Fantastic news! Great quote is in the article from the HC of Texas, Mike White, concerning Chelsea! GO BEARS!

Schroeder71 said:

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Fantastic news! Great quote is in the article from the HC of Texas, Mike White, concerning Chelsea! GO BEARS!

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That is a great quote. Can't wait for softball season.

This seemed like such an obvious choice. I was almost worried that I was missing something when it didn't get announced sooner (even with Covid-19). Thrilled, thrilled, thrilled with this. GO BEARS

What a great hire!!!....I am so happy for her and the team. This is about as good as we could have hoped...hope she can attract some quality assistants too!!...

This should give us a jolt in recruiting and maybe grad transfers...

Can't wait til fall ball!!...

Go Bears!!!

Welcome back, Chelsea!!!

Fantastic hire. I hope the field is ready so Cal Softball can host the Super Regional well likely be playing in.!!!

Welcome home Chelsea. It will be interesting who she hires (hopefully) as the hitting and pitching coaches. A new hitting coach should be a top priority!

HOME RUN HIRE!

That's pretty cool to have an excellent coach want to come back home and represent Cal. She sounds very qualified. It sounds like Knowlton has done a much better job getting some pretty talented coaches at Cal.

I'm hoping she will recruit very well and utilize the new beautiful faculty they have. Hopefully, she can get herself a top notch hitting coach and pitching coach as said earlier by board members. Nice direction for the program.

Fantastic News! I was hoping for Mike Smith from Ole Miss or Coach Spencer to lead our program.

Just yesterday, I put up a post about how Jolene Henderson is missing from the pro league roster and the Florida Gator program. Today she gets quoted along with Texas and Arkansas coach. How convenient that Jolene gets quoted in the same article. Was she interviewing for the Assistant/Pitching Coach and hence was readily available? Imagine a former Oregon, Texas and Florida coaches coaching at Cal. We would keep a lot of the girls from going out of state.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING


Jolene Henderson / Cal Softball Class of 2013 Two-Time NPF Pitcher of The Year
"When she shared her vision for Cal, it made me wish I could put on the Cal jersey again. I am excited to see Cal softball chase down new challenges on the field and in the classroom. Chelsea is inspiring on and off the field, and I look forward to watching that passion spread into the new era of Cal softball."

Courtney (Scott) Deifel / Cal Softball Class of 2003 Head Coach, University of Arkansas
"Chelsea knows what it takes to win at a high level. She has had a ton of success in her coaching career and was an integral part of some of the best teams in Cal history. Chelsea's passion and pride for Cal and Cal softball resembles that of Coach Ninemire, and I am looking forward to seeing her lead the program."

Mike White Head Coach, University of Texas
"We are excited for Coach Spencer as she enters a new chapter in her coaching career. Ever since day one as my assistant, Chelsea has dreamed of being the next head coach at Cal. She is a loyal alum having grown up in the Bay Area, and her family are all from the area. It is truly a great story, and Cal is getting one of the top assistants in the country. We are sorry to see her leave, but this is an opportunity for her that she has been working her entire career towards. We wish her and her family nothing but the best and we will miss her dearly."

SFCALBear72 said:

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Named today as Softball Head Coach.

Welcome home, Chelsea!

https://calbears.com/news/2020/5/20/softball-welcome-home.aspx

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Super news! She was the defensive heart of that National championship squad which, while not our most talented bunch, was probably the most disciplined, cohesive team.Now lets see who she can bring in to assist with pitching/hitting. Kudos to Jim Knowlton for this hire!

I am wondering if Kailee Cuico will be joining Chelsea's staff. She was a volunteer Asst. at both Oregon and Texas. It looks like on her Twitter, she has a tweet going back to Cali. She is also married to Chelsea.. she sounds like a very good upcoming coach.

https://www.hookem.com/2020/05/20/texas-assistant-coach-chelsea-spencer-to-lead-cal-softball/

I wish them both the best. Go Cal!

Gkhoury2325 said:

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I am wondering if Kailee Cuico will be joining Chelsea's staff. She was a volunteer Asst. at both Oregon and Texas. It looks like on her Twitter, she has a tweet going back to Cali. She is also married to Chelsea.. she sounds like a very good upcoming coach.

https://www.hookem.com/2020/05/20/texas-assistant-coach-chelsea-spencer-to-lead-cal-softball/

I wish them both the best. Go Cal!

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Wow had no idea. Thanks for posting. Has to be the new hitting coach too! Second best HR hitter in Oregon history. A 2fer !!

That's awesome! A hitting coach, that's music to my ears.

https://goducks.com/sports/softball/roster/kailee-cuico/5604

Kailee Cuico finished her Duck career in 2014 as the all-time Oregon HR (46) & RBI (180) champ. She also possessed a good batting eye with 100 career walks (2nd all-time). I don't know whether those records still stand but those credentials certainly qualify her as a hitting instructor. GO BEARS!

A very long, detailed interview with Coach Spencer. I loved her Cat Osterman story. That's the fire I want to see.

https://fastpitchnews.com/podcasts/chelsea-spencer-on-taking-over-the-california-job-results-from-simulated-super-regionals/368663

Starts at about 4:40 if you want to listen.

I forgot that Alexis Bishop is joining Cal next year. I keep thinking she is a HS Senior in 2020-2021.

