CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas softball head coach Jenny Parsons has announced her retirement from collegiate softball, having spent the last 30-plus years in coaching, including 11 as head coach at both Nicholls and Central Arkansas.
 
She ends her head coaching career with 305 wins, 136 of which came at Central Arkansas. Under her tutelage, the Bears claimed the ASUN West title in 2022, the ASUN regular season and tournament championships in 2023, and earned the program's first NCAA Regional win, defeating Long Island in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
 
Parsons coached 28 ASUN All-Conference athletes as head coach, including three-straight ASUN Defensive Players of the Year, a Pitcher of the Year, and Parsons herself was named the unanimous ASUN Coach of the Year and Extra Inning Softball's Mid-Major Head Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to a program-record 45 wins in 2023. She also coached the Bears to the only two wins over in-state foe Arkansas, sweeping the Hogs in 2023 with a 2-1 win in Fayetteville and a 4-0 shutout at Farris Field, in front of a record 2,475 fans.
 
"There are so many people to thank, I've loved my time here in Conway. Thank you to Dave Kuhn for bringing me to Conway. Thank you to Dr. Brad Teague and Matt Whiting for believing in me and supporting this program. To every assistant coach, support staff member, every player, fan and supporter, thank you for all the time and support you've given to me and this team. I have enjoyed every day here, and I believe that we built a great program here, we won a lot of games, and I think we did it the right way. I've loved this place for 14 years, but it's time for me to be closer to my family and enter the private sector, and I'm excited about the future, not only for me, but for this team as well." – Head coach Jenny Parsons
 
Before she became head coach at Central Arkansas, Parsons was an assistant for a decade, and has been a part of 440 wins with the Bears, more than half of the program's 749.
 
Parsons was also head coach at Nicholls for ten seasons, including eight as head coach. At the helm of the Colonels, Parsons guided the program to four postseason appearances, including a Southland Conference Tournament Championship appearance in 2008. She coached seven seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater East Carolina. With her pitching expertise, she helped a 2000 ECU pitching staff set school records for strikeouts (421) and wins (60). Under the tutelage of Parsons, ECU captured its first conference title and first NCAA Tournament bid in program history.

Parsons is a 2016 East Carolina University Hall of Fame inductee, where she was a two-sport student-athlete and four-year letterwinner from 1991-1994. At her time of graduation, Parsons held nine program records in the circle.
 
"Coach Parsons has been a mainstay in our softball program for the last 14 years, and her leadership as head coach since 2021 has brought about many great accomplishments and memories for the program. I know this decision has weighed on her heavily, but I also know she is excited about this next chapter and the opportunity to be closer to family. Because of that, I am excited for Jenny and very thankful for all that she has done for our program, department, and University. We will begin a search for the next leader our softball program immediately." – Director of Athletics Matt Whiting