Cindy Ball-Malone
American softball coach
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Cynthia Lynn Ball-Malone (née Ball; born December 14, 1979) is an American softball coach and former player who is the head coach at UCF and for the Utah Talons of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). She played college softball at the University of the Pacific.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | UCF |
| Conference | Big 12 |
| Record | 292–147–4 (.664) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | December 14, 1979 Simi Valley, California, U.S. |
| Education | Pacific |
| Playing career | |
| 1999−2002 | Pacific |
| Position | Pitcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| College Softball | |
| 2002−2006 | Pacific (asst.) |
| 2007 | Modesto Junior College |
| 2008−2010 | Cosumnes River College |
| 2011−2012 | Washington (asst.) |
| 2013−2014 | Cal State Northridge (asst.) |
| 2015−2018 | Boise State |
| 2019–Present | UCF |
| Professional softball | |
| 2026-present | Utah Talons |
| National team | |
| 2019-2022 | Team USA women's softball (asst.) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 391–263–4 (.597) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Awards | |
| |
Early life and education
Ball-Malone graduated from the University of the Pacific in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in sports sciences and earned her master's in education in 2006. She played softball, volleyball, and basketball in middle school and high school with famed Stanford and USA softball player, Jessica Mendoza.[1]
Playing career
Ball-Malone was named to the NFCA All-American team in 2001 and 2002. She was inducted into the Pacific Hall of Fame in 2014 and had her jersey No. 9 retired by the school.[2]
On February 10, 2023, Ball-Malone was the Pacific Tigers honoree in the 2023 West Coast Conference Hall of Honor. She is labeled as the best two-way player in program history.[3][4]
Coaching career
Boise State
On August 29, 2014, Ball-Malone was announced as the new head coach of the Boise State softball program.[5]
UCF
On June 27, 2018, Ball-Malone was announced as the new head coach of the UCF softball program.[6][7][8] The 2022 season, under Ball-Malone, UCF won a conference regular season and tournament title. Central Florida would also advance to their first ever NCAA Super Regional after downing Michigan in the Orlando Regional Final.[9][10] Following the successful 2022 season, Ball-Malone's contract was extended through 2027 on July 22 of 2022.[11][12] She has also been tasked with continuing the program's success in a new conference in 2024, after UCF agreed to a move to join the Big 12 Conference.[13]
Team USA
On March 4, 2019, Ball-Malone was selected to serve as an assistant coach for the USA Junior National Team.[14][15]
Utah Talons
On March 30, 2026, Ball-Malone was announced as head coach of the Utah Talons of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL).[16]
Personal life
She is married to Robert Malone III and the couple has four children.[17]
Head coaching record
College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise State Broncos (Mountain West Conference) (2015–2018) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Boise State | 12–42 | 4–20 | 9th | |||||
| 2016 | Boise State | 14–38 | 6–18 | 9th | |||||
| 2017 | Boise State | 33–20 | 12–12 | 6th | |||||
| 2018 | Boise State | 40–16 | 18–6 | 1st | |||||
| Boise State: | 99–116 (.460) | 40–56 (.417) | |||||||
| UCF Knights (American Athletic Conference) (2019–2023) | |||||||||
| 2019 | UCF | 34–21 | 11–10 | 5th | |||||
| 2020 | UCF | 21–5–1 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
| 2021 | UCF | 41–19–1 | 16–7–1 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2022 | UCF | 49–14 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2023 | UCF | 40–21 | 15–3 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| UCF Knights (Big 12 Conference) (2024–Present) | |||||||||
| 2024 | UCF | 31–25 | 12–15 | 5th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2025 | UCF | 35-24-1 | 12-12 | 7th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2026 | UCF | 41-18-1 | 14-9-1 | 4th | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| UCF: | 292–147–4 (.664) | 96–58–2 (.622) | |||||||
| Total: | 391–263–4 (.597) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Coaching tree
Coached under:
- Brian Kolze: Pacific (2002–2006)
- Heather Tarr: Washington (2011–2012)
- Tairia Flowers: Cal State Northridge (2013−2014)