Cristina Byrne is entering her third season as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator in 2022. She was promoted to associate head coach and recruiting coordinator of the UC San Diego softball program in August of 2020. Prior to, she served as an assistant coach during the 2019-20 season – her third stint as part of the Triton coaching staff.
In her first year upholding the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator position, Byrne guided the Tritons to success among their inaugural Division I season. UC San Diego posted an overall record of 16-19 (.457) and 12-12 (.500) in Big West play, good for a fourth-place finish in conference standings. Byrne helped the blue and gold to five Big West series wins and four overall, including eight victories in their last 11 games. During a season with limited contests, UC San Diego blasted 23 home runs and generated a .277 batting average as a team. Byrne saw five of her athletes garner All-Big West honors, as well as a Pitcher of the Week accolade from Robyn Wampler, two Field Player of the Week honors from Bobbi Aguirre and Clarissa Reynoso and two Freshman of the Week awards to Deena Pederson.
In 2020, Byrne helped guide UC San Diego to an overall record of 21-8 (.724) and a CCAA record of 12-8 (.600). Byrne closely worked with the hitters, leading the Tritons to a team batting average of .311, which sufficed for second in the CCAA. The blue and gold also led the conference in hits with 233 (sixth in the nation) and doubles with 47 (fifth in the nation). In addition, Byrne assisted with pitch calling as her hurlers navigated an ERA of 1.75, ranking second in the CCAA and 13th in the country. While the 2020 campaign was cut short, nine individuals finished the year on the CCAA top-10 leader board, and four scholar-athletes reached career milestones. Robyn Wampler continues to climb the career charts, bypassing former Tritons in multiple categories, including strikeouts (400/fourth all-time), victories (60/third all-time), complete games (50/fifth all-time), and saves (14/first all-time). Byrne also coached Sherriah Harrington (.400) and Isabel Lavrov (.349) to successful junior seasons, going 1-2 on the team in batting average.
Byrne joins the university with a great deal of prior experience having most recently served as a volunteer assistant at San Diego State University from 2016-18. Byrne was also the assistant coach at UC Davis from 2015-16 and was the head coach at both, CCAA opponent, San Francisco State University (2007-15) and Dominican University (2005-06).
In her first year at San Francisco State, Byrne guided the Gators to a record of 29-23 granting her the first head coach to accomplish a winning season upon arrival. Under Byrne’s impressive reign, her athletes earned multiple awards acknowledging not only athletics but academics: 13 All-CCAA, 4 All-West Region, 37 academic all-conference, and more.
UC San Diego welcomes Byrne back, after carrying out the role of an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Tritons during the 2003-05 and 2006-07 seasons. In 2007, she was part of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Coaching Staff of the Year at UCSD having helped lead the blue and gold to a record of 23-12 in conference play, as well as a NCAA Division II West Region appearance.
Byrne also led two tours overseas serving as the head coach of USA Athletes International in which the team traveled to both the Netherlands (2012) and Czech Republic (2013).
On top of coaching, Byrne was a member of the NCAA West Region Committee (2010-15) and handled responsibilities as the NCAA West Region Chair for a year from 2014-15.
Byrne played two years at San Diego State University (1997-99) before finishing her collegiate career with another two years at the University of San Diego (1999-01). Solely as an outfielder with the Toreros, Byrne committed just two errors and stole 18 bases in 20 attempts, placing her seventh of all time in a single season.
In 2000, she was named the team’s Offensive MVP and as a senior, Byrne captured the Torero award.
Byrne graduated from University of San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in biology. She also attended Grossmont College where she received her certification in orthopedic technology.
She has been involved with several community service duties including the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, Swing 4 Life Breast Cancer Research, the Wounded Warrior Project, Make-A-Wish, and the Special Olympics. Byrne and her wife, Sarah, have two beautiful twin daughters, Sydney and Emma.
