Portland State graduate Jennie Shollenberger followed head coach Amy Hayes from her alma mater to Central Illinois and helped Bradley to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in her first season on The Hilltop in 2009. Shollenberger played for Hayes in her first season at Portland State and was part of the Vikings' coaching staff in 2007 and 2008.
In addition to her in game duties, Shollenberger coaches the outfielders and catchers in addition to overseeing equipment, team travel and camps.
Now in her sixth season on The Hilltop as an assistant coach, Shollenberger helped guide the Braves to their best league finish since 1995 (12-12 record and sixth-place finish) and school record 12 league wins in 2009. Bradley ended the regular season on a high note, winning the last five regular season games and kept the momentum going into the MVC Tournament where the Braves won four games in three days to claim the team's first-ever Valley title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Facing 15th-seed and 20th-ranked DePaul in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Bradley won its 10th consecutive game in the opening round of the Columbia, Mo., Regional with a 1-0 victory against the Blue Demons. The Braves used their late-season run to finish 26-28 overall.
During the 2011 season, Shollenberger helped mentor Brittany Fairbairn and Madeline Lynch-Crumrine who both earned First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors. Fairbairn also garnered Capital One Academic All-America honors in her final season on The Hilltop with her .351 batting average marking the highest season average for a BU individual since 2004.
The 2012 season, saw Lynch-Crumrine capture First-Team All-Region honors. Just the fourth player in program history to earn all-region honors, Lynch-Crumrine joined Bradley Hall of Fame member Beth Hawkins as the only players in program history to earn first-team all-conference honors as both a freshman and sophomore. Catcher Bailiegh Basham helped BU hold opponents to their lowest season steal total since 2008, while the Lake Land College transfer also set school season records for walks (36), hit by pitcher (12) and on base percentage (.480).
This past spring, the Braves finished the 2013 with the most regular-season victories (23) since 2007 (25) and will go down as one of the best offensive seasons in school history. Lynch-Crumrine went on to earn repeat All-Region honors to become the first two-time all-region selection in program history, while catcher Bailiegh Basham joined Lynch-Crumrine as a Second-Team All-MVC selection. Basham finished the year second in the MVC with a .381 batting average and broke her own school season on base percentage record.
A native of Spokane, Wash., Shollenberger played three years at North Dakota State before transferring to Portland State for the 2006 season. She started all 58 games at catcher for the Vikings as a senior, helping Portland State to its first-ever Pacific Coast Softball Conference title and NCAA Regional appearance during Hayes' first season as head coach.
Shollenberger served as a student assistant in 2007 and was elevated to assistant coach for the 2008 season, where she helped the Vikings to a second-place tie in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference in addition to posting wins against PAC-10 conference powers Washington, Oregon State and Oregon.
A 2007 graduate of Portland State, Shollenberger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in School Health. She recently completed work towards her master's degree in curriculum and instruction at Bradley.