ENID, OK- Northern Oklahoma College has hired Ashley Johnston to head the Lady Jets Softball Program.
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Johnston comes to NOC Enid from Winter Haven, Florida, where she was the head coach at Polk State College.
“I'm excited to be at NOC,” Johnston said. “I am grateful and blessed to have this opportunity. Every coach wants to be in a position where they can win and when you look at Northern Oklahoma College everything is in place with the facilities and the passion for the program. All the tools are there to be successful.”
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“I want my kids to be successful in the classroom and on the field,” she said. “It's important to me that these kids be successful at life as well as softball. I'm excited to get to know them, I already love them and I haven't met them yet. That's how much I care about kids. Academics are a huge part of what our program will be about.”
Johnston’s philosophy is speed and aggression.
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“I love the short game. I like to put pressure on the opposition with speed,” Johnston said. “I've been known to have 50 percent slappers in the line-up to put pressure on the other team. Sure, I like to have some power hitters in the line-up but speed is so important because it's constant. It's there all the time.
NOC Athletic Director Jeremy Hise said he was pleased with Johnston’s record in both academics and athletics.”
“Our athletic department values academics first and foremost, but that does not change the fact that we want to win at a high level as well,” Hise said. “Coach Johnston is a perfect fit for our athletic department. Her teams have performed at a very high level academically with multiple NJCAA Academic All-American Teams and she has also led her team to the National Tournament. I am confident that she will step in right away and elevate our program to the next level.”
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Johnston replaces Bryan Howard who accepted a position with the Tulsa University Softball Program.
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She was head coach previously at Trinity Valley Community College (2008-2016) in Athens, Texas, and York College (2007-2008) in York, Nebraska.
Johnston earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva and earned a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from Texas A & M University in Commerce, Texas.
She played one year at Northwestern Oklahoma State University after transferring from Louisiana Tech. She played first base and led the Lady Rangers in home runs in 2005.
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Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s oldest community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services which create life-changing experiences and develop students as effective learners and leaders within their communities in a connected, ever changing world.
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Serving nearly 5,000 students, NOC is a public, two-year community college with locations in Tonkawa, Enid and Stillwater. The college is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science. The associate degree fulfills lower-division course work which is applicable towards a bachelor’s degree.
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For more information about Northern Oklahoma College or giving to the NOC Foundation, please contact the development office at (580) 628-6208 or visit the NOC website at www.noc.edu.
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Ashley Johnston to lead Lady Jet softball program
