A former University of Houston softball assistant coach has returned as the program’s new head coach, tasked with reviving the Cougar program.
Chrissy Schoonmaker, who had spent the past four seasons as the head coach at George Washington, was named as the third coach in Houston program history per an announcement Tuesday morning from Houston athletics director Eddie Nuñez.
Back like she never left! 👏@CSchoony11 is the third head coach in Houston Softball history!#GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/FWVdEi2Ia0
— Houston Softball (@UHCougarSB) June 10, 2025
Schoonmaker’s hiring is pending approval from the UH System Board of Regents.
“I am excited to welcome Chrissy Schoonmaker back to Houston as our third head coach,” Nuñez said in a statement. “This was an exhaustive process where Coach Schoonmaker continued to rise to the top.
“She has a track record of success in building a program and mentoring young women into the best teammates and versions of themselves. I am confident our softball program is in good hands and that with the support from the tremendous softball community in the City of Houston, the Cougars will compete at the highest level.”
Schoonmaker compiled a 113-92 record in her four seasons at George Washington, and in her first season, led the Revolutionaries to the 2022 Atlantic 10 regular-season championship and was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.
She also worked as an assistant at several schools, including 2014, when Schoonmaker was an assistant at Houston when the Cougars won 33 games and reached the NCAA Regionals. Schoonmaker was also an assistant at Harvard, UConn, Texas Tech and South Carolina, her alma mater.
"I am honored to join the University of Houston as the next leader of the softball program,” Schoonmaker said in a statement. “I look forward to connecting with our remarkable student-athletes and developing them into champions both in the classroom and on the playing field.
“Houston is an incredible school with a rich tradition of competitive excellence. This university is special and offers opportunities to young people that are life changing. I look forward to making an impact on the lives of our student-athletes and building this program into a contender in both the Big 12 and on the national scene.”
In her four seasons at George Washington, Schoonmaker led the Revolutionaries to two 30-plus win seasons and is the only coach in program history to lead GW to three winning seasons. During her tenure at GW, the Revolutionaries collected 15 academic honors from College Sport Communicators as well as guiding 30 student-athletes to academic awards from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Schoonmaker is a native of Sebastian, Fla., and was a two-time All-State softball player at Sebastian River High School. She also lettered in basketball, soccer, volleyball and track.
After playing at South Carolina, Schoonmaker spent two seasons coaching at Dreher High School in Columbia, S.C., and eventually became the program’s co-head coach during the spring of 2010.
At Houston, Schoonmaker replaces Kristin Vesely, who spent nine seasons as the program’s head coach and had an overall 233-218-1 record. But after making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018-19, Houston has had just winning season since, and finished 22-25 and 4-18 in the Big 12 Conference in Vesely’s final season.
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