Jenny Condon Celebrates Historic Milestones Saturday Afternoon
4/8/2025 12:32:00 PM | General, Softball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Jenny Condon was attending the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and in need of a payphone.
The call would be to San Luis Obispo and the Cal Poly Athletics Department – a city and place she’d never heard of weeks prior, let alone visited before interviewing for the university’s vacant softball head coaching position.
“I had no idea. I knew nothing. The internet search options just weren’t what they are now. I knew [Cal Poly] was in California,” Condon said with a smile. “The Midwesterner in me thought, ‘California … everyone lives at the beach.’ Well, [Cal Poly] was at the beach. We had lunch at the Cliffs (during the interview process), went to Pismo Beach, Morro Bay. Then we came to campus. I saw the facility and was like, ‘dang, this is incredible. This could be something special.’
“So I gave it a shot.”
Twenty-one seasons later, Condon – during the second game of Cal Poly’s Saturday, April 12 doubleheader at UC Riverside – will become the first female in Big West history to coach 1,000 games with a member program. She’ll also become just the third person in Big West history to coach 1,000 softball games as a conference member behind only Long Beach State’s Pete Manarino (1986-2006; 1,258 games) and Pacific’s Brian Kolze (1993-2013, 1,176 games).
In Big West history, Condon ranks sixth all-time with both 484 total victories and 208 conference wins.
Saturday marks the latest set of milestones in a coaching career that stretches back to 1995 when Condon was a first-year assistant at UNLV and five years removed from a Hall of Fame career at Iowa State where she departed as a four-time All-Big 8 selection, a 1989 NFCA All-America honoree and remains the program’s all-time leader with 24 triples and ranked third with a .351 batting average and 216 hits.
“I would say the profession chose me. I was playing with the U.S. National Team, but had a 9-to-5 job out of college,” said Condon, a native of Edina, Minn., who was working for a mutual fund company in downtown Minneapolis dealing with IRAs after graduating with a kinesiology degree. “I realized that wasn’t for me. One of our coaches with the national team, Carol Spanks, was moving to UNLV and needed an assistant. She asked if I wanted to do it. I’d only known her for a few weeks. I said, ‘yeah, I’ll give it a shot.’ I knew no one [in Las Vegas], but, I thought, ‘I get to do softball full time? This is fun.’ I’d had such a great experience with the national team, just being able to see the world and have all of these opportunities.”
Coaching success for Condon was immediate as that 1995 UNLV squad finished third at the Women’s College World Series (“I think it was comparable to catching the perfect wave or hitting the perfect golf shot – it’s fun, I’d like to do more of that. It just hooked me.”). She relocated to Northwestern for the 1997 season before beginning a two-year stint at Oregon State where she helped the 1999 Beavers squad to a then school-record 47 wins and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance alongside current Cal Poly associate head coach Gina Vecchione. Condon returned to UNLV in 2000 before one final run with Oregon State (2001-04).
After a decade as an assistant and associate head coach, however, Condon was ready for the next step.
A massive congratulations to Cal Poly head coach Jenny Condon, who on Saturday becomes just the third coach in Big West history to manage 1,000 games as a conference member!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/Ir9igguc3l
— Cal Poly Softball (@CalPolySoftball) April 8, 2025
I’d interviewed for a couple positions and thought I was ready, thought that I had strong opinions on a lot of things and that I wanted to give it a shot. I had the ambition, I’d interviewed a few places, but hadn’t received a position. I was a little disappointed, but heard from a friend that Cal Poly needed a head coach and she recommended I interview. I said, ‘no, I’m done. I’m tired of getting told no’. She said, ‘just go on the interview. Just go there and see it.’-- Jenny Condon, Cal Poly Head Coach
This time, the interview was a success and Condon, following up from Athens, accepted on a payphone outside the Olympic basketball venue.
During the last 21 years, Condon – a four-time Big West Coach of the Year honoree – has overseen some of the most significant moments and coached some of the most notable players in program history.
