Jessica Merchant, who was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2020 season, enters her fourth season at Stanford in 2021.
Merchant helped guide the 2020 Cardinal to a 22-4 overall record, completing just over one month of nonconference play before the remainder of the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Stanford received votes in the major polls throughout the year, finishing the season as the highest vote-getter outside of the top 25 in the Softball America poll and the second-highest vote-getter outside the top 25 in the NFCA poll. Working directly with the offense, Merchant saw the Cardinal win 12 games in its final at bat in 2020, including nine walk-off wins (four walk-off home runs). On the base paths, Stanford was 59-for-62 in stolen base attempts to place ninth in program history for a single season despite playing only 26 games. The stolen base numbers placed first in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation, while the Cardinal, which combined for a .325 team average, also paced the conference in triples (15) to rank second in the nation.
In her second season at Stanford, Merchant helped the 2019 Cardinal to a 33-20 overall record, including an 8-13 mark in the Pac-12 Conference, to reach its first NCAA Tournament since 2013. The Cardinal's 33 wins, two of which came over top-10 opponents, were the most in a season since 2013, and the winning record was the first for the Card since 2014. Merchant saw the Cardinal bat .276 as a team while registering the most triples in program history (25).
Merchant was an assistant for Stanford head coach Jessica Allister at Minnesota for seven seasons prior to coming to The Farm. The duo helped lead the Gophers to a 290-107 record, including a program-best 56-5 mark in 2017 where the Gophers earned the first No. 1 national ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll in program history.
“I worked with Coach Merchant for seven years at Minnesota and saw first hand the difference she makes in a program,” said Allister. “She does a great job with the infield and hitters, has a tremendous rapport with the student-athletes and is a talented recruiter. I knew I wanted her to continue to be a part of my staff.”
Minnesota claimed its first regular season Big Ten title since 1991 in 2017 and won three Big Ten Tournament championships in the last four seasons under Allister and Merchant.
Prior to her time at Minnesota, Merchant coached at Massachusetts (2007-2010) and at her alma mater, Michigan (2006).
Merchant was a two-time NFCA All-American at Michigan and guided the Wolverines to the 2005 NCAA Championship – the first in program history. She graduated in 2005 with a degree in sport management and communication. Merchant played professionally with the Connecticut Brackettes and the New England Riptide.
