Bio

Legendary Scioto County softball figure Kristen Bradshaw enters her second season as the head coach of the Shawnee State softball program after an historic 2024 campaign that saw Shawnee State enjoy its best softball campaign in 25 years.

Having previously coached at Rio Grande, Bradshaw already had a penchant for turning around a softball program, but at Shawnee State, the former Northwest High School and Wright State University alum has taken that to the next level with the Bears.

En route to a 36-11 overall record, Bradshaw led Shawnee State to the River States Conference's East Division Championship in SSU's first season inside the River States Conference in her first season as head coach at SSU, ultimately leading the program to a River States Conference Tournament Runner-Up finish. Shawnee State led the conference in batting average (.341) and remained in the top-25 all season nationally in that category, and the 36 wins were the most by any group since 1999, when the Shawnee State softball program went 36-12.

During the 2024 season, Shawnee State ripped off winning streaks of 10, seven, four and eight games in a row, won 13 of its 36 contests by mercy rule, posted 10 come-from-behind wins, notched a 6-2 overall record in one-run games and collected three walkoff victories in a six-day span, all while tying the fifth-most victories in a single season in program history.

As a result, a total of eight players were named as All-River States Conference talents -- the third-most in program history. Cassie Berry, Sierra Dunnagan and Mackenzie Hale were each named as First-Team All-RSC honorees while Bianca Belo-Diaz, Jenna Christopher, Lexie Lockwood, Brittani Wolfenbarker and Lauren Spears rounded out the list of honorees.

Academically, the Shawnee State softball program continued its strong tradition of standing tall in the classroom. A total of 18 players of the 21 on the roster finished with cumulative grade point averages above 3.0, and of those 18 players, 10 of them finished with cumulative GPAs above 3.5.

A total of seven individuals, including Cassie Berry, Cameryn Davidson, Mackenzie Hale, Haley Hawes, Lauren Spears, Allison Tom, and Emma Wargel, were each named as NAIA Scholar-Athletes while Berry, Spears, Tom, Amariah Hoerner and Bianca Belo-Diaz were named to the College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District Team for softball. Spears topped off the list of achievements by winning the program's first-ever conference-wide Champion of Character Award when she was bestowed with River States Conference Female Champion of Character honors on July 12, 2024.

"We want to get the highest potential out of our student-athletes on and off the field and make Shawnee State softball a program that players want to be a part of, locally and nationally," Bradshaw said. "Also, we want our coaching staff to be able to help our softball players earn a degree from a university that they are proud of.”

Prior to coaching at Shawnee State, Bradshaw coached at Portsmouth High School from 2015 to 2023. While there, Bradshaw led the Lady Trojans to the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Championship and earned OVC Coach of the Year honors. Several of Bradshaw's players, including Madison Perry, Baleigh Bradley, Andi Queen and Emily Cheatham -- the latter of whom will be suiting up for Shawnee State in 2025 -- have received opportunities to play collegiate softball, while Madison Perry and Olivia Dickerson were named All-Ohio honorees in Bradshaw's final two seasons at Portsmouth.

In addition to coaching at Portsmouth, and prior to PHS, Rio Grande for three seasons, Bradshaw played softball at Wright State, where she was named as a First-Team All-Horizon League selection as a sophomore and a senior and a Second-Team All-Horizon League selection as a freshman and a junior.

Bradshaw batted over .300 in three out of her four seasons at Wright State and hit for an average of .331 for her career with 83 extra-base hits -- including 24 home runs -- to go along with 162 RBI for her career. Bradshaw was also proficient on the basepaths, stealing 83 bases -- including 38 in her senior season -- and scoring 173 runs, all while also drawing 97 free passes in her four years for the Raiders. She led Wright State in games started, runs, hits, and total bases and ultimately received her bachelor's degree in liberal studies with a communication concentration from Wright State University. Bradshaw continued her education at the University of Rio Grande, where she earned her master’s in education and athletic leadership in coaching.

Prior to attending Wright State as a softball talent, Bradshaw attended Northwest High School in nearby McDermott and was a four-sport athlete (softball, basketball, track, volleyball) with the Mohawks, earning four SOC II Player of the Year honors at the school while being named as a three-time All-Ohio selection in softball alone. Bradshaw was named as a First-Team All-Ohioan in the sport of softball as a senior after being named Second-Team All-Ohio as a junior and Honorable Mention All-Ohio as a sophomore, and hit .573 with 10 home runs as a senior.

Bradshaw resides in Portsmouth.