Union University

Union University Athletic Department
1050 Union University Drive Jackson, TN 38305

Division 2 Tennessee Southeast

Private Small Competitive team

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Coaches

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Sydney Sturner

Sydney Sturner was named head coach of the Union University softball program in May of 2023 following one season of service as interim. Sturner began at Union in 2022 and spent a season as an assistant coach. The 2025 season will be the third at the softball helm for Sturner, who has a career record of 52-49 (.515).

Sturner came to Union from Corvallis, Oregon where she was a high school head coach for three seasons.

During her 2023 season as interim, Sturner led Union to its second straight GSC Tournament. It was the fourth trip overall for Union softball, but the first time Union made back-to-back trips. In the 2023 season, Union posted two winning streaks of seven games, setting the longest winning streak for Union softball since moving to NCAA D2 in 2012-13. In 2022, as the assistant coach, Sturner was instrumental in helping Union softball return to the GSC Tournament for the first time since 2019.

Sturner was the head varsity softball coach at Crescent Valley High School from 2018-21. She also spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach for the 14U Northwest Bullets Fastpitch Organization. She has been giving private pitching lessons since 2013. In addition to her coaching duties at Crescent Valley, Sturner served as Student Behavior Support for three years.

Sturner holds the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) certification from the Nutritional Therapy Association.

Sturner is a 2016 graduate of Southern Oregon University with a bachelor of science degree in elementary education. While at Southern Oregon, she completed a successful softball career, being named the Southern Oregon University Softball Player of the Year in 2014. She holds the single-game strikeout record at University Field with 13. In her senior season of 2016, Sturner helped lead Southern Oregon to its first NAIA Region birth in 10 years.

Sturner is a 2012 graduate of Clovis West High School in Clovis, California. She is married to David Sturner and is the daughter of Debbie and David White. She and her husband have a dog, Maui.

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Jenna Ergle

Jenna Ergle was named the Union University softball assistant coach in August 2024. Ergle comes to Union after spending the 2023-24 season as the assistant coach for Chipola College.

In the one season at Chipola, Ergle helped coach eight players to Panhandle All-Conference honors. Before that, Ergle spent two summers interning with the Birmingham Thunderbolts Travel Ball Organization. She also coached the 2022 Premier Girls Fastpitch 18U National Championship team.

Ergle is a 2021 graduate of Boston College with a degree in Sociology. She posted career numbers of 11 home runs, 29 RBI, 38 walks, and a slugging percentage of .389. She then transferred to GSC member Mississippi College, earning a graduate degree in 2023. She played two seasons at Mississippi College from 2021-23. She was named NFCA All-Academic twice and GSC Player of the Week once. in 2023, she was named first-team All-GSC, GSC All-Academic, and was second on the team with 15 home runs in 2023.

Ergle graduated from Sumiton Christian School in 2017. She set the Alabama state record for RBI in a career (2013-17) with 536. She set the national RBI record for a four-year career (2014-17) with 460. She was a three-time AHSAA State Champion (2015, 2016, 2017), a four-time AHSAA Division Player of the Year, and was the Max Preps Freshman of the Year in 2014.

Ergle is the daughter of Avery and Ruby Ergle.