Denise Rich - Softball Coach

Denise Rich

Title:
Director of Operations

Denise Rich enters her second year on the Bulldog Softball coaching staff and her first serving as the team's Director of Operations. Rich was Fresno State's Volunteer Assistant Coach and third base coach during the 2019 season.

In 2019 Rich helped lead the Bulldogs to their most wins (37) since the 2016 season and their most home wins (23) since 2012 as well a postseason berth in the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) in her first season as a member of the coaching staff.

Rich has been involved in coaching since 1989 when she joined the Clovis High staff as an assistant. She had stops at Fresno High and Hoover, where Coach Linda Garza played two seasons while Rich was an assistant. Later she served two years as Hoover's varsity head coach and for 15 years she was the head coach at Washington Union High. Her 2010 team won a CIF Central Section championship. That team included her daughter, Tori, who went on to play at McNeese State.

Her high school career record is 279-255-11.

Rich has enjoyed a long career in travel softball as well, first putting together women's teams the summer after she finished playing at Fresno City College, then coaching travel ball. Among her first youth softball coaching experiences was a team featuring Coach Garza. She joined the board of the Central California Krush Softball in 2010 and has been coaching Krush teams since 2011.

Since 2010, she has run the Fresno City/County All-Star Softball Game, bringing it to Margie Wright Diamond in 2011. The game features nearly 60 of the region's top graduated high school seniors and attracts crowds over 1,000. While at Hoover, she partnered with Fresno City College softball to start and run the 32-team Bash at Buchanan community college softball tournament and for four years she was director of the state community college softball championships, held at the Buchanan Softball Complex and then at Margie Wright Diamond.

For the past five years at Washington Union, she ran an annual invitational tournament that attracted teams from all over California plus Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah and Idaho. Participating players have included current Fresno State Bulldogs Dominique Jackson, Kelcey Carassco and Aaliyah Cuevas.

For her last last eight years at Washington Union, Rich had either son Andrew or daughter Tori as an assistant. Andrew is now an assistant at Boise State and Tori is activities director at Washington Union.

Rich is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and graduated from Fresno State in 2001 with a degree in geography. She teaches at Washington Union and resides across the street from the school with her husband, John.