FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton head softball coach Kelly Ford announced the promotion of Jorge Araujo to the role of first assistant coach and Claire Sua-Amundson as an assistant coach on Wednesday afternoon.
Araujo enters his third season as an assistant on the Cal State Fullerton softball staff where he will continue to be the recruiting coordinator and defensive specialist for the team. He will assist with all other aspects of the program including offensive, pitching and catching duties.
"I'm excited to take on this new role as I've established a true comfort level here at Fullerton," said Araujo. "I've already had the privilege of working alongside coach Ford, and we look toward attaining the same goals starting with a Big West Championship. With so much upside for this program, I look forward to a promising season for our student-athletes and support staff."
Over the summer, Araujo was a part of the softball Mexican National Team coaching staff, responsible for the development of the defense while leading drills and practices. The team competed in the Canadian Open Fast Pitch Invitational (July 15-21) in Surrey, B.C., picking up a victory over the Bloomington Lady Hearts, 7-2. Prior to the tournament in Canada, Team Mexico participated in the General Tire World Cup of Softball IX (July 7-13) in Irvine, Calif., finishing fifth among the seven-team field with victories over the Philippines, 7-0, and Venezuela, 1-0.
"As soon as this position became available, I knew the one person I wanted for this role, and it was coach Araujo," said Ford. "He is truly a defensive technician leading us to the best defensive fielding percentage in the Big West in 2013. Coach Araujo continues to bring new innovative fielding drills and strategies that are intangible for the growth of this program. He is an outstanding recruiter and his work ethic and professionalism is in comparison to none. I am honored to coach with him as this is an intricate piece to the bright future of Titan softball."
Last season, the Titans finished strong, winning seven of their final 10 games tallying a 33-21-1 overall record. Fullerton improved in a whopping 10 offensive categories including batting avg. (.300), runs (303), hits (431), doubles (70), home runs (57), RBIs (253), total bases (690), slugging pct. (.479), walks (170) and on-base pct. (.385). CSF carded its first .300 team average since the 2000 season.
Individually, Araujo oversaw the first Big West Player of the Year for the program since 2006 in Missy Taukeiaho, who also played under Araujo in both high school and travel ball before competing at the collegiate level.
"I'm really happy to have coach Araujo as one of our leaders because his determination to win can be truly contagious," said Taukeiaho. "He pushes us to compete at the highest level in our quest for a conference championship and his direction can only help us be better every single day."
In his first season in 2013, Araujo helped the Titans close out the season winning 13 of their final 15 games, while finishing third in the Big West with a 28-28 overall record. With his help assisting the defense, Fullerton committed only 48 errors, the least amount in that category in program history.
Sua-Amundson joins the Fullerton softball staff after completing her third season with the Stanford softball program, and her second as the associate head coach.
"I am very excited about this opportunity to join the softball staff and I look forward to assisting coach Ford in developing the student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom," said Sua-Amundson. "Cal State Fullerton has such a rich softball history and I am eager to help contribute to our program's success. Athletic Director Jim Donovan, coach Ford and the entire Titan family have been so welcoming throughout this process and I am thrilled to be a piece of the future success for Titans softball."
Last season, Sua-Amundson helped lead Stanford to a 39-21 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Pac-12 Conference (13-11). The Cardinal finished the season with a No. 21/22 final national ranking. Under her guidance, the Cardinal made their 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and had eight players named to the All-Pac-12 teams, including first team selections Jenna Rich and Kayla Bonstrom.
"Coach Sua-Amundson is truly a game changer for our program as we've now taken a giant step forward," said Ford. "Her championship experience will be an amazing asset for our student-athletes. Claire has an elite perspective on offense while her technical training and hitting instruction is invaluable. Her personality fits with our coaching staff and I am happy the transition worked for her and her family."
In 2012, Sua-Amundson helped coach the Cardinal to a 40-19 overall record and a No. 20/21 final ranking. Stanford advanced to the NCAA postseason and finished sixth in the Pac-12 with an 11-13 record. Sua-Amundson oversaw the 16th All-American in program history in Jenna Rich, who was joined on the NFCA All-West Region teams by a trio of Cardinals.
"I love working with professionals and Claire exhibits the true and ultimate professional attitude," stated Araujo. "We are lucky to have her join the Titan family as she will be a great addition to our staff."
In her first season with the Cardinal in 2011, Stanford posted a 42-17 overall record and a No. 10 final ranking. The Cardinal made a trip to the NCAA Tournament while advancing to the Alabama Super Regional. The Cardinal also finished fifth (10-11 Pac-10) in the conference. Under Sua-Amundson's guidance, Ashley Hansen was tabbed the USA Softball National Player of the Year and earned NFCA First Team All-America honors.
Sua-Amundson also spent five seasons as an assistant coach with Cal Poly. During her time as a Mustang, the program registered a 154-98 (.611) record and twice captured the Big West Conference title (2007 and 2009) to earn the automatic berth to the postseason in those years. Over her tenure at Cal Poly, Sua-Amundson coached 35 All-Big West award winners, three NCAA All-Region selections, one Big West Player of the Year and a first team NFCA All-American.
One of the top hitters in UCLA and Pac-10 Conference history, Sua-Amundson's name dots the Bruin record book as a student-athlete. Logging a career .325 batting average while starting all 240 games she appeared in at first base, Sua-Amundson enjoyed her top season as a Bruin in 2003, belting 17 homers and collecting 51 RBIs in earning NFCA All-America, NFCA All-Pacific Region and All-Pac-10 First Teams honors. The following season, she was selected to the all-region and All-Pac-10 Second Teams after batting .297 with 10 round-trippers.
In her freshman season as a Bruin, Sua-Amundson recorded 56 RBIs en route to being recognized on the 2001 All-Pac-10 Second Team. In her sophomore campaign in 2002, she tallied another 58 RBIs, notching another spot on the all-conference team and coveting both third team All-America and all-region honors to her resume.
As a Bruin, Sua-Amundson led UCLA to a pair of Women's College World Series (WCWS) titles in 2003 and 2004. Her fifth-inning solo home run against California in the 2004 championship game broke up a no-hitter and helped propel UCLA to a 3-1 victory. Sua-Amundson was named to the 2001 WCWS All-Tournament Team after posting a .333 batting average with six RBIs during competition.
UCLA made an appearance in the WCWS during each of Sua-Amundson's four seasons while completing her tenure ranked in the top-10 in Bruin history in homeruns (50), walks (96), RBIs (196), games played (240) and total bases (410). Sua-Amundson graduated from UCLA in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and served as an assistant coach during the same season.
She and her husband, Matt, reside in Tustin, Calif. The couple has a son, Mikey, born in July 2012.