Carroll College Director of Athletics, Charlie Gross, announced the hiring of Shawna Juarez as the Head Softball Coach for the Fighting Saints in the summer of 2022. Juarez joined the Carroll staff after having served in the same role at Miles Community College from 2018 to 2022.
LAST SEASON: 2025 - The Fighting Saints continued a three-year string of postseason qualification, making their final appearance in the CCC Championship. It was an interesting transition year for Carroll, with the team playing all home contests inside Nelson Stadium for the first time in program history, while battling through a daunting CCC slate for one final time before becoming a Frontier Conference member in '26. It was an up-and-down year for the Saints, with flashes of greatness including series wins over ranked opponents College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon. Kennedy Venner backed up her 2024 First Team All-CCC selection with another First Team honor in '25, where she was joined by Kenna Thomas. Sammie Labrum earned Honorable Mention All-CCC honors in her first full season playing significant field time.
For the second-consecutive season, Juarez guided the Saints to an appearance at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship. The 2024 team finished with an overall record of 20-28-1, and became the first team in program history to win a postseason game. The Saints knocked off nationally-ranked College of Idaho in the opening round of te CCC Championship. Three players were named All-CCC performers, Kennedy Venner, Kenna Thomas, and Morgan Sunchild.
Juarez has the unique experience of starting a program from the ground up. She was named the inaugural Head Softball Coach at Miles Community College in 2018, and built a well-respected and competitive team in her four years. After a COVID-19 shortened start to the 2020 season, Juarez led the Pioneers to back-to-back Region XIII championships in 2021 and 2022 and was named Region XIII Coach of the Year both years. Under Juarez, MCC advanced to the sweet-sixteen in the 2021 season. Her teams at MCC had flashes of explosive power, finishing the 2022 season ranked top-25 in ten different offensive categories. Perhaps the most impressive highlights of Juarez's resume include the academic prowess of her teams. Since 2019, her teams finished nationally ranked as NJCAA All-Academic teams. She has coached over 50 NJCAA Academic All-Americans, including 5 Valedictorians.
In addition to her time at MCC, Juarez has also previously coached at the collegiate level at Walla Walla Community College (Wash.) and Edmonds College (Wash.). Since 2009, she has coached numerous AAU teams, including five nationally ranked gold teams, with her 18 Gold team finishing third in the nation. Juarez, originally from Othello, Wash. played collegiately at Wenatchee Valley College (Wash.) and Northwest Nazarene University (Idaho).
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BY THE NUMBERS:
Seasons: 3
Record: 58-84-1
Overall Collegiate Record: 58-84-1
Carroll Year-By-Year:Â
Year   W-L-T
2025:Â Â Â 18-26
2024: Â Â 20-28-1
2023: Â Â 20-28Â
