One of the top pitchers in the history of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Sonja Garnett returns to the conference in a coaching capacity in 2013 as Andrea Kenney’s top assistant. This will be Garnett’s third rodeo as a collegiate softball coach. She got her start as an assistant at her alma mater, San Francisco State, for the 2007 season. She also served as an assistant coach at Whittier College in 2011.
Of course, Garnett will be most familiar to softball fans for her exemplary playing career in which she earned NFCA All–America honors three times. A three–time CCAA Pitcher of the Year, Garnett ended her collegiate career holding the seven major pitching marks in the SFSU record books: Wins (103), Saves (11), ERA (0.96), Strikeouts (609), appearances (188), complete games (127) and innings pitched (1,068 2/3). She still ranks among the NCAA leaders in appearances (5th), innings pitched (6th), saves (16th), starts (18th) and wins (22nd).
Garnett led the Gators to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. SFSU won the 2005 West Regional and went on to a fourth place finish at the NCAA Division II World Series that season.
After finishing her collegiate career, she played six seasons of professional softball in Australia, Germany and Italy, serving as both a coach and pitcher in each of her stops. While playing in Western Australia, she led the Moreley Eagles to their first state title. She also played three seasons in Germany, leading the Mannheim Tornados to a pair of national titles.
In the classroom, Garnet twice earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All–District VIII honors while earning her bachelor’s in liberal studies at San Francisco State. She went on to earn her master’s in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports management from Long Beach State, graduating with a 4.0 grade point average and taking the Outstanding Capstone Award for her final project.
