Ashlyn Englehorn took over the Black Hills State softball program in July 2023 and will enter her third season at the helm for the 2026 season. She currently sits at a BHSU record of 68-80 in three seasons and has led the Green and Gold to back-to-back 20 win seasons.
She is coming off another 20 win season where BHSU went 24-31 and 21-23 in RMAC play. BHSU won or split seven of the 11 RMAC series and was able to stick around the RMAC postseason bubble. The Yellow Jackets tied the record for most home wins all -time and produced the best home record in the DII era this season going 9-7 (.563). The Yellow Jackets three wins in the first weekend was the most by a BHSU team in the D2 era. They also broke plenty of other records this season inclduing the D2 era mark for home runs in a single series with 11 versus Chadron State. Program records broken include single season home runs (43).
In her second season as head coach, Englehorn led BHSU to first RMAC Tournament berth in program history in 2025 after being picked to finish ninth in preseason coaches poll. Helped the Green & Gold finish with their first winning record in program history since 2009 with a 27-27 (25-19 RMAC) record. In her first two seasons as head coach, she has won nine RMAC series, with six being this year. In the previous 12 seasons, BHSU had won a total of eight RMAC series. She also helped BHSU break their program wins record, program road wins record, and program RMAC wins record, along with multiple other program statistical records. She was named RMAC Coach of the Year for her performance. She is the first Jacket head coach to win Coach of the Year since Amy Gurney did it in the DAC in 2008. She produced the RMAC Pitcher of the Year in Laci Peskey as well as one other First Team All-RMAC selection in Ashlynn Pauwels, one Second Team All-RMAC selection in Tyler Whitlock, and two All-RMAC Honorable Mentions in Desi Hernandez and Carly Reyes Mims.
During that second season, Englehorn led her team to breaking almost every program record in the book. The Yellow Jackets set 20 separate team records under their skipper. They were single-season doubles (102), single-season triples (12), single-season walks (177), single-season wins (27), single-season road wins (20), single season RMAC wins (25), single-season hits (468), single-season RBIs (272), single-season runs (290), single-season total bases (699), single-season at-bats (1487), single-season games played (52), single-season pitcher strikeouts (295), single-season sacrifice flies (20), single-season sacrifice bunts (43), single-season hit by pitches (39), single-season batting average (.315), single-season on-base percentage (.397), and single-season slugging percentage (.470).
She picked up her first win at BHSU with a 7-2 win over Bemidji State (Minn.) on Opening Weekend at the Kelly Laas Memorial Tournament in St. Cloud, Minn. Later on, Englehorn earned her first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) victory in late February (Feb. 25) with a 7-4 victory over the Mountain Lions of UCCS down in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In her first season, Englehorn led the Yellow Jackets to a pair of NCAA Division II era records in total wins (15) and RMAC wins (14). She picked up three RMAC series wins over CSU Pueblo (3-1), Adams State (4-0), and Chadron State (3-1); while leading the team to a program record eight-straight wins in the month of March.
Her first season at the helm (2024) proved to be a productive one, as the Yellow Jackets set numerous individual and team program records. She provided a spark to a Yellow Jacket squad and led the program to a new program record for most consecutive wins in row at eight-straight in the month of March (March 2-18). Furthermore, BH tied the single-season record for most wins at Yellow Jacket Field, which proved to be the best in the NCAA Division II era. The Yellow Jackets also set a new program record for doubles in a single season.
Prior to BHSU, Englehorn spent two years at the helm of the Crown College softball program of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) at the NCAA Division III level.
While at Crown, she compiled a record of 20-49. She took over a program that went 7-21 (3-13 UMAC) prior to her taking over the reigns. In her two seasons, Englehorn increased the win total for the Polars. In her final season at Crown in 2023, she led the Polars to a 12-29 (9-12 UMAC) record - the most wins in program history since 2019 - and clinched the program’s first UMAC tournament appearance since 2018.
The 2023 Crown squad also touted the 2023 UMAC Player of the Year in Maria Lilienthal (C/3B) and finished top-40 in Division III in stolen bases (91 stolen bases).
During her tenure in Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota, Englehorn’s teams tied or broke 15 school records and had 11 UMAC All-Academic players and NFCA Academic All-Americans. Additionally, she coached a pair of First Team All-UMAC performers.
Before Crown, Englehorn was the Head Assistant Coach at Williamette University (Ore.) from 2018-2021. In her three seasons with the Bearcats, she was responsible for improving the team’s fielding percentage from .916 to .949, while also assisting with recruiting, development, camps, team travel, and academic success of the softball program.
Englehorn played her collegiate softball at Corban University (Ore.) in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2015-18. While competing for the Warriors, she competed for a National Championship, falling in the NAIA national title game to top-seeded Oklahoma City.
In her four seasons in a Corban uniform, she helped lead the Warriors to a 157-65 overall record (.707 win percentage) and three NAIA national tournament appearances.
She graduated from Corban with 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.
HONORS AND AWARDS
2025 RMAC Coach of the Year
BHSU COACHING MILESTONES:
- 50th Win at BHSU: at CSU Pueblo (3-2 - February 28, 2026 in Pueblo, Colo.)
- 50th Career Win: vs. Chadron State (8-2 - March 10, 2025 in Spearfish, S.D.)
- First Career Win: vs. Finlandia (Mich.) (at Crown College, March 26, 2022)
- First Win at BHSU: v. Bemidji State (7-2 - Feb. 4, 2024 in St. Cloud, Minn.)
- First RMAC Win: at UCCS (7-4 - Feb. 25, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
HEAD COACHING RECORD
| Season |
Overall |
Pct. |
Conference |
Pct. |
Finish |
Home |
Pct. |
Away |
Pct. |
Neutral |
Pct. |
Postseason |
| Crown College (UMAC) |
| 2022 |
8-20 |
.286 |
6-14 |
.300 |
6th |
5-3 |
.625 |
1-11 |
.083 |
2-6 |
.250 |
|
| 2023 |
12-29 |
.293 |
9-12 |
.429 |
4th |
2-6 |
.250 |
4-6 |
.400 |
6-17 |
.260 |
|
| Crown College Totals |
20-49 |
.290 |
15-26 |
.366 |
|
7-9 |
.438 |
5-17 |
.227 |
8-23 |
.258 |
|
|
|
| 2024 |
15-32 |
.319 |
14-28 |
.333 |
9th |
9-11 |
.450 |
5-14 |
.263 |
1-7 |
.125 |
|
| 2025 |
27-27 |
.500 |
25-19 |
.568 |
6th |
6-6 |
.500 |
20-16 |
.555 |
1-5 |
.167 |
RMAC Tournament (0-2) |
| 2026 |
24-31 |
.436 |
21-23 |
.477 |
7th |
9-7 |
.563 |
9-15 |
.375 |
6-9 |
.400 |
|
| Black Hills State Totals |
68-90 |
.430 |
60-70 |
.462 |
|
24-24 |
.500 |
34-55 |
.382 |
8-21 |
.276 |
|
| Career Totals |
86-139 |
.382 |
75-96 |
.439 |
|
31-33 |
.484 |
39-72 |
.351 |
16-44 |
.267 |
|
