DAPHNE, Ala. - Former Daphne High fast-pitch ace Sarah Sigrest is now part of the Utah State Softball Staff under the Aggies new head coach Steve Johnson who arrived at USU after five years as an assistant coach at Auburn.

The Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2011 for Jacksonville University and the holder of the Dolphins’ most career wins in school history, Sigrest recently completed her first coaching stint as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech. She helped the Red Raiders to a solid 30-26 season in 2013 and a team ERA of 3.31. It was the Aggies’ fourth-straight 30 game season.

Still the reigning Alabama High School Athletic Association single-season leader in shutouts with 33, she went on to start four-years at JU where her 2011, 27-7, junior-season record led the Dolphins to their first-ever NCAA Regional appearance. Her 1.10 ERA was a Jacksonville single-season record, as well as ranking No. 8 in the NCAA that season.

At Daphne Sigrest was a five-letter starting pitcher for head coach L.T. Yelding. As a senior she led the Lady Trojans to the 2008 6A state championship game and the runner-up trophy. She took her bachelor’s degree at JU in exercise science in 2012.

She will be working with former three-year Stanford letterman Michelle Schroeder of Yorba Linda, Calif., who was an all-California Interscholastic Federation selection her senior season at Esperanza High School in 2006.

Johnson, Sigrest and Schroeder will be the first coaching staff for the Aggies to debut in the Mountain West Conference after switching to the MWC July 1.

In 2013, Johnson helped the Southeastern Conference AU Tigers go 30-23.

The 2014 edition of the Aggies will begin under their new management on the road at the St. George Tournament on Feb. 7-8. Utah State's first Mountain West contest will be at home on March 21 against Colorado State.