FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton head softball coach Kelly Ford announced the addition of Cya Neal as the Director of Operations and Ariel Tsuchiyama as an Administrative Assistant to the program on Monday.
Neal joins the Titans' support staff after spending one season as an assistant coach for the So Cal Athletics 14U softball travel ball team. Neal was responsible for planning, organizing and conducting practice sessions.
"This is a huge score for our program as Cya has coaching in her blood," said Ford. "I see her bringing the championship expectation to the everyday planning of travel, camps, video analysis and coordination of managers and undergraduate assistants. I was fortunate enough to have coached Cya as a student-athlete at Mt. SAC and I know that she is a special, driven young lady with a winning attitude. I am very proud of her accomplishments thus far and I look forward to her becoming a part of the Titan family."
In 2013, Neal also acted as an assistant coach for the Firecrackers 12U travel ball team while also spending time as a clinical coordinator and instructor for the 10U softball travel ball clinics.
Neal is a former collegiate player, spending two seasons at Cal State University, Long Beach from 2012-14. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies. In addition, Neal also earned an Associate Degree with a specialization in kinesiology from Mt. San Antonio Community College in 2011.
As a student-athlete, Neal completed her final two seasons of eligibility at CSULB and during her tenure as a 49er infielder she was selected on the All-Big West First Team and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-West Region Second Team. Prior to CSULB, Neal competed for two seasons at Mt. SAC (2009-11) under Ford including the selection as an NFCA First Team All-American as a second baseman in 2011.
Tsuchiyama joins the Fullerton support staff after completing her tenure as a four-year starter behind the dish under Ford. She will assume the responsibilities of assisting in organizing day-to-day operations while attending staff meetings and keeping up with technological advances to better benefit the program.
"Ariel is a one in-a-million addition to our staff," added Ford. "As a student-athlete here at Fullerton, she was our leader both on and off the field. Her maturity and knowledge of the game will bring valuable player insight into our office. Ariel will be behind the scenes aiding us in our vision to take Titan softball to a higher level. We are fortunate to have her make this transition from student-athlete to staff."
After being selected on the All-Big West Second Team twice over her career (2011, 2013), Tsuchiyama found herself as a member of the first team in 2014 after her last campaign as a Titan. Batting from the left side, she amassed a whopping 204 starts in 206 games over her career as a catcher, highlighting her tenure with a top-10 fielding percentage (.990) among the Fullerton record books.
While attending Fullerton from 2010-14, Tsuchiyama earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism with a minor in kinesiology. She was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and also briefly worked with "Titan Sports Recap," an on-campus television show dedicated to covering Cal State Fullerton athletics.
Over the summer, Tsuchiyama traveled to Italy to participate in the 2014 European Cup. Competing on the Italian Forli Softball Club, the seven-day event was held in the cities of Porpetto and Ronchi dei Legionari from Sept. 1-6. Tsuchiyama led Forli to a 7-2 record and a third place finish in the tournament. In seven games, she registered a .500 batting average (10-for-20), scoring five runs while collecting four RBIs and three triples.