California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Cal U’s women’s softball team transformed itself from a top 20 team into one of the nation’s elite programs in the mid 1990s and playing a huge role in this rapid rise was Jen Wagner.

"Wags" played for Cal U from 1993 through 1996 and the Vulcans compiled a brilliant 165-34 (.829) cumulative record during this period with four PSAC-West division titles, four state championship game appearances, and four NCAA tourney appearances. Cal U also won the school’s first two of five NCAA regional titles (1994 and 1996) and the PSAC title in 1996. The Vulcans’ single-season records during the Wagner years were 34-9, 38-13, 48-7, and 45-5. Cal’s 1996 PSAC title was the first of five straight state titles that the Vulcans would eventually win through the 2000 season.

After leading the nation in saves as a freshman in 1993, Wagner became one of the most dangerous first baseman in NCAA history. She finished her remarkable career with a school and PSAC record 37 home runs and 170 RBI. At the time, Wagner’s career home run total was tops among all NCAA Division II players. Her career batting average was .412 and Wagner also produced 35 doubles, seven triples, 233 hits, 58 walks, and scored 149 runs. Wagner still owns six single-season school records and five career school records heading into the 2002 season. She hit a school and PSAC record 14 home runs as a sophomore and smacked 13 home runs in 1996.

Wagner earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American honors three straight seasons, including a first-team selection in 1996 when she was also named the PSAC-West Player of the Year. Cal’s first-ever three-time softball All-American, Wagner was named to three NCAA Regional all-tournament teams and the 1994 NCAA National Championship all-tourney team. She was also a three-time All-PSAC player. Also an outstanding student, Wagner was a first-team 1996 GTE Academic All-American selection. She played for head coach Linda Kalafatis in 1993 and under Rick Bertagnolli her final three collegiate seasons.

At the 1994 NCAA Regional at Bloomsburg, Wagner hit a clutch two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel Cal to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Lewis (IL). The Vulcans then twice defeated four-time defending regional champion Bloomsburg to achieve their first trip to the NCAA World Series.

Originally from Glasgow, Pa., Wagner is a 1992 graduate of Glendale High School, where she was a multi-sport star. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Cal U in 1996. After her spectacular playing career, Wagner was a full-time assistant softball coach at the University of Pittsburgh for three seasons and helped the Panthers begin their NCAA softball program. Jen is now in her second year as a special education teacher at Pace School in Churchill, Pa., where she works with children in the seventh and eighth grades. She is also in her second year as the head coach of the Avonworth High School girl’s softball team. The daughter of Mike and Suzie Wagner, Jen received her master’s degree in education from Pitt in 2000.