CONWAY, Ark. – Head softball coach Kayla Lucas has added Aaron Jackson to her staff, rounding out her first coaching staff as head coach of the Bears. Jackson joins Central Arkansas after a five-year stint at Iowa State.
 
During his time with the Cyclones, Jackson coached the outfield, a group that produced two All-Americans, three All-Region players, and six All-Big 12 players as the Cyclones won 138 games over five years. With Jackson on staff, Iowa State had their best finish ever in the Big 12, finishing in third place in 2025, winning 15 conference games.
 
Prior to Iowa State, Jackson was a head coach for over a decade, with stops at Carroll College and Eastern Oregon University. At Carroll, he started the program from scratch, and built it to a Cascade Conference Division Champion by year three. He coached 16 all-conference award winners and six All-Region players. At Eastern Oregon, he led a squad that had ten all-conference performers, and his team was renowned for their academic success, finishing in the top-25 GPAs in the NAIA, with two NAIA Academic All-Americans.
 
Jackson joins a Bears squad that has a dearth of quality returners, with ASUN Freshman of the Year and First Team All-ASUN outfielder Addie Graham, along with Third Team All-ASUN members Bailie Runner, Lilly Hood and Kaitlyn Graham.