Sandra Owens - Softball Coach

Sandra Owens

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
sandras@utulsa.edu
Phone:
918.631.2741

Sandra Owens is in her seventh year as an assistant coach for the Tulsa softball program. Owen’s top responsibilities with the Golden Hurricane include working with the Hurricane offense, while also coordinating recruiting and the team’s travel plans.

Owens has been a part of 149 wins in her first six seasons, two NCAA Tournament appearances (2018, ’19), one American Athletic Conference Championship (2018) and nine wins against top-25 ranked teams. One of those top-25 wins came against the 20^th-ranked and No. 1-seed Wichita State in last year’s AAC Tournament semifinal game, 2-1, propelling Tulsa into the championship contest.

During her tenure, a total of 28 players have earned all-conference honors, including outfielder Julia Hollingsworth earning AAC Player of the Year honors in 2019. Last year, she oversaw a starting outfield had a combined .344 batting average with 77 RBI and 32 extra base hits, while turning in a .972 fielding percentage.

A Tulsa native, Owens joined the Tulsa coaching staff after five seasons (2013-17) as an assistant coach at Furman. While there, she was responsible for developing the Paladin hitters, infielders and catchers along with coordinating team travel.

Owens helped guide Furman to 151 victories during her tenure, including 30-win seasons in each of her final three campaigns. Smith was instrumental to the success of the Paladin offense as the team saw an increase in its batting average each of her first four seasons, culminating with a .301 mark in 2016. That 2016 squad set school records with 99 doubles and 59 home runs, including a program-record 15 homers by Candace Johnson.

A year later, Furman registered 31 wins and a share of the program’s first Southern Conference title in 22 years while the staff earned the league’s Coaching Staff of the Year award in 2017.

Under Owens’ tutelage, several Furman players received recognition for their play, including Lindsey Bert, who was named the 2017 SoCon Pitcher of the Year, and Casey Bigham, the league’s Freshman of the Year. Additionally, shortstop Brittany Houston joined Bigham and Bert as first-team all-conference performers.

Owens also mentored shortstop Sieara Bishop, who was named 2015 SoCon Player of the Year. In her tenure, a total of 20 Furman student-athletes garnered all-conference honors, while five players claimed a spot on the league’s all-freshman team.

Before that, Owens served as an assistant softball coach at Rogers [Ark.] High School in 2012. She also worked as a private hitting and infield instructor for two years and helped coach the Springdale Chicks U-15 team in the summer of 2012.

Owens enjoyed a successful playing career at Arkansas, where she set the program’s single-season RBI record with 50 as a senior in 2010. That season, Owens hit .326 with nine home runs en route to earning NFCA All-South Region accolades. Owens, who mostly played at third or first base, recorded a .995 fielding percentage and earned a spot on the SEC’s All-Defensive Team.

She completed her career ranked on Arkansas’ career top-10 lists in several categories, including walks (103/2^nd), home runs (29/3^rd), RBI (118/4^th), on-base percentage (.372/7^th), slugging percentage (.456/8^th), total bases (266/8^th) and putouts (663/9^th).

Owens, who was a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, graduated from Arkansas in 2010 with degrees in education and kinesiology.

Before her time in Fayetteville, Owens earned all-state honors as a standout at Catoosa (Okla.) High School, leading the Indians to district and conference championships her senior season.