West Liberty, W.Va. – West Liberty University has named Sara Pelegreen the next leader of the Hilltopper softball program on Friday afternoon. She becomes only the third head coach in the last 29 years for WLU, taking over the reins for long-time coach, Herb Minch, who stepped down in September.

"We are extremely pleased to announce the hiring of Coach Sara Pelegreen as our next head softball coach," stated Interim Athletic Director Brad Forshey. "She brings a level of excitement and passion for the sport of softball that is unrivaled. Coach Pelegreen has demonstrated that she is committed to making our student-athletes the best they can be, not only athletically, but in the classroom as well."

Pelegreen will be a familiar face to West Liberty fans and others around the MEC as she comes to the Hilltop following four seasons at Wheeling. In her first two seasons with the Cardinals, she produced back-to-back 20 win seasons and led the program to their first-ever MEC Tournament title game appearance in 2018, upsetting West Virginia Wesleyan twice before falling 1-0 to West Virginia State in a nine inning battle.

After her final season at Wheeling in 2019 she moved into an assistant coach role at NCAA Division I Robert Morris, serving on the staff for three seasons (2020-22). She helped guide the Colonials to a 64-51 record during those years, which included a pair of Horizon League Tournament appearances. RMU advanced to the league's tournament championship in 2022 as they ended the season with their first 30 win campaign in nearly a decade, going 31-21 (16-9 HL).

Pelegreen returned for her second stint as the head coach at Wheeling in 2023 as she helped build a foundation for the team as the Cardinals opened the conference slate with a pair of doubleheader sweeps of Alderson Broaddus and West Virginia State. In the classroom, the program saw a school-record 13 players earn NFCA Scholar All-American honors.

"I would like to thank West Liberty University for the opportunity to be the next leader of the West Liberty softball program," stated Pelegreen. "I'm excited to begin working with everyone on the Hilltop, especially the student-athletes. This athletic department has a rich history of success, and I'm looking forward to continuing the tradition while developing well-rounded young women. Go Toppers!"

Pelegreen has coached athletes to 11 All-MEC honors, including six of which were first team selections. She was instrumental in the development of Cardinal pitcher Mallory Chapman, who was a 4-time All-MEC pick during her Wheeling tenure, three seasons in which she landed on the conference's first team. Chapman also went on to earn D2CCA First Team All-Region recognition following the 2018 season.

Prior to stepping into her first head coaching role at Wheeling, she served as a graduate assistant coach for the Cardinals in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Those WJU teams combined for a 55-40 record, including a 35-20 mark in 2016 which was the program's best mark since its reinstatement in 2002. The 2016 pitching staff led the MEC with 324 strikeouts while tying for fourth in ERA (2.52), hits (381), runs (192), and earned runs (136) in 377.2 innings. The Cardinals collected eight shutouts, besting the previous program record of two prior to her arrival on campus.

Pelegreen, a native of Hopedale, Ohio, played collegiately at West Virginia State (2009-12) where she was a 2-time All-WVIAC selection and a Second Team All-Atlantic Region pitcher in 2012. In the circle she posted a 54-27 record, a 2.03 ERA, and holds the Yellow Jacket record for career saves (6). She graduated from WVSU with a bachelor's of science degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism.