South Dakota alumna Jessica Rogers, a 2019 graduate and one of the best power hitters in program history, returned to Vermillion and joined the Coyote coaching staff in the summer of 2022. Rogers was a four-year starter who earned first-team all-Summit honors in three consecutive seasons as a catcher and was an all-region honoree in 2018 when she hit .376 with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs. Rogers finished with the third-most home runs (34) and fifth-most RBIs (129) in program history.
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Rogers played her freshman season under coach Amy Klyse before competing the next three years for coach Robert Wagner. She made more than 200 starts at USD, boasts a .309 lifetime average and was part of one of the most successful Coyote teams as a senior in 2019. That squad won 33 games, came within one win of qualifying for the NCAA tournament, and was the first USD team to compete in the postseason at the Division I level.
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After graduating with a degree in criminal justice, Rogers served as a volunteer coach for the Nebraska Edge U16 team. She also offered private softball lessons. Rogers was a communications specialist for the Nebraska State Patrol for 1.5 years and served one year as a highway traffic operations center operator for the Nebraska Department of Transportation before returning to Vermillion.
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