University of Rochester Executive Director of Athletics George VanderZwaag announced on Friday the appointment of Abby Hurley-Martin as the seventh head coach of the Yellowjackets' softball program. Hurley-Martin joins the University of Rochester from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where she served as the head softball coach for the Tigers for the past four years.
 
"Abby's experience has prepared her to lead one of the most successful teams in the country," VanderZwaag said, "Her leadership style will add strength to our program and we are excited to welcome her to Rochester."
 
Over four seasons with the Tigers, Hurley-Martin helped lead the Tigers to a pair of top-three finishes in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), something the program hadn't done in over a decade. Under Hurley-Martin, the Tigers made three straight conference tournaments, capping off the 2023 season with an upset of No. 1-seeded and 5th-ranked Texas Lutheran in the second round of the SCAC Tournament.
 
"I am so excited to join the University of Rochester Athletics family and to be a Yellowjacket," Hurley-Martin said. "I want to thank George and his administration for giving me this opportunity and essentially bringing me home. I am grateful for my time at Trinity and I will miss everyone there tremendously. I can't wait to get to work here and take further steps towards competing for a national championship." 

Twenty-three Tigers earned All-SCAC honors under Hurley-Martin's watch, including a pair of first-team honorees in 2021 and 2022. Trinity also reeled in numerous academic accolades during Hurley-Martin's tenure in San Antonio, including five College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-Distict® honorees and 15 SCAC Spring Honor Roll selections in 2023.
 
Prior to joining the Tigers, Hurley-Martin spent four seasons as the head softball coach at Oswego State in Oswego, NY, taking over a five-win program and turning the Lakers into one of the top teams in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC).
 
The Lakers saw an 11-win improvement in their first year under Hurley-Martin, and finished second in the conference with another three-win improvement in her second year, as Hurley-Martin earned 2017 SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors.
 
Oswego State made the SUNYAC Championship in three out of Hurley-Martin's four years, finishing as high as third in 2019, while five Lakers earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors, nine earned All-SUNYAC recognition and Rebecca Vilchez took home both the SUNYAC Player and Pitcher of the Year award in 2018.
 
Previously, Hurley-Martin also spent a season as the pitching coach at NCAA Division I University of Buffalo, helping develop the Bulls' pitching staff, while also handling team travel needs and academic monitoring responsibilities.
 
Hurley-Martin began her coaching career at her alma mater, SUNY Cortland, helping the Red Dragons to an NCAA Division III World Series runner-up finish, an Ithaca Regional title and a SUNYAC Tournament Championship over two seasons as an assistant coach.
 
Over two seasons with the Red Dragons, Cortland compiled a 63-32 (27-9 SUNYAC) record and twice posted sub-3.00 ERAs in 2013 and 2014, while Hurley-Martin and the rest of SUNY Cortland's coaching staff were named the NFCA Northeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2013.
 
In addition to her collegiate coaching roles, Hurley-Martin has also worked as a private hitting and pitching instructor in both the Western New York and San Antonio, TX areas for the past 14 years, teaching the fundamentals of the game to girls ages 10-18.
 
A 2012 graduate of SUNY Cortland, Hurley-Martin played two seasons for the Red Dragons, earning an NFCA Second-Team All-Region selection her junior year before capping off her senior season with NFCA First-Team All-America, First-Team All-Region and Capital One Academic All-America® honors.
 
Hurley-Martin was sensational both at the plate and in the circle as a two-way player for the Red Dragons, batting .393/.457/.632 with 64 hits, 18 doubles, 46 runs scored and 44 RBI while posting a 12-4 record and 2.58 ERA in 84.0 innings pitched in 2012, after hitting .360/.438/.632 and going 8-0 with a 2.44 ERA in 2011.
 
A native of Oswego, NY, Hurley-Martin earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology and exercise science from SUNY Cortland in Cortland, NY in 2012, and her master's degree in sport management from Cortland in 2014.
 
Hurley-Martin will officially join the Yellowjacket staff on July 17.