LACEY, Wash. – Interim softball head coach Jim Peterson announced the hiring of three assistant coaches for the upcoming 2018 season.
 
"I'm excited to add a great group of assistant coaches to our SMU coaching staff," said Peterson. "Both Mark (Edmonston) and Danielle (L'Argent) have had head softball coaching experience; that will be a big benefit to our team going forward. Having coached Andrea (Hamada) in college, she is familiar with the brand and style of softball we will be coaching so that should be a smooth transition for her."
 
Danielle L'Argent enters her first year at SMU after spending the last two seasons at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.
 
L'Argent helped the Cavaliers transition from NAIA status to NCAA Division II. In their first season in the NCAA, the Cav's won 32 games and placed second in the GNAC regular season. Over her two seasons with Concordia, L'Argent helped multiple athlete reach the All-GNAC team, All-GNAC Academic Team, and Easton/NFCA Scholar Athletes. In addition, Meghan Luebbert was named GNAC player of the year in 2016, and named to the 2017 NFCA All-American team among other honors.
 
During the fall of 2016 L'Argent was named the Interim Head Coach where she was at the helm of the Cavalier Softball program.
 
Before her time at CU, L'Argent was an Assistant Varsity Coach at Clovis West High School in Fresno, CA for one season and coached for the Fresno Force for three seasons prior to that.
 
The Clovis, CA native was a three-year starter at Chadron State College where she was named to the All-Nebraska team in 2012.
 
After 10 years as head coach of Pierce College in Puyallup Washington Mark Edmonston is joining the Saints coaching staff for fall 2017. Coach Edmonston holds the record for most wins in Raider Athletics' history. He has recorded recording nearly 300 wins at the helm of the Raiders, passing former head coach and current Pierce College Chancellor, Dr. Michele Johnson (99 wins) early in the 2011 campaign.
 
Edmonston has won 83 percent of his league games in the last ten years. His team in 2011 won the fifth consecutive Western Division title, with a record of 28-2, tying the Raiders record for most league wins in a season. Edmonston's teams have reached the NWAC Championships in eight of ten years, including finishing in 5th place in 2011. Three times he has been named West Division Coach of the Year and has coached 46 players to 1st team West Division players including three players named as Western Division Most Valuable Players.
 
Prior to taking over the program in 2008, Edmonston served for five years as an assistant coach with the Raiders, as the team's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. In addition to his duties at Pierce, he has been very involved with coaching in the local club programs, most recently with the Washington Thunder.
 
The 2018 season will be Andrea Hamada's first year working as an assistant with the softball team.
 
Hamada played collegiately at Central Washington University, where she part of the most historic run in school history making it to the NCAA DII Super Regionals in 2016. That same year the Wildcats won the GNAC conference and GNAC tournament. Also, helped the Wildcats to the Regional Tournament in 2014. She was a former team captain and 4-year starter for Central Washington University.