Texas Softball loses Associate Head Coach Kristen Zaleski

[Blake Munroe]

As first reported by D1Softball, Texas Softball Associate Head Coach Kristen Zaleski will not return to the Longhorns next season. She had been on staff for four years after being hired by Mike White in July 2022.

Texas did not return a request for comment at the time of this posting.

Zaleski also served as the first base coach when the Horns were batting. 

[Michelle Lynn]

Huge loss. 

[GoHorns1]

Guessing she got a HC job somewhere.

[G3rberger]

Price of winning and I’m fine with it 🤘🏼

[chennups]

Good luck Coach! Thanks for cheering on the horns and helping them win it all twice!

 

I remember her giving Atwood the fist bumps after she hit the intentional walk attempt in last years championship. 

[Buck Travis]

She'll never have a higher market value. 

[TexasEx_10]

No one likes Earleywine, including the players, except Mike White.

 

[HonkEm]

Sad to see this happen. Zaleski was well‑liked, the players trusted her, and she did a lot of the relationship‑building behind the scenes that people don’t notice. Wish her the best wherever she ends up.

Edited 1 hour ago by HonkEm

[GoHorns1]

9 minutes ago, TexasEx_10 said:

No one likes Earleywine, including the players, except Mike White.

 

Source 

[HonkEm]

9 minutes ago, TexasEx_10 said:

No one likes Earleywine, including the players, except Mike White.

 

I get that Earleywine isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but let’s be fair here - the guy can coach. His track record speaks for itself: elite offenses, elite development, and a resume  most programs would kill for.

He’s intense, he’s demanding, and he’s not a ‘buddy‑coach,’ but that doesn’t automatically mean players dislike him. Some players thrive under that style, and White clearly trusts him for a reason.

 

[BornOrange]

Woe is us!

I doubt we can find anyone willing to coach at The University of Texas.

Gloom, despair and agony on me!

Seriously,  congrats and good luck to Zaleski…except when she faces us.

[LonghornFan4Ever]

39 minutes ago, G3rberger said:

Price of winning and I’m fine with it 🤘🏼

Yep Saban dealt with this quite a bit once the trophies started piling up.  As long as Mike White is in charge, Texas softball will be perennial OKC and national championship contenders for years to come.  Just the nature of the profession.

[HookemTexas]

They’ve lost coaches the past few seasons to HC gigs right?  The only negative to winning is everyone else wants the coaches in your secret sauce.

OU just lost their hitting coach.

[horns96]

3 minutes ago, HookemTexas said:

They’ve lost coaches the past few seasons to HC gigs right?  The only negative to winning is everyone else wants the coaches in your secret sauce.

OU just lost their hitting coach.

Yeah, we lost Singleton (hitting coach?) to Cal last year.

[Horns Wn]

11 minutes ago, HookemTexas said:

They’ve lost coaches the past few seasons to HC gigs right?  The only negative to winning is everyone else wants the coaches in your secret sauce.

OU just lost their hitting coach.

You mean Arkansas lost their hitting coach.  DJ Gasso is headed to be HC at Tulsa.

[HookemTexas]

18 minutes ago, horns96 said:

Yeah, we lost Singleton (hitting coach?) to Cal last year.

Prior year we lost a coach who's now ASU's head coach I believe.

[HookemTexas]

10 minutes ago, Horns Wn said:

You mean Arkansas lost their hitting coach.  DJ Gasso is headed to be HC at Tulsa.

Yea, I thought Gasso was on the ou staff under Gasso, brain fart.

[TexasEx_10]

55 minutes ago, HonkEm said:

I get that Earleywine isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but let’s be fair here - the guy can coach. His track record speaks for itself: elite offenses, elite development, and a resume  most programs would kill for.

He’s intense, he’s demanding, and he’s not a ‘buddy‑coach,’ but that doesn’t automatically mean players dislike him. Some players thrive under that style, and White clearly trusts him for a reason.

 

If Katie, Kayden, Teagan, and Vivi were seniors, they’d be leaving. 
 

Still feel that way? 
 

Players don’t like him. There is a reason for Atwood and Goode’s slump. I’m taking these players any day over a coach who’s been fired from several jobs due to verbal abuse.

Edited 39 minutes ago by TexasEx_10

[HookemDTX]

1 minute ago, TexasEx_10 said:

If Katie, Kayden, Teagan, and Vivi were seniors, they’d be leaving. 
 

Still feel that way? 
 

Players don’t like him. There is a reason for Atwood and Goode’s slump. I’m taking these players any day over a coach who’s been fired from several jobs due to verbal abuse.

Damn, I was thinking he was the reason for Katie's swing leveling out. If it's that bad then that changes things.

[TexasEx_10]

3 minutes ago, HookemDTX said:

Damn, I was thinking he was the reason for Katie's swing leveling out. If it's that bad then that changes things.

He might be a good hitting coach but his style and antics don’t mesh well with the players. Coach Z doesn’t even have a job lined up yet. 

 

 

Edited 31 minutes ago by TexasEx_10

[NothinButDaHorns34]

The cost of winning at a high level is your coaches become in demand for struggling programs 

[Assistant Regional Manager]

52 minutes ago, HookemTexas said:

They’ve lost coaches the past few seasons to HC gigs right?  The only negative to winning is everyone else wants the coaches in your secret sauce.

OU just lost their hitting coach.

White has cycled through quite a few assistants during his time. Only a few left to be head coaches.

[HookemDTX]

16 minutes ago, TexasEx_10 said:

He might be a good hitting coach but his style and antics don’t mesh well with the players. Coach Z doesn’t even have a job lined up yet. 

 

 

So she left because she wouldn't be a part of the program with Earlywine at UT?

Edited 15 minutes ago by HookemDTX

[GoHorns1]

@TexasEx_10source please or just your opinion.

[TexasEx_10]

4 minutes ago, GoHorns1 said:

@TexasEx_10source please or just your opinion.

I’m not going to name sources but I’ve had conversations with a current player’s mom and an ex player’s mom.