Brittney Fernandez enters her third season as an assistant coach with the UC San Diego softball program in 2027. Since joining the Tritons’ staff, Fernandez has helped guide UC San Diego to two Big West Championship appearances, 11 All-Big West selections, one NFCA All-Region honoree and three single-season program offensive records.
The 2026 season saw Fernandez help lead the Tritons to another milestone year, as UC San Diego finished 23-28 overall and 12-15 in Big West play while advancing to the Big West Championship for the second time in program history. The Tritons rewrote the program record book offensively, setting single-season records with 273 RBIs, 41 home runs and a .467 slugging percentage. Maalia Cherry earned First Team All-Big West and NFCA Division I All-Region Third Team honors after setting the program’s single-season home run record and tying the RBI record. Five Tritons earned All-Big West recognition during the season, including one selection to the Big West All-Freshman Team.
In 2025, Fernandez helped guide UC San Diego through its first year of Division I postseason eligibility. The Tritons finished 16-32 overall and 13-14 in Big West play, earning a berth in the Big West Championship for the first time in the program’s Division I era. Six Tritons earned All-Big West recognition, including two First Team honorees, one Second Team selection, two honorable mention recipients and one All-Freshman Team selection. UC San Diego also had four College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selections.
Fernandez joined the Tritons after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at UC Riverside, where she helped guide the Highlanders to a 44-56 record with 10 student-athletes earning All-Big West honors. During her time in Riverside, Fernandez helped improve the team’s offensive production, including a season in which the Highlanders’ leading hitter increased her batting average from .343 to .386 while improving across all major statistical categories.
Prior to UC Riverside, Fernandez spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Division II powerhouse Sonoma State from 2020-22. During her time with the Seawolves, the program posted a 59-26 record, produced four NFCA All-Region honorees and 10 All-California Collegiate Athletic Association selections. In 2022, Fernandez helped guide Sonoma State to a 42-18 record, the program’s fourth 40-win season in history, a second consecutive CCAA postseason title and an 11th straight NCAA West Regional appearance.
A former standout player at UC Riverside, Fernandez competed under head coach Nikki Palmer and started 164 of her 175 career games, including every start during her final three seasons. The Chino, Calif., native finished her career with a .281 batting average, .367 on-base percentage and .379 slugging percentage. She earned Second Team All-Big West honors in 2019 after ranking among the conference leaders in batting average, on-base percentage, runs, hits, RBIs, triples and stolen bases. Her 35 runs scored in 2017 rank fourth on UC Riverside’s single-season record list.
