Photo by: Creighton Athletics
Stafford and Wieligman Named Creighton Softball Assistant Coaches
7/12/2022 11:00:00 AM | Softball
Stafford served as a graduate assistant at Arkansas, while Wieligman helped lead Texas State last season.
OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton softball head coach Krista Wood announced the addition of Tori Stafford and Ryan Wieligman as assistant coaches for the Bluejay softball program on Tuesday, July 12. Stafford has spent the past two years as a graduate manager at Arkansas while Wieligman served as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas State last season.
"I am thrilled both Tori and Ryan have joined our coaching staff here at Creighton," said Wood. "They have both coached at high levels, under some of the best coaches in the country. Tori and Ryan will have an immediate, positive impact on this team and will help create and lead a championship culture."
"I am thrilled to join Coach Wood and the Bluejay softball team," said Stafford. "Creighton offers top notch opportunities for its student-athletes and I'm excited to continue the growth of the softball program alongside Coach Wood."
Stafford arrived at Arkansas in 2021 as a graduate manager, where she helped head coach Courtney Deifel and the Razorbacks claim back-to-back SEC regular season titles, the program's first SEC Tournament championship and the program's highest overall seed (No. 4) in the NCAA Tournament.
During her two seasons with the Razorbacks Stafford helped guide Arkansas to a 91-22 overall record, including a single-season school record 48 wins in 2022, and a pair of NCAA Super Regional appearances. Stafford and the Arkansas staff earned NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year each of the last two seasons while assisting with the development of 17 All-SEC and seven NFCA All-American performers.
A native of Van Buren, Arkansas, Stafford capped off her illustrious playing career at Tulsa in 2019 as a key contributor on three American Athletic Conference championship teams and three NCAA Tournament squads. She finished her career ranked sixth in the Golden Hurricane record book with 1,064 putouts and seventh all-time with a .988 fielding percentage.
She posted the best offensive numbers of her career as a sophomore in 2017, when Tulsa won its first AAC regular season title, ranking third on the team with a .329 batting average. Stafford earned AAC All-Tournament Team honors after helping the Golden Hurricane claim their second consecutive AAC Tournament Championship and reaching the NCAA Norman Regional before falling to the eventual national champion, Oklahoma.
Stafford began her career as a strength and conditioning intern for GTS Performance and Fitness in Wisconsin before returning to her alma mater and serving as a graduate manager in 2019 while completing her master's degree in Business Administration.
Stafford earned her bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sports Science in 2019 and a master's degree in Business Administration in 2020 from Tulsa as well as a master's degree in Recreation and Sports Management from Arkansas in 2022.
Wieligman, a native of Stillwater, Oklahoma, also joins the Bluejays staff and heads to Omaha after spending the 2022 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas State under head coach Ricci Woodard. While with the Bobcats, Wieligman helped garner a 38-19 record that included a 17-game win streak and a runner-up finish at the Sun Belt Conference Championships. His work on the field assisted in the development of four All-Sun Belt Conference selections, including Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Ciara Tranhan.
"Thank you to Coach Wood and Athletic Director Marcus Blossom for the great opportunity to be a part of Creighton Athletics and Bluejay softball," said Wieligman. "This University holds a strong athletic and academic reputation that I am excited to join and help continue to grow. I am excited and thankful to begin working in the program alongside Coach Wood."
Wieligman joined the Texas State coaching staff after spending the 2021 year as part of the UT Tyler softball staff that finished the season 33-7, including a 27-3 mark in the Lone Star Conference. Wieligman served as an assistant coach of the Patriots' staff and was a member of the 2021 Division II South Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year following UT Tyler's success. UT Tyler rose to as high as No. 2 in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and has remained in the top-10 in every poll the Patriots have been eligible for at the Division II level since the beginning of the 2020 season.
Prior to his stop at Tyler, Wieligman was a member of the 2019 Henderson State (Ark.) University baseball team. He earned his bachelor's degree in Sport Management in 2020 after transferring from Cowley County (Kan.) Community College, where he helped the Tigers to a NJCAA College World Series berth.
"I am thrilled both Tori and Ryan have joined our coaching staff here at Creighton," said Wood. "They have both coached at high levels, under some of the best coaches in the country. Tori and Ryan will have an immediate, positive impact on this team and will help create and lead a championship culture."
"I am thrilled to join Coach Wood and the Bluejay softball team," said Stafford. "Creighton offers top notch opportunities for its student-athletes and I'm excited to continue the growth of the softball program alongside Coach Wood."
Stafford arrived at Arkansas in 2021 as a graduate manager, where she helped head coach Courtney Deifel and the Razorbacks claim back-to-back SEC regular season titles, the program's first SEC Tournament championship and the program's highest overall seed (No. 4) in the NCAA Tournament.
During her two seasons with the Razorbacks Stafford helped guide Arkansas to a 91-22 overall record, including a single-season school record 48 wins in 2022, and a pair of NCAA Super Regional appearances. Stafford and the Arkansas staff earned NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year each of the last two seasons while assisting with the development of 17 All-SEC and seven NFCA All-American performers.
A native of Van Buren, Arkansas, Stafford capped off her illustrious playing career at Tulsa in 2019 as a key contributor on three American Athletic Conference championship teams and three NCAA Tournament squads. She finished her career ranked sixth in the Golden Hurricane record book with 1,064 putouts and seventh all-time with a .988 fielding percentage.
She posted the best offensive numbers of her career as a sophomore in 2017, when Tulsa won its first AAC regular season title, ranking third on the team with a .329 batting average. Stafford earned AAC All-Tournament Team honors after helping the Golden Hurricane claim their second consecutive AAC Tournament Championship and reaching the NCAA Norman Regional before falling to the eventual national champion, Oklahoma.
Stafford began her career as a strength and conditioning intern for GTS Performance and Fitness in Wisconsin before returning to her alma mater and serving as a graduate manager in 2019 while completing her master's degree in Business Administration.
Stafford earned her bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sports Science in 2019 and a master's degree in Business Administration in 2020 from Tulsa as well as a master's degree in Recreation and Sports Management from Arkansas in 2022.
Wieligman, a native of Stillwater, Oklahoma, also joins the Bluejays staff and heads to Omaha after spending the 2022 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas State under head coach Ricci Woodard. While with the Bobcats, Wieligman helped garner a 38-19 record that included a 17-game win streak and a runner-up finish at the Sun Belt Conference Championships. His work on the field assisted in the development of four All-Sun Belt Conference selections, including Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Ciara Tranhan.
"Thank you to Coach Wood and Athletic Director Marcus Blossom for the great opportunity to be a part of Creighton Athletics and Bluejay softball," said Wieligman. "This University holds a strong athletic and academic reputation that I am excited to join and help continue to grow. I am excited and thankful to begin working in the program alongside Coach Wood."
Wieligman joined the Texas State coaching staff after spending the 2021 year as part of the UT Tyler softball staff that finished the season 33-7, including a 27-3 mark in the Lone Star Conference. Wieligman served as an assistant coach of the Patriots' staff and was a member of the 2021 Division II South Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year following UT Tyler's success. UT Tyler rose to as high as No. 2 in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and has remained in the top-10 in every poll the Patriots have been eligible for at the Division II level since the beginning of the 2020 season.
Prior to his stop at Tyler, Wieligman was a member of the 2019 Henderson State (Ark.) University baseball team. He earned his bachelor's degree in Sport Management in 2020 after transferring from Cowley County (Kan.) Community College, where he helped the Tigers to a NJCAA College World Series berth.
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