Bishop is going to be a huge, double digit homerun hitter in her first season at Cal. In fact- when you look at the returning players- Coach Spencer has a ton of offensive talent returning.

Pitching however...yikes. I hope Halajian is healthy and Archer is ready to contribute. I can't stomach many 12-11, 15-10, 14-13 games next year.

Has Coach Spencer announced her assistant coaches yet or for that matter is she in California yet?

Intuit said:

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Has Coach Spencer announced her assistant coaches yet or for that matter is she in California yet?

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I don't know if she is in Cali yet but there has been no announcement regarding the asst.

She just made her first hire...Mitch Roberts from Tulsa. Son of former Washington pitching coach Mike Roberts who is known as a pitching guru. His coaching resume looks impressive and he has Pac-12 experience!

I've seen some of his tweets pop up on mechanics, training, etc. Very good stuff. Love knowing he is joining the Cal family.

https://calbears.com/news/2020/6/17/roberts-tabbed-softball-assistant-coach.aspx

The two top pitchers at Tulsa were a soph, Chenise Delce, & a junior, Samantha Pochop, (see stats below). Both held opposing hitters to batting averages under the Mendoza line (.200). If you read his bio on the Tulsa website, it states that he coached the infielders for two years at Ball State, not the pitchers? I feel better about him because he is the son of former UDub pitching coach, Mike Roberts (2016-2017). Mitch Roberts must be in his mid twenties...I hope that he works out.
https://gohuskies.com/sports/softball/roster/coaches/mike-roberts/2859

https://tulsahurricane.com/documents/2020/3/7//Season3720.pdf?id=28067

GO BEARS!

Mike is also the Associate Head Coach at softball power ULL

https://ragincajuns.com/sports/softball/roster/coaches/mike-roberts/1213

goldiebear2 said:

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She just made her first hire...Mitch Roberts from Tulsa. Son of former Washington pitching coach Mike Roberts who is known as a pitching guru. His coaching resume looks impressive and he has Pac-12 experience!

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Thanks for the notification. I was just on Calbears and passed right over this notice as I didn't realize it was pertaining to softball. I am surprised at the hire. I assumed she would hire a coach that played the position. Further, he coached another position at Ball state. While the 2 starters had good ERAs, they are pitching at mid-majors. and not Power 5 conferences. Further when you look at the record at Tulsa, it leaves much to be desired. There are some horrendous losses there. Having said that, I believed in the AD for the hire of Ms Spencer and I believe in Chelsea Spencer. She obviously knows something that is not obvious to me. I can't figure it out but in Chelsea Spencer I trust.

Go Bears!

An interesting twist to the Mitchell Roberts hire is a story published elsewhere that had his dad, Mike Roberts, Associate Head Coach, University of Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, deep in the running for the California head coaching job that ultimately went to Chelsea.

Coincidences are rare, Chelsea is obviously seeking and receiving very solid advise and counsel from her peer group in the hiring process. It would be a very good bet to conclude that Mitch Roberts, who is in his mid twenties, will relate very well with his young charges. His familial lineage and coaching experience equips him with a unique perspective, motivation and knowledge which few other candidates would be able to match.

Great point in relating to the players. It killed me that we had a staff where ZERO coaches had twitter. This is a huge part of the recruiting game now a days. Seeing Roberts not only have a twitter but use it as tool to teach is exactly what the doctor ordered for me.

We need a 21st century staff and program.

Looks like sabermetrics now is hitting softball too! Can wait to see who the "new" hitting coach will be. Excluding the significant other, any idea who coach Chelsea might be looking it?

I haven't heard anything. With that said- Chelsea had a strong pro-career and her partner-Kailee- could rake as well. Nice that we will have two former players to actually show the offensive side at any given time! I'm sure she will be around/present.

Spencer adds her first recruit for the class of 2021. Olivia Silvestre is a fast, slap hitting OF from Cal High in San Ramon.

http://sorcerersoftball.org/olivia-o-silvestre-commits-to-cal/

gmunay said:

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Spencer adds her first recruit for the class of 2021. Olivia Silvestre is a fast, slap hitting OF from Cal High in San Ramon.

http://sorcerersoftball.org/olivia-o-silvestre-commits-to-cal/

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Congratulations to Olivia! I imagine Coach Spencer will be a draw for many young athletes. Anyone who has met her knows she is... extremely personable. I witnessed Ninemire show up three innings late for a local athlete's game... leave in the 6th inning.. and didn't see her utter a word to anyone. It frustrated me beyond words.

Chelsea would likely talk to everyone in the stadium.

Oh wow. Olivia has a 91.11 Allister Index. That is phenomenal. I've sort of stopped following the Sorcerers after legend Phil Mumma passed (there are better local teams now, truthfully) but sounds like she is a great talent.

https://ondecksoftball.net/players/view/olivia-silvestre

CalFanatic said:

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Oh wow. Olivia has a 91.11 Allister Index. That is phenomenal. I've sort of stopped following the Sorcerers after legend Phil Mumma passed (there are better local teams now, truthfully) but sounds like she is a great talent.

https://ondecksoftball.net/players/view/olivia-silvestre

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Olivia has outstanding athleticism and has a nice blend of speed and power at the plate. I haven't seen any recent recruiting rankings but she has been in the FloSoftball top 50 for 2021 the last couple of years.