UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball head coach Clarisa Crowell announced Friday the addition of Arika Roush to her staff as the Director of Operations.
"It is with great pleasure that I welcome Arika Roush to our Penn State family," said Crowell. "She has been an instrumental part of Kent State softball, and I know that she will have a positive impact on our program. Arika is a firm believer in comprehensive excellence, and she is very excited to work with our student-athletes and staff. I know that her coaching experience, in addition to her time spent with the Cleveland Indians, has well prepared her for our Director of Operations position. She will bring great enthusiasm and energy to our program, and we are very excited for her arrival to Happy Valley! We Are!"
Roush comes to Happy Valley from Kent State where she had spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach.
"First off, I want to thank Coach Crowell for this incredible opportunity to be a part of the Penn State softball program," said Roush. "To work with an elite staff and for such a respected university that has so much to offer is an opportunity of a lifetime. From the moment I stepped on campus there was a family atmosphere, and I knew this is a place and community that I wanted to be a part of. Coach Crowell's visions and goals she has in store for this program are so exciting and I am ready to get started. I'm looking forward to working with Coach Crowell, Coach Sanders and Coach Tylka to help build a championship tradition and an elite culture that leads our student-athletes to be successful both on and off the field. We Are!"
Roush helped guide five Kent State student-athletes to second team All-MAC (Mid-American Conference) honors during the 2021 season while another was named to the All-Defensive Team. She also helped coach Maria Cegledy for the last three seasons, and in her senior season she received her third CoSIDA Academic All-American award and the MAC Medal of Excellence.
During the 2019 season, Roush helped two players to major conference awards as Andrea Scali was named Mid-American Conference Pitcher and Freshman of the Year and Brenna Brownfield was Player of the Year. The Golden Flashes also earned a National Invitational Softball Championship selection that postseason.
In her role as an assistant coach, Roush was in charge of infield and outfield defense, base-running strategy and implementation, conditioning and agility drills, while assisting with offensive approach and strategy. In the office, she assisted with various compliance related tasks, scouting reports, team travel and alumni events. Roush also played an integral role in recruiting activities, camps, and clinics.
"Arika has been a huge part of our success over the past nine years, first as a player and then as a coach," said Kent State softball head coach Eric Oakley. "She's a great communicator and teacher, and an extraordinarily hard worker. She'll do great things as she takes this next step in her career."
Roush also worked as a ballpark operations specialist with the Cleveland Indians for the past three years. Her job responsibilities included preparing the stadium for games and events to ensure safety and day-to-day operations at Progressive Field; assisting in all activities associated with stakeholders; and overseeing and supervising the operations department and custodial staff.
Prior to returning to her collegiate alma mater, Roush coached high school softball at her high school alma mater, Kenton Ridge High School in Springfield, Ohio, in spring 2017 and at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in spring 2018.
Roush was a four-year softball letterwinner at Kent State from 2012-16. She helped the Golden Flashes to back-to-back MAC regular season titles in 2015 and 2016, as well as a MAC East Division championship in 2013. Roush, an outfielder, was named MAC Player of the Week two times as a senior in 2016. In the classroom, Roush was a three-time MAC Honor Roll member, was on the Dean's List each semester in 2013-16, and earned NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete honors in 2014-15.
She graduated with a bachelor's in integrated health studies with a minor in business management from Kent State in May 2016. Roush also added a master's in business administration (MBA) from Wright State in December 2018 and is currently working on a master's in sports administration from Kent State.
