CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- Southern Illinois University softball coach Kerri Blaylock announced Wednesday she will step away from coaching duties for health reasons, but will stay with the program.Â
"I appreciate Saluki Athletics, my coaching staff and my team for allowing me to take some time to work on my health and well being," Blaylock said. Â "I am supremely confident in Jen to step in for me. She has been my right hand for 14 years and has run the coaching side of the program for quite some time. Our staff as a whole with Jen, Kenzi (Bennett) and Maddy (Vermejan) will be able to continue the excellence of Saluki Softball in my absence."
Although she will not assist in a coaching capacity, Blaylock will continue to handle administrative duties for the program.
Blaylock took the reins of the program in 2000. Twenty-two years later, her career record stands at 751-413-1. On April 25, 2021, she passed baseball coach Itchy Jones for the most wins by a head coach - male or female - in school history.
Last December, in a vote of her peers, she was enshrined in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame.
