WICHITA, Kan. – Head softball coach Kristi Bredbenner has named Courtney Oliver the new pitching coach for Wichita State softball.

Oliver is a familiar name throughout the American Athletic Conference, having spent the last two seasons as an associate head coach (2021-23) at Houston, and the six seasons (2016-21) prior as the head coach at East Carolina.

“We are excited to welcome Courtney Oliver into the Shocker family,” Bredbenner said. “She brings with her 15 years of high level coaching experience that will help our pitchers develop physically and mentally.”

While at Houston, Oliver worked primarily with the pitching staff and Kenna Wilkey, who led the Cougars with a 2.61 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 2023.

In six seasons as the head coach at ECU, Oliver compiled a career record of 125-166.

At ECU, the 2018 season saw Oliver bring in the nation’s No. 22 ranked recruiting class, which immediately paid dividends, as the Pirates squared up against the 29th-toughest schedule nationally. That same year, ECU took the season series from USF, handing the eventual American Athletic Conference champion Bulls their only series loss in conference play.

Oliver wasted no time making her presence felt at ECU, guiding the Pirates to a seven-win improvement from the previous season in her first year. She then followed that campaign developing one of the most explosive offenses in the nation in 2017, setting a program and then-conference record 64 home runs, while topping the league in slugging percentage as well.

While in Greensville, N.C., Oliver also took the ECU Softball program to new heights in the classroom. In all six years of her tenure, the Pirates achieved a team GPA of 3.0 or higher, which included perfect APR scores from 2015-17. More than 25 student-athletes surpassed the 3.5 GPA mark under Oliver.

Prior to her time at ECU, Oliver served as an assistant coach at NC State from 2013-15, where she helped bolster the Wolfpack to three NCAA Regional appearances and a Super Regional berth in 2015. NC State finished the 2015 season with its first ever top-25 finish, concluding the year at No. 19 in the polls.

In her three years with the Wolfpack, Oliver brought Emily Weiman and Renada Davis to national prominence, as each were selected to the 2015 NFCA All-Southeast Region team and later drafted to the National Pro Fastpitch. With Oliver’s guidance, Weiman was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year in 2013.

Before arriving in Raleigh, N.C., Oliver served as an assistant at her alma mater, Hofstra, having guided the Pride all the way to the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional in 2012, where she was part of the coaching staff that was later named the NFCA Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Her tenure with the Pride also saw her work with Olivia Galati, who earned back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Year honors from 2011-12. Galati garnered an NFCA First Team All-America accolade in 2012 as well.

Oliver returned to her alma mater after spending a season at Boston University, where she coached the conference Player and Pitcher of the Year and April Setterlund, who earned an NFCA First Team All-America accolade.

During her playing career, Oliver was one of the most decorated players in Hofstra history, making four NCAA Regional appearances and winning four conference championships. By the time she completed her career, Oliver owned a pair of First-Team All-CAA honors and was part of the winningest class in school history.