Black Hills State athletics has announced the hiring of Ashlyn Englehorn as Head Coach of the Yellow Jacket softball program.

"I'm beyond excited to get to Spearfish and join the Black Hills family," said Englehorn. "I believe there is an incredible opportunity to develop and build this program into something special for years to come."

Prior to BHSU, Englehorn spent two years at the helm of the Crown College softball program where the team went 20-49 in 2022 and 2023.

After the team went 8-20 in her first season, they improved to 12 wins in 2023 to take the Polars to the postseason for their first time in five years. That 2023 squad also had the UMAC Player of the Year while the team finished top-40 in NCAA Division III in stolen bases.

During her time there, the team tied or broke 15 school records, and saw 11 UMAC All-Academic players and NFCA All-Academic All-Americans, and two First Team UMAC Awards.

Before Crown, Englehorn was the Head Assistant Coach at Willamette University from 2018 to 2021. In her three years there, she was responsible for improving the team's fielding percentage from .916 to .949, while also assisting with recruiting, development, camps, travel organization and academic success for the program.

Englehorn played collegiate softball at Corban University where she competed for a National Championship in 2017 before earning both a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master's degree in kinesiology.

A native of Boise, Idaho, Englehorn currently resides in Spearfish with her dog, Rosie.