a .486 slugging percentage. Three student-athletes finished with 100-or-more bases (Leighann Goode, 112; Mia Scott, 100; Viviana Martinez, 100), while Ashton Maloney, Bella Dayton and Alyssa Popelka combined for five outfield assists. Zaleski also helped Scott transition from third base to centerfield during the midst of the 2023 season.
During the 2022 campaign, Zaleski served as the volunteer assistant on head coach Patty Gasso's staff during Oklahoma's record-setting run to the program's sixth national title. Along the way, the Sooners held the No. 1 national ranking wire-to-wire while leading NCAA Division I in numerous team categories including batting average (.371), ERA (1.05), HR's (155), on-base percentage (.474), scoring (9.34), walks (268) and shutouts (33).
Prior to her year at OU, Zaleski spent two seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2020-21). During her time with the Islanders, her main focus was on a complete rebuild of a program that had gone just 8-43 the year prior to her arrival. In her only full non-COVID season in charge in 2021, Zaleski's squad registered 18 wins, marking the most single-season victories for the program since 2016, while also setting a program record with five consecutive shutout triumphs.
Before arriving on the Island, Zaleski spent nine seasons (2010-19) as the head coach at Temple College in Temple, Texas. Under her tutelage, the Leopards posted a sterling 413-127 overall record (.765) and a 237-47 (.835) North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference (NTJCAC) mark while securing five league titles (2011, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) and the 2018 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) D1 National Championship. A three-time NTJCAC Coach or Co-Coach of the Year, Zaleski's 2018 staff was rewarded for its national title run by being voted as the NFCA NJCAA DI National Coaching Staff of the Year. In all, her teams won four Region V North Championships and made four national tournament appearances (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019). At Temple College, she also spent time as a Sports Information Director, as a Student Success Coach for all athletes, as the Deputy Coordinator for Title IX for Athletics and as an instructor in the Physical Education Department.
Zaleski did double duty while still at Temple College by also serving as an assistant coach with the Dallas Charge of National Pro Fastpitch in 2016. With the Charge, she worked primarily with outfielders and hitters, coordinated with the rest of the staff on practice and game-day plans and coached first base. Also on her coaching resume was an August 2005-May 2006 stint as a graduate assistant at Texas State.
Collegiately at Texas State, Zaleski was a two-time NFCA All-American as a player for the Bobcats while twice earning both Southland Conference Player & Hitter of the Year honors (2003 & 2004). She set numerous TXST single-season and career program records and finished as the Southland Conference's career leader in both hits (291) and stolen bases (128).
Professionally, Zaleski played five seasons of National Pro Fastpitch with the Texas Thunder (2004-06) and the Rockford Thunder (2007-08). She earned NPF Most Valuable Player honors in 2005, was a two-time NPF All-Star (2004 & 2008) and a three-time All-NPF Team selection (2005, 2006, 2007) and was selected to the U.S. National Training Team to compete for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic squad. She also participated in MLB Softball Clinics with the Detroit Tigers (2006, 2007) and the San Francisco Giants (2005).
Zaleski graduated cum laude from Texas State University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. During her scholastic career, she earned the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Award from the NCAA (2004), reaped Verizon CoSIDA Academic All-American (2002-03) and NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors and was voted as the Southland Conference's Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2004.
Zaleski and Texas open the 2026 season at the UTSA Invitational against No. 9/10 Nebraska at 6:05 p.m. CT Friday, Feb. 6, at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
