Jamie Vasas and Jordan Bennett have joined the Linfield softball coaching staff, longtime Wildcats head coach Jackson Vaughan announced on Wednesday.

Vasas comes to Linfield with extensive club softball coaching experience in the Willamette Valley. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach with the McNary High School softball program.
 
Vasas began his softball coaching career in 2014, leading the 10U Oregon Panthers. That year, he guided his team to the 10A State Tournament before finishing third at the ASA National Championship in Stockton Calif. The following year, he led 12U NW Bullets, which placed third at the 12A State Tournament. In 2016, his Oregon Titans club achieved a runner-up state tournament finish.
 
In 2017, he helped launch new a club softball program called the NW Vandals, which has grown from two teams to 10 "A" level squads as of 2023.
 
He's also been an assistant baseball and football coach in the Salem/Keizer area.
 
Professionally, Vasas spent 26 years in the Salem Police Department, including serving as a patrol officer, school resource officer, robbery and homicide detective and SWAT team member.
 
Bennett will serve as a graduate assistant coach after spending the past four seasons in the "Catball" program as a pitcher and pinch runner. She appeared in 56 career games, going 7-1 as a pitcher and earned Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week honors as a sophomore. A member of three consecutive NWC championship and NCAA playoff teams, she also scored 18 times as a pinch runner.
 
The San Jose, California, native and Leland High School graduate completed her bachelor's degree in exercise science in May. She is working currently working on a master's degree at Linfield in sport data analytics.

The 2024 Linfield softball season begins March 1-3 with six games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.