USU Softball gears up with new coaching staff
After Steve Johnson, USU Softball’s head coach, announced he was moving on from the Aggies, Utah State hired an entirely new coaching staff.
“After 27 years coaching softball, with the last 10 here in Cache Valley, it is time to move on to the next chapter in my life,” Johnson said. “Coaching is a challenging profession that requires a lot of sacrifice from the family. For years, I have put my teams first and my family second. The time has come to put my wife and daughter first.”
The university announced Todd Judge would take Johnson’s place as the 10th head coach for the team.
Judge spent the past two seasons with the BYU coaching staff. He has been coaching softball for 15 years and baseball for 10. While at BYU, Judge helped the Cougars to a 77-27 overall record. He served as third base coach, recruiting coordinator, and strength and conditioning adviser. In addition, he worked with the catchers and oversaw hitting, defensive play and base running.
Before coaching at BYU, Judge spent time coaching travel, high school and junior college teams. He also co-founded and coached the Oro Valley Sun Cats Softball club. He has placed over 100 athletes in collegiate teams, owned numerous fitness facilities, and trained players in a variety of sports.
Judge attended Arizona State and earned a degree in exercise science. There, he met his wife, Chris, a four-year letter winner in gymnastics. They have two daughters, who both play softball.
After his hiring, Judge announced Ryan Ramsower as the associate head coach and Mia Trejo as both an assistant and pitching coach.
“I am excited to bring Ryan on as our associate head coach,” Judge said. “Ryan has tremendous experience in all phases of the game and has played at the highest level in the Pac-12. He is driven, hard-working and was born to coach.”
Ramsower spent the 2023 season coaching baseball at West Seattle High School and as the director of baseball operations for the Washington Baseball Academy. He served as an assistant baseball coach from 2021-22 at Lower Columbia College, where he worked specifically with infielders and the Red Devils’ offense.
This hiring isn’t the first time Ramsower and Judge have worked together. Ramsower worked as an assistant coach for Judge with the Oro Valley Sun Cats from 2018-19.
Ramsower graduated from Washington State in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in humanities. He played two seasons at WSU, appearing in 49 games and starting 28 times. Prior to his collegiate career, he played two seasons at Pima Community College.
Mia Trejo is starting her first season with the Aggies after serving as a graduate assistant coach at UNLV in 2023. During her time on staff, the Rebels led the Mountain West in walks drawn (211), while ranking second in fielding percentage (.971) and on-base percentage (.401). Trejo helped four Rebels earn all-conference honors.
She graduated from UNLV with a bachelor’s degree in human services after playing five seasons herself. She earned all-MW honors in all five years of her career, two all-west region distinctions and was a four-time MW Player of the Week honoree. Trejo holds the UNLV record with 174 career RBIs.
“I am very excited to bring Mia Trejo on as our assistant coach,” Judge said. “Mia had a remarkable career at UNLV, and I guarantee she will transfer that into a great coaching career. Mia will work with all phases of team defense and will have a large role with our hitters.”
For more information on the Utah State softball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUSoftball, on Facebook at USUSoftball and on Instagram at ususoftball.