Coming Full Circle: Hogue and Allister Lead Their Alma Maters Back to WCWS

Amy Hogue and Jessica Allister returned to their alma maters hoping to lead them back to the Women’s College World Series one day.

They had experienced the thrill of participating on the sport’s biggest stage twice, but their respective programs had never returned since they graduated.

That drought ended for both over the weekend.

Allister and Stanford punched their ticket to the WCWS on Saturday for the first time since 2004 after sweeping Duke on the road. On Sunday, Hogue and Utah rallied from a one-game deficit to beat San Diego State in the first Super Regional ever hosted by the Utes and reach the WCWS for the first time since 1994.

Having coached against each other the last six years in the Pac-12 Conference, Hogue and Allister will get to join each other in Oklahoma City to celebrate the milestone returns.

“None of this is about me,” Hogue said after Sunday’s win. “I know that’s a bit cliche to say, but the alumni – this is for everyone who helped build this place. From the University who decided to build this nice stadium that we can fill out and do this. I mean, there are so many pieces that went into place and the alumni that’s out there, they built this. I just got to write the lineup and be a part of the ride.”

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— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) May 28, 2023

Hogue is in her 16th season as the head coach at Utah and Allister is in her sixth at Stanford. Utah is in the WCWS for the sixth time in program history. Stanford is returning for the third time, meaning Allister has been a part of every trip to OKC with the Cardinal.

Although 10 years apart, Hogue and Allister have traveled similar career arcs. They both helped lead their college teams to the WCWS as players in their freshman and senior seasons.

Hogue played at Utah from 1991-94. The second baseman was Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, first team all-region and second team All-America in 1994. She was the captain of the 1994 team that recorded a school-record 51 wins.

Allister was a four-year starting catcher for Stanford from 2001-2004, earning all-conference honors three times. During her freshman season in 2001, she helped lead Stanford to a program-record 54 wins.

Allister holds the program record for most games played (266). She graduated among the top 10 in school history in numerous career categories, including fielding percentage (.994), home runs (32), RBI (162), slugging percentage (.473), doubles (47), hits (217), putouts (1103) and batting average (.283).

Hogue and Allister were assistant coaches at their alma maters before leaving to get head coaching experience elsewhere. But being able to return to where it all started was always a dream. It means more being the head coach of the place they graduated from.

Hogue and Allister each feel deep pride in leading the programs that nourished their playing careers. They know the hard work and investment required for success. They are surrounded by some of the same faces that cheered for them when they were students.

Having participated in the WCWS themselves, they desperately wanted to give their own players that same experience. That it’s happening for both in the same season is just another part of the magic of sports.

“They’ve been a special group all year, and advancing to Oklahoma City has been the goal all year and is something that we’ve kept on our minds through the ups and the downs,” Allister said. “The beautiful part about being a head coach is that you get to see young people realize their dreams.”