Sara Pelegreen is entering her third season as head coach of the West Liberty University softball program, coming off a stellar 2025 campaign that saw the Hilltoppers win 31 games, finish second in the MEC North Division, and advance to the Mountain East Conference Championship game.
Under Pelegreen’s leadership, several Hilltoppers earned postseason recognition. Outfielder Sydney Johnson was named to the NFCA Division II All-Atlantic Region Second Team, while also earning First Team All-MEC honors and a spot on the MEC All-Tournament Team. Pitcher Kadence Pettit joined Johnson on the All-MEC First Team, and outfielder Kayla Mancuso earned Second Team All-MEC honors. Pettit, along with Ashlyn Tapman and Sara Simon, were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
In just two seasons at the helm, Pelegreen has guided the Hilltoppers to 51 total wins, including 29 victories in MEC play.
Prior to joining West Liberty, Pelegreen spent four seasons as head coach at Wheeling University. In her first two years with the Cardinals, she led the program to back-to-back 20-win seasons and its first-ever appearance in the MEC Tournament Championship Game in 2018. That postseason, Wheeling upset West Virginia Wesleyan twice before falling in a dramatic 1-0, nine-inning battle to West Virginia State.
Following her first stint at Wheeling, Pelegreen joined the staff at NCAA Division I Robert Morris University, where she served as assistant coach from 2020–22. During her time with the Colonials, RMU posted a 64-51 overall record, made two Horizon League Tournament appearances, and reached the 2022 championship game. That season, the Colonials finished 31-21, recording their first 30-win campaign in nearly a decade.
Pelegreen returned to Wheeling as head coach for the 2023 season, laying a strong foundation for the future. Her team opened MEC play with back-to-back doubleheader sweeps over Alderson Broaddus and West Virginia State, while also excelling academically with a program-record 13 players named NFCA Scholar All-Americans.
Over the course of her coaching career, Pelegreen has developed 11 All-MEC performers, including six First Team selections, and played a key role in the development of standout pitcher Mallory Chapman, a four-time All-MEC honoree and D2CCA First Team All-Region selection in 2018.
Pelegreen began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wheeling in 2015 and 2016, helping guide the Cardinals to a 55-40 record, including a 35-20 mark in 2016—the program’s best season since its reinstatement in 2002. Her 2016 pitching staff led the MEC with 324 strikeouts and recorded a program-best eight shutouts.
A native of Hopedale, Ohio, Pelegreen was a standout pitcher at West Virginia State University (2009–12), where she earned two All-WVIAC selections and was named Second Team All-Atlantic Region in 2012. She compiled a career record of 54-27 with a 2.03 ERA and still holds the Yellow Jackets' career record for saves (6). She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism from WVSU.
