Ex-UA softball stars O'Toole-Trejo, Harper, Palomino-Cardoza all assistants at D1 schools

It didn’t take Cal long to swoop up one of the rising pitching coaches in the country.

Last week, the Golden Bears announced that Danielle O’Toole-Trejo — a former Arizona standout — had joined the coaching staff.

O’Toole-Trejo, who retired from playing softball last summer, was at Cal State Fullerton the last three seasons and led the staff to a 1.87 team ERA and ranked 12th in the nation by allowing only 98 earned runs. She coached Myka Sutherlin (1.64 ERA, 272 strikeouts), who was the Big West pitcher of the year and an NFCA All-West Region honoree, along with Haley Rainey (1.53 ERA, 87 strikeouts).

“I am thrilled to announce Danielle O’Toole-Trejo as Cal softball’s new pitching leader,” Cal coach Chelsea Spencer said in a release. “As a player, she brings All-American, professional and Olympic experience to help push our athletes to the next level. As an established coach, her pitching staff was top 15 nationally in both ERA and shutouts last season. I have personally witnessed throughout her career the tenacity, competitiveness, and game IQ she brings to her teams. I’m ecstatic to have her on the same side as me in the Blue and Gold.”

O’Toole-Trejo also spent two years on San Diego’s staff.

In O’Toole-Trejo’s senior season in 2017, the UA’s ace was a first-team NFCA All-American, Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, a finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year, Pac-12 All-Conference, pitched two no-hitters against Washington and finished 30-5 with a league-best 1.21 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 219 innings.

The lefty pitched for Team Mexico in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19. She tore her labrum leading up to the games and took a cortisone shot, and changed her windup to compensate. Still, she threw 17 innings, giving up three earned runs, allowing 13 hits, striking out seven and walking two for a 1.23 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. Team Mexico finished in fourth place, losing in the bronze medal game to Canada, 3-2.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Last summer, she won the inaugural Athletes Unlimited AUX season after rehabbing all year. She finished with a 1.69 ERA over 28 innings, and batters only hit .206 against her.

Just last month, O’Toole-Trejo was looking for her next landing space. She said she wanted to coach at a Power 5 school, and now she is back in the Pac-12.

O’Toole-Trejo isn’t the only former Wildcat who signed on to coach at the D1 level: Jessie Harper is an assistant at Clemson, and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is an assistant at Oregon. Harper was a volunteer coach last season at Clemson, and Palomino-Cardoza was a volunteer for two seasons at Oregon.

During her playing career at UA, Palomino-Cardoza was a two-time NFCA first-team All-American, a two-time Pac-12 first-team and a two-time second-team selection. In five seasons, she hit .346., had a 717 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.162. Her fielding percentage was .990. In four years playing in center field, she didn’t commit an error. The other season she played at first base coming back from one of her two ACL injuries.

Harper was a three-time All-American at shortstop and first base as a Wildcat. She hit 92 career homers — tied for first as a Wildcat with Kati Mauga — and is tied for third in NCAA history. Harper was also a four-time All-Pac-12 and All-NFCA West Region member. She spent one season (2021) as a graduate assistant at Arizona.

Other former Wildcats among the DI coaching ranks include former UA All-American shortstop Kristie Fox, who is the head coach at UNLV, and former UA Women’s College World Series-winning pitcher and recent assistant coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney. Mowatt-McKinney and the UA parted ways after this past season, with her since taking on a similar role at Mississippi State.