Investigation Reveals Former New Mexico State Softball Coaches Allowed Years of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

In October 2025, it was announced that after 22 seasons with the New Mexico State softball program, Kathy Rodolph, the university's longest-tenured active coach, was relieved of her duties in what was called a “coaching change”.

Associate head coach Cat Heifner was also announced to be moving on from her role, and assistant coach Benet Higgs stepped in to serve as the Aggies’ interim head coach for the 2026 season, and was later given the permanent position.

After several months of mystery as to what actually happened with the two long-standing coaches, The Las Cruces Sun-News discovered that the departures were not a mutual agreement, and were actually firings.

I’ve been investigating why New Mexico State fired head softball coach Kathy Rodolph and associate coach Catherine Heifner since it happened last October. While I still haven’t found the exact reason for their firings, I found several Title IX incident reports that detail claims…
— Nick Coppola (@Nick_Coppola__) August 12, 2026

A deeper investigation by The Sun-News team uncovered many years of sexual misconduct allegations in and around the softball program and its players, as well as internal discussions surrounding the coaches' departures.

Through multiple records requests, The Sun-News reporter Nick Coppola uncovered documents showing claims of sexual harassment, sexual assault and a failure to protect players who were victims over multiple incident reports from 2021-24.

Numerous reports were made by New Mexico State’s Office of Institutional Equity between 2021 and 2024, revealing a toxic culture with claims of sexual harassment, sexual assault and the failure to protect players who were victims.

But that clearly wasn’t enough to actually get Rodolph and Heifner fired, as they carried on nearly to the end of 2025. According to the Sun-News, their reason for getting fired still remains a secret, as the university has given no real statement since October.

"We want to thank Kathy and Cat for their dedication to NM State Softball and their contributions to building the program,” Newly appointed athletic director Joe Fields said in a press release in October. “As we look ahead, we're confident that Benet Higgs has the experience and leadership to guide the team through this transition. We're excited about the future of Aggies Softball and remain committed to supporting our student-athletes and position the program for continued success."

In February 2026, the program even celebrated what they were calling her “retirement”.

"I'm honored to celebrate my career and retirement with New Mexico State University. I'm proud of all that we were able to accomplish over the past 22 years,” Rudolph said in a press release. “Cat Heifner and I poured our heart and soul into this university, the athletic department and most importantly into the student-athletes we were able to coach. I see the talented and successful women these student-athletes have become and I'm grateful for any part I was able to play in their journey. Once an Aggie, always an Aggie!"

When reached out by The Sun-News regarding the accusations, Heifner declined to comment, and Rodolph offered a short message.

"I want you to know that I have given everything I have to the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico State and the women’s softball program. With that said, I have no comment,” Rudolph told The Sun-News.

As the winningest coach in school history with a 540-437 record, Rodolph led the program to six WAC regular season championships, four NCAA Regional appearances, and is a five-time WAC Coach of the Year.

Under her direction, 17 players were named to the NFCA All-Region team, and the Aggies captured the last eight WAC Player of the Year awards and back-to-back WAC Freshman of the Year awards.

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