Another in a very long line of former Arizona softball players coaching is two-time All-American third baseman Katiyana Mauga, who recently became a volunteer assistant coach at Mississippi State.
Mauga, part of the AllSportsTucson.com Arizona Softball All-Decade Team, left Arizona in 2017 as one of the most accomplished hitters to play Division I softball.
She is the only player in NCAA history to hit 20 home runs in each of her four seasons. She finished first or second in the Pac-12 in home runs all four years of her career and holds Arizona’s and the Pac-12’s career home run record. Her 92 career home runs stand second in NCAA history.
She finished her career with 257 career RBIs to stand fifth in Arizona history, sixth in Pac-12 history and 13th in NCAA history. She closed her career with an .829 slugging clip to set Arizona’s program record. The mark also stands third in Pac-12 history and 13th in the NCAA record book.
She was named 2017 Co-Pac-12 Player of the Year and 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. She was a top 10 finalist for 2014 NFCA Freshman of the Year and 2017 USA Softball Player of the Year. Mauga was named to the NFCA All-West Region Team on three occasions and was a four-time All-Pac-12 Team honoree.
Mauga joins the many former Arizona players who are coaching in college or at the high school level after playing under legendary coach Mike Candrea.
Arizona pitching standout Taylor McQuillin, who recently completed her Wildcat career, is a gruaduate assistant coach at Arkansas.
A former player who was an assistant coach at Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio), the former Brittany Lastrapes, is working for the Washington State football program as director of player personnel. Brittany Thackery is completing her second season in that role for Mike Leach.
Thackery, also a member of the All-Decade Team, assists with the organization and execution of recruiting efforts for the Cougars. She is responsible for assisting freshmen with their transition to Washington State, overseeing the Cougars’ “Big Brother” program, and aids in the operations of the program.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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