Hernandez Added to Softball Staff as Assistant Coach
7/19/2023 12:30:00 PM | Softball
Previous Stints at Western Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Valparaiso & Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida softball welcomes assistant coach Mario Hernandez to the Osprey softball coaching staff as announced by head coach Jeff Conrad on Wednesday afternoon.
Hernandez joins UNF after previous stops in collegiate softball, with his most recent position being assisting Western Kentucky softball to a successful season in 2023. He also brings in-state experience after serving as an assistant coach for Jacksonville in 2020.
"Mario [Hernandez] is a good guy who will fit in really well at UNF. In today's world of college athletics, there is a premium on people who can recruit," said Conrad. "The development of our catchers is an area I really wanted to focus on, and Mario was able to really separate himself from the pack in those areas."
Assistant Coach
Hernandez joins the Osprey staff as an assistant coach after serving the 2023 season as the assistant coach for Western Kentucky. He helped the Hilltoppers to a 30-24 overall record, including a 14-9 record in C-USA play.
He returns to the city of Jacksonville after spending the 2020 season as the volunteer assistant coach at JU, where he helped the team to a 15-11 record after the season was cut short due to COVID-19. He was also the assistant coach at Tennessee Tech in 2022 and the assistant coach turned interim head coach of Valparaiso in 2021.
In between his time at Jacksonville and Valparaiso, he was the head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast Summer Collegiate League during the summer of 2020. He was selected as one of three coaches to coach against the USSSA Pride professional team.
Hernandez had a few stops before reaching the collegiate softball level, as he was the Illinois Hawks' head coach and president of softball from 2014-2019, followed by a one-year stint as an assistant softball coach with Plainfield North HS. He also was the head coach of the SouthSide Rage Baseball Organization from 2012-14 while he was playing collegiate baseball.
Before playing three years of semi-pro baseball in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League, Hernandez attended Moraine Valley CC and University of St. Francis during his collegiate playing career from 2011-2015. He was an All-Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference First Team selection and a team captain for both universities.
He returned to school in 2020 at Walden University to graduate with his bachelor's of business administration with summa cum laude honors in 2021.
Hernandez joins UNF after previous stops in collegiate softball, with his most recent position being assisting Western Kentucky softball to a successful season in 2023. He also brings in-state experience after serving as an assistant coach for Jacksonville in 2020.
"Mario [Hernandez] is a good guy who will fit in really well at UNF. In today's world of college athletics, there is a premium on people who can recruit," said Conrad. "The development of our catchers is an area I really wanted to focus on, and Mario was able to really separate himself from the pack in those areas."
Mario Hernandez
Assistant CoachHernandez joins the Osprey staff as an assistant coach after serving the 2023 season as the assistant coach for Western Kentucky. He helped the Hilltoppers to a 30-24 overall record, including a 14-9 record in C-USA play.
He returns to the city of Jacksonville after spending the 2020 season as the volunteer assistant coach at JU, where he helped the team to a 15-11 record after the season was cut short due to COVID-19. He was also the assistant coach at Tennessee Tech in 2022 and the assistant coach turned interim head coach of Valparaiso in 2021.
In between his time at Jacksonville and Valparaiso, he was the head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast Summer Collegiate League during the summer of 2020. He was selected as one of three coaches to coach against the USSSA Pride professional team.
Hernandez had a few stops before reaching the collegiate softball level, as he was the Illinois Hawks' head coach and president of softball from 2014-2019, followed by a one-year stint as an assistant softball coach with Plainfield North HS. He also was the head coach of the SouthSide Rage Baseball Organization from 2012-14 while he was playing collegiate baseball.
Before playing three years of semi-pro baseball in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League, Hernandez attended Moraine Valley CC and University of St. Francis during his collegiate playing career from 2011-2015. He was an All-Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference First Team selection and a team captain for both universities.
He returned to school in 2020 at Walden University to graduate with his bachelor's of business administration with summa cum laude honors in 2021.
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