Hall looking for belief as she rebuilds Illinois softball program – The News-Gazette

URBANA — Jenna Hall has covered a lot of ground in the last week and not just the 377 miles from Athens, Ohio, to what’s become her de-facto home at Eichelberger Field.

The new Illinois softball coach has met with all of the current players, either face-to-face or on the phone, hired Yolanda McRae as one of her three new assistant coaches and put together a plan of action for her second week on the job.

A second week that will have different challenges than the first.

The recruiting dead period centered around the Women’s College World Series ended this past Friday, with an eight-week contact period starting Saturday and travel ball tournaments to hit this week. The softball transfer portal also opened Monday.

“Drinking out of the firehose is probably the term most people would use,” Hall said. “I’m a very present person. I am where my feet are. With this portal situation and recruiting, I can’t rush it. I’ve got to find the right fit. My staff has to find the right fit of players that want to be here and our proud to be an Illini.”

Hall has found some of them without having to leave her office.

All that ground the new Illinois coach has covered figuratively in a week’s time has been matched by the Illini players she inherited doing the same literally. While a group Zoom the day Hall was hired was first contact, she’s since met one-on-one with the entire roster. Some have been phone calls. Others she’s met face-to-face, including some that traveled from Michigan or Texas or Kansas to get that one-on-one time with the new coach. Even if just for one hour.

“That, again, speaks to the people that they are and the humans that they are and how much they care about this program,” Hall said. “It’s been really impressive. Every conversation I’ve had has been impressive with their ability to articulate what they want, their vision and what they need from us as coaches.

“They believe in this place just as much as I do. They’re passionate about this place the same way. I think we’ve connected over that and bonded over that. I’ve learned that they’re hungry, they’re ready to work and they’re committed to our forward vision of what this program can do.”

That’s the connective thread Hall wants in the Illinois softball program. Her program. Hall’s roots go back to the earliest days of Illinois softball, instilling a certain sense of loyalty that’s lasted for more than two decades since she last played for the Illini in 2006 when she was a First Team All-American.

“She’s all-in where she is,” former Illinois softball coach Terri Sullivan said. “Loyalty is such an important thing. The person she is is going to lead so many great future Illini. She just has a presence about her and a confidence that leaders have. Yet, she has an ability to listen and is a fun person, too. That goes a long way. When you walk the walk, you can talk the talk.”

Hall’s approach in filling out her first coaching staff and finalizing her first roster is grounded in belief. It’s crucial anyone she works with or coaches shares a similar belief in what Illinois softball can become.

Belief Hall first experienced at this level when Sullivan recruited her out of Minooka. Hall had a few scholarship offers as a high school prospect but described herself as not being highly recruited.

“She believed in me from the very beginning, and that has been something that’s lasted in me the whole time,” Hall said of Sullivan. “Just a constant, constant belief. She’s been able to see in me things I never saw and were possible, so she’s always kind of had that impression on me. She always says nobody wants Illinois softball to win more than her, but I would like to throw my hat in the ring and say I think I can match that with her.”

Hall has sussed out some of that same belief during her early conversations with the team she inherited. She’s also looking for it in the new assistant coaches she hires. It will remain top of mind as she navigates the transfer portal and recruits the future of the program.

The future is the focus. Hall wasn’t hired because everything was going well. The job came open after Tyra Perry was fired after Illinois went 15-39 overall and 3-20 to finish 16th in the Big Ten this past spring. It was a third consecutive season below .500, with an NCAA regional appearance in 2022 the most recent for the program.

Hall is still evaluating what she has right now and what she needs in year one to be successful next spring. A coaching staff with player development at the Power-Four level is a must. Hall has that from her time as an assistant at Ohio State, and McRae had stints at Georgia, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia before landing at Arkansas.

Then it comes down to the players. Hall sees talent in the group she inherited. Securing more is her job, and she’s determined to look inward first.

“We’ve got so much talent in the state,” Hall said. “To constantly see it going to other places, to other Power-Four schools, we’re here to work and keep that tight. To get these players back into this orange and blue uniform and remind them what that pride is to be an Illini. Try to create a program that keeps its borders closed in a way that we can get the best talent here.”

The entire goal — to revitalize Illinois softball — is one Sullivan sees Hall more than capable of taking on as a challenge.

“There’s no doubt, obviously, her ability to coach,” Sullivan said. “That’s proven. If you study her past and records and numbers and development of players, she certainly will be able to develop players. She’s such an authentic human being, and that translated into her coaching and the success she’s had as well. Really proud of her. She goes about things the right way, and I know she’s going to continue to make everybody proud, as well.”