Western Washington University Athletics

Now entering her eighth season at the helm of Western Washington University Softball, Head Coach Sheryl Gilmore has established the Vikings as a consistent contender at both the conference and national levels. She took over the program in 2019 following a record-breaking head coaching tenure at Edmonds College, where she is still the winningest coach in that program’s history.
 
In six full seasons leading the Vikings (excluding the canceled 2020 season), Coach Gilmore has guided WWU to five consecutive GNAC Championship appearances, three GNAC Championship titles, three NCAA Championship Tournament berths, and two trips to the NCAA Division II Women’s College World Series. Gilmore has compiled a 214-116 record (.648 winning percentage) at WWU, averaging over 30 wins per season.
 
Gilmore’s leadership led to a historic 2024 season. The Vikings set a program record with 52 wins, claimed the GNAC Championship title, won the NCAA West Regional and Super Regional championships, and earned the first NCAA Division II College World Series berth in both program and GNAC history. WWU finished as National Runner-Up after advancing to the championship series in Longwood, Florida. Gilmore was named GNAC Coach of the Year and part of the NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
In 2025, Gilmore and her staff repeated as NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year, and she was honored as GNAC Co-Coach of the Year. The Vikings won both the GNAC regular season and championship tournament titles, captured the West Regional at Cal State East Bay (eliminating the region's top seed on the road), won the Super Regional at Cal State San Marcos, and secured a third-place national finish at the NCAA Division II College World Series after knocking off higher-seeded North Georgia and Central Oklahoma.
 
Under Coach Gilmore, WWU Softball team set several program records including total single season wins (52), highest single season winning percentage (.825), longest winning streak to start a season (13), and longest overall winning streak (17). The team has also finished with single season records for the most home runs (49), most doubles (106), most runs scored (366), and the best fielding percentage (.975) in program history.

All five of WWU’s All-American’s have been awarded during Gilmore’s tenure, including first-baseman Emily Benson (2019), shortstop Tatum Dow (2021), shortstop Hailey Rath (2024), third-baseman Maleah Andrews (2025), and pitcher, Kaiana Kong (2024 and 2025). In the six seasons that there were conference awards since Gilmore’s arrival, WWU players have won GNAC player of the year three times, all of which were infielders (Emily Benson in 2019, Hailey Rath in 2024, and Maleah Andrews in 2025). During that time, the Vikings have earned 40 All-Conference Awards in the GNAC and had 18 All-West Region Award winners. WWU has also had 8 players on the Schutt Sports NFCA Division II National Player/Pitcher of the Year watch list in the last seven years.
 
In addition to her coaching duties, Gilmore is an active member of several NFCA and NCAA committees, including the DII Head Coaches Committee (representing the GNAC) and the DII West Region representative for the All-American committee. She is also serving as the GNAC Softball Chair and a member of the NCAA DII Softball Regional Advisory Committee (RAC).
 
Gilmore is just the fifth head coach in WWU softball history, with the program having competed as a varsity sport since 1993.
 
Prior to WWU, Gilmore transformed the Edmonds College softball program over four seasons as head coach (2015–2018). She inherited a team that had won just 12 total games in the eight previous seasons combined and led a rapid turnaround, guiding the Tritons to a 106-60 (.639) record, three consecutive NWAC playoff appearances after her first season, a 2018 North Region Championship, and a third-place finish at the NWAC Tournament.
 
In 2018, Edmonds set a program record with 42 wins (42-8), went 29-3 in league play, and Gilmore earned NWAC North Region Coach of the Year honors. Under her leadership, 19 players earned All-NWAC North Region honors and 3 players (4 selections) earned NFCA First-Team All-American honors. Each season under Gilmore, Edmonds improved its win percentage, climbing from .281 in her first year to .804 in her final season.
 
A WWU alumna, Gilmore earned her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a minor in Sports Psychology, followed by her Master of Science in Human Movement and Performance with a concentration in Exercise Physiology. Gilmore was awarded magna cum laude graduation honors and is published for her softball-related thesis research. While at Western she taught exercise physiology labs, coached both high school and select travel ball teams, worked as a private hitting instructor, and assisted as a strength and conditioning coach at WWU. After graduation she taught upper division kinesiology classes at Western before starting her collegiate coaching career at Edmonds College, where she also served as a full-time faculty member and the NWAC Women’s Commissioner.
 
Gilmore is graduate of Edmonds-Woodway High School and grew up playing softball in Edmonds, WA.
   

Year	School	Overall	Conference
2015	Edmonds	9-23	5-19
2016	Edmonds	20-19	6-14
2017	Edmonds	35-10	26-6
2018	Edmonds	42-8	29-3
2019	WWU	27-18	16-12
2020	WWU	10-12	5-5
2021	WWU	23-14	11-9
2022	WWU	29-24	15-9
2023	WWU	26-23	13-11
2024	WWU	52-12	19-5
2025	WWU	47-13	21-3
WWU	7 Seasons	214-116	100-54

 
Updated July 17, 2025