A familiar face at Hillsdale College is back, as Kylie Gross rejoins the Chargers softball staff as Associate Head Coach for the 2027 season.

It's the second go-round for Kylie at Hillsdale after a successful first stint with the Chargers from 2020 to 2021. During her first tenure, she worked as an assistant under her father, Hillsdale College head coach Kyle Gross, helping the Chargers to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2021. That season, Hillsdale won 33 games, the most at the point by a Chargers team in 30 years, and won multiple NCAA Tournament games for the first time in program history. As a pitching coach for the Chargers, Kylie worked with Hillsdale's ace, Dana Weidinger, who finished the 2021 campaign with 22 wins and earned All-G-MAC and All-Region honors.

"I'm excited to have Kylie back at Hillsdale and working with the softball program," Hillsdale head coach Kyle Gross said. "In her first time with our program, she made a lasting impact and helped build the foundation for the current success our team has had.

"Now, she returns with even more coaching experience and passion that will enhance our squad and make our student-athletes better. As a father, it's also special to once again get a chance to share coaching duties with my daughter."

Kylie's successful two seasons with the Chargers helped her land an assistant coaching position at the NCAA DI level, and she spent two seasons coaching at Kent State under then-head coach Eric Oakley in the Mid-American Conference. Following that experience, Kylie was hired by IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, to help build the prestigious prep school's softball program from the ground up, and she's spent the last two springs coaching as an assistant with IMG's National Team. While in Florida working at IMG, Kylie also played professional softball in the PSL, spending an entire season with the Florida Breeze.

Gross got her start in softball coaching as a graduate assistant at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota in the 2018-19 season, following a three-and-a-half year Division I softball career at the University of Toledo from 2015 to 2018.

With the Rockets, Gross started 59 games across three seasons and filled a variety of roles for the Rockets, starting ably in the outfield, finishing her career with seven doubles and two home runs at the plate, and making an impact on the basepaths, stealing 10 bases during her time at Toledo.

She also was a standout in the classroom at Toledo, twice making the Academic All-Mid-American Conference team in her three full seasons as a Rocket, and graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toledo in December 2017, with a focus on marketing and supply chain management. During her year at Black Hills State, Gross also completed a Master's of Science in Strategic Leadership.

Hillsdale will play four exhibition contests this fall before kicking off the 2027 campaign this coming February, with a trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee for five contests, starting with a Feb. 5 contest against Union University. You can find the full 2027 softball schedule here.