Her first game in charge of the Mustangs – a 4-2 home victory against Colorado State on Feb. 3, 2005 – kickstarted a 35-16 finish and secured the program’s first winning season in eight years. Two years later, a 3-2 home win against Pacific in game No. 154 and career victory 100, clinched Cal Poly’s first Big West title and first NCAA Division I Tournament berth.
Game No. 251 on May 9, 2009 locked up another Big West championship on the final day of the regular season. Two games later, Condon directed Cal Poly to the program’s first NCAA Division I Tournament victory with a 5-0 decision against Portland State (the Mustangs, ranked as high as No. 21 in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches poll during the spring, finished 41-12 that season after reaching the Stanford Regional final).
Following a third-place finish in 2010 and runner-up showing in 2014 (by one game), Condon directed Cal Poly back to the postseason in 2017 as the Mustangs reached the championship round of the inaugural National Invitational Softball Championship at Liberty. Cal Poly’s fourth-place finish in the 26-team field included game No. 668 for Condon as future Olympian Sierra Hyland tossed a perfect game against Weber State on the final day of her historic career.
Victory No. 200 came on the final day of the 2011 regular season at home to Pacific. Her 300th win occurred with a March 3, 2016 home decision against Saint Peter’s while win No. 400 came March 6, 2021 versus Saint Mary’s.
Game No. 905 on April 16, 2023 – a 7-0 shutout of Cal State Bakersfield – allowed Condon to surpass predecessor Lisa Boyer (1989-2004) as the program’s career wins leader with her 444th victory.
Earlier this season, Condon overtook legendary UC Santa Barbara women’s volleyball head coach Kathy Gregory for most games managed by a female head coach in Big West history with her 965th appearance.
In the Cal Poly Athletics Department’s history, only current baseball head coach Larry Lee (2003-present; 1,235 games) has overseen more matchups.
Just the eighth head coach in the team’s 51-year history, Condon has accounted for 41 percent of the program’s 1,194 all-time victories.
Player honors under Condon have been plenty. Hyland (2014-17), the Big West’s all-time strikeout leader, became the program’s first Olympian when representing the Mexico National Team at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Hyland ranks as one of two NFCA All-Americans coached by Condon alongside outfielder Lisa Modglin (2004-07). Cal Poly players have collected 17 total NFCA All-Region honors, 85 All-Big West selections, 95 Big West All-Academic awards and been named a Big West Player of the Year on 12 occasions.
With Cal Poly head coach Jenny Condon coaching her 1,000th game in charge of the Mustangs Saturday, April 12, here's just some of her career highlights!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/kiUI16ef6s
— Cal Poly Softball (@CalPolySoftball) April 8, 2025
The wins and the championships – those are amazing and incredible. I think the thing I’m most proud of though are the alumni – the kids that came into the program and the women who left and I think we have an important role in that 18-to-22-year-old’s life. To see them come back, come back with their kids and the way they talk about their experience here.-- Jenny Condon
I’m proud that we’ve had so many alumni that are proud that they were part of this program. We’ve had some struggles with a lot of kids but, they figured it out and that’s what I think I’m most proud of: the ones that struggled and figured it out and we helped them do that. And now you see them thriving in their adult lives and their profession and with their families. If we’re a little part of that then we did something right.
Concerning alumni, Cal Poly’s 2025 season opener delivered two more individual milestones. On Feb. 7, Condon coached against a former player for the first time with Ball State directed by Helen Peña, a standout lefthander for the program from 2007-10. That same game, Condon coached her first second-generation player with freshman Alannah Tuua – daughter of Shannon (née Brooks) Tuua, a starter for the Mustangs from 2003-07 – making her collegiate debut.
“The longer I’ve done it, the more I’ve thought about [my impact on people’s lives],” Condon said. “It really hit home when Alannah came into the program. That was a big trigger for me thinking back and seeing the impact I’ve had on the program and the lives of the student-athletes.
“We’ve got great kids and great families and they keep showing up and giving us everything they have. It’s all about the kids. The wins and losses are going to take care of themselves, but it’s about making sure they’re having a good experience.”
