Houston parts ways with softball coach Kristin Vesely

Cougars coming off consecutive last-place finishes in Big 12 Conference play

Former Houston softball coach Kristin Vesely (center) / University of Houston sports information

For the second time this year, a major women’s program at Houston will be undergoing a coaching change.

Kristin Vesely, who just completed her ninth season as the Cougars’ softball coach, will not be brought back for her 10th season as she will not have her contract renewed, per an announcement by the school on Tuesday. She was in the final year of her contract.

“I want to thank Coach Vesely for her guidance of Cougar Softball, however at this time I believe that a change is what is best for the program,” Houston athletics director Eddie Nunez said in a statement. “We appreciate Coach Vesely’s efforts and wish her and her family well moving forward.

“We will begin a national search to identify the next leader of our softball program moving forward.”

What has Houston athletics achieved in the past decade that no other school has done?

Vesely, a former All-American standout player at Oklahoma, was promoted to Houston's coach in 2016 after having been with the Cougars as an assistant since 2011. In her nine seasons guiding Houston, Vesely had an overall 233-218-1 record.

But after having back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018-19, Houston had just one winning season since, which was in 2020, a season cut short due to COVID.

The Cougars have also struggled since joining the Big 12 Conference. In two seasons in the Big 12, they went a combined 7-41 and finished in last place both times.

Houston finished Vesely’s final season 22-25 overall and 4-18 in the conference with a roster that had just one senior. The Cougars’ season ended last week with a 4-0 loss to BYU in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament.

Vesely becomes the second coach of a major women’s sports program at Houston to depart this year. In March, women’s basketball coach Ronald Hughey stepped down after 11 seasons a day after the Cougars ended a 5-25 campaign.

Nunez eventually hired Matthew Mitchell, who had a successful run at Kentucky before stepping away from coaching the past few years due to health reasons.