OKLAHOMA CITY – USA Softball, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today that Heather Tarr (Redmond, Wash./Head Coach Washington) has been selected as the Head Coach for the 2019 USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT).  Selected by members of the USA Softball Women’s National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC), Tarr will lead the team at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women’s World Cup August 11-17, 2019 in Irvine, Calif., in addition to other events on the 2019 schedule.

“It’s always an honor to represent your country and I’m thrilled to do so as Head Coach of the 2019 Junior Women’s National Team,” said Tarr.  “I look forward to working with USA Softball and the tremendous athletes in our country toward competing for a Gold Medal at the Junior World Championship.  I will ensure the athletes grow and develop into the best softball players they can be and will remain focused on this team reaching its fullest potential.”

In 2017, Tarr joined the USA Softball National Team coaching staff as an Assistant Coach for the Women’s National Team (WNT), helping guide the 2017 roster to a Gold Medal finish at the Pan American Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  Returning to the coaching staff in 2018, Tarr once again had a Gold Medal season with the WNT as the team captured back-to-back World Championship titles at the WBSC Women’s World Championship in Chiba, Japan.  In addition to their Gold Medal finish, Team USA also secured the first of four available berths to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, joining host country Japan who earned an automatic berth.

“We are excited to announce Heather Tarr as the Head Coach of our Junior Women’s National Team program for the 2019 season,” said USA Softball Executive Director, Craig Cress.  “Coach Tarr has been a valuable addition to our program since joining the National Team coaching staff in 2017. We look forward to watching her guide the Junior Women’s program and have no doubt that she will be 100% committed to the Gold Medal standards both on and off the field.”

As a player, Tarr was a four-year letter-winner at Washington.  A part of Washington’s first team to reach the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS), Tarr helped the Huskies capture a runner-up finish in 1996 and a third-place finish in 1997.  In her four years, Tarr earned three Pac-12 All-Academic merits and was named First-Team All-Pac-12 three times.

As a coach, Tarr was named the Head Coach of the Huskies in 2005 and has gone on to become the most winningest coach of any sport in Washington history.  Guiding the Huskies to a National Championship in 2009, the program’s first, Tarr has guided 24 All-Americans, including two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie.

For the latest information on all of the USA Softball National Teams visit www.USASoftball.com

About USA Softball

USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million.  USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch.  USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships.  The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best-trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation

Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland -- the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 202 National Federation and Associate Members in 143 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe, and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually.

The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's).

For more information, visit: www.wbsc.org