Portland State University Athletics

Barb Sherwood enters her third year as the head softball coach at Portland State University. She is 24-71 overall with the Vikings and 11-27 in Big Sky Conference play.
 
Sherwood was named Portland State Head Coach on Aug. 7, 2013. She became the fourth head coach in the program’s Division I history.
 
Portland State went 8-36 overall and 3-14 in Big Sky Conference play in Sherwood’s first year at the helm. Sherwood and the Vikings doubled their win total, both overall and conference, in her second season going 16-35 and 8-13 respectively.
 
Under Sherwood’s leadership there have been 15 All-Big Sky Conference selections, 15 Big Sky Spring All-Academic Team selections, 12 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Scholar-Athlete selections, and three Big Sky Player/Pitcher of the Week awards.
 
In 2015, seven Vikings earned All-Big Sky Conference honors led by first team selection Brittany Hendrickson. Hendrickson led the Vikings in all three ‘Triple Crown’ categories. She hit .393 with eight home runs and 45 runs batted in. She also set the Portland State single-season record for walks with 36. As a team, the Vikings walked a school record 160 times.
 
Portland State struggled in the circle during Sherwood’s first season on the Park Blocks. In year two, however, the Vikings’ staff cut its earned run average from the previous season by 2.38 points thanks to another year of Sherwood’s leadership and the addition of junior college transfer Kristen Crawford. Crawford led the Vikings in both wins and ERA.
 
Following the season, nine Vikings earned Big Sky Conference Spring All-Academic Team honors and five earned NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors.
 
In 2014, six Vikings earned All-Big Sky Conference honors led by Brittany Hendrickson and Aubrey Nitschelm’s second team selections. Becca Bliss, Crysta Conn, Alicia Fine, and Melissa Masters all earned honorable mention. Hendrickson led the Vikings with a .338 batting average and 28 runs batted in.
 
The Vikings excelled academically with nine players earning Big Sky Conference Spring All-Academic honors. Seven Vikings earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Scholar-Athlete honors following the season. 
 
Prior to Portland State, Sherwood spent six years on the Hokie coaching staff as the pitching coach. She also doubled as the lead recruiter for the Hokies and in the summer of 2009, she served as the head coach of the NPF's Akron Racers. As the field manager of the Racers, she led the team to a second-place finish in the regular season, while the entire staff earned NPF Coaching Staff of the Year honors. She was also an integral part in helping the Tech staff earn NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors in both 2012 and 2013.
 
In her first season at Tech, despite having only two healthy arms to work for a majority of the season, she helped lead the Hokies to 28 wins including eight shutouts. She also guided Kenzie Roark to 22 wins and helped lower her ERA almost a full point from the previous season. In 2010, Roark came on strong late and earned ACC All-Tournament honors. In 2011, her two main pitchers combined to win 31 games and tied the school record for saves in a season.
 
In 2012, Jasmin Harrell won 31 games with a career-low ERA and earned second-team all-region as well as state pitcher of the year honors. Last year, a trio of pitchers helped lead Tech to the NCAA Regional Finals and helped produce upset wins over nationally ranked UCLA, Arizona, Michigan and Kentucky during the season. She helped the Hokies to a 170-123 (.580) record over five seasons and led a pitching staff to a 3.00 ERA over the span. They went 38-21 in 2012.
 
Prior to Virginia Tech, Sherwood spent a season as the pitching and catching coach at Florida State University, but after long-time head coach Dr. JoAnne Graf retired following the season, she became a top candidate for Tech's open position on the staff. Before her season at FSU, the Pensacola, Fla., native spent two seasons with the University of Wisconsin as an assistant and serving as the pitching and catching coach.
 
Sherwood began her coaching career at Troy University in 1998 as a student assistant coach, but quickly moved to the graduate assistant level the following year. Upon receiving her Master's degree in education in 2000, the former four-year letterwinning catcher and team captain was named the top assistant at her alma mater. Sherwood also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Trojans, adding top players such as Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year Jocelyn McCallum and four-year Canadian National Team catcher Tamra Howren.
 
During the 2005 season, Sherwood's pitchers achieved a notable 1.45 ERA with two individuals notching 20 wins. That year, both pitchers were named all-conference performers as well. In 2006 Sherwood made the leap from Alabama to Wisconsin to join the Badgers' coaching staff as an assistant and the pitching and catching coach. While there, Wisconsin's pitching staff ERA was ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten for the 2007 season.
 
In her lone season at Florida State, she helped senior pitcher Tiffany McDonald earn All-ACC honors as she posted 18 wins and 244 strikeouts in leading FSU to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Sherwood earned a degree in physical education from Troy in 1999 and a Master's in education in 2000. She was a three-time team captain and helped lead the Trojans to the 1996 Mid-Continent Conference championship and a berth in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
 
A native of Pensacola, Fla., Sherwood graduated from Escambia High and was named Miss Escambia in 1994.

EDUCATION
Troy University, 2000 (M.S., Education)
Troy University, 1999 (B.S., Physical Education)

COACHING EXPERIENCE:
2013-Present – Portland State, Head Coach
2008-2013 – Virginia Tech, Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2007-2008 – Florida State, Assistant Coach
2005-2006 – Wisconsin, Assistant Coach
2001-2005 – Troy University, Assistant Coach/Director of Softball Camps
2000 –Troy University, Graduate Assistant
1999 – Troy University, Student Assistant

SHERWOOD BY THE NUMBERS
Big Sky Spring All-Academic: 15
NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete: 12
Home Victories: 10
All-Conference Honorable Mention: 9
Neutral Victories: 9
Road Victories: 5
All-Conference Second Team: 3
League Players of the Week: 2
League Pitchers of the Week: 1
All-Conference First Team: 1