LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Whitney Arion has been named the next head coach of the Bellarmine University softball team, Director of Athletics Scott Wiegandt announced Tuesday.

Arion becomes the seventh head coach in program history, following the departure of Caitlyn de la Haba who led the Knights for the last three seasons.

"We are extremely excited to welcome Whitney to Bellarmine University," Wiegandt said. "She is a student of the game and brings a wealth of knowledge from her playing days and previous coaching stops and will boost the energy in our softball program tremendously."

A first-time head coach, Arion comes to Bellarmine after spending last season at Eastern Kentucky University as the program's Director of Player Development/Video Analysis. In her role, and second stint at EKU, she helped lead the Colonels to a 38-16 record and an ASUN Gold Division Title. She helped develop a potent offense that featured three All-ASUN selections and an NFCA First-Team All-Region selection in Maddi Rutan.

"It's an honor to lead Bellarmine softball into its next chapter," Arion said. "I believe in building people through the game, and I'm excited to grow something special with this program, with passion, purpose and heart. I want to thank Scott for investing and believing in me. Go Knights!"

Prior to her return to EKU, Arion served as an assistant coach at Utah Valley for the 2021 season and as an assistant coach at Fresno State from 2022-24. She was the primary hitting coach for both programs.  While at Fresno State, three Bulldogs earned All-Mountain West nods with 13 being named Academic All-Mountain West, including Alesia Denby who was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and NFCA All-Pacific Region in 2023.

In her first stint on the EKU staff from 2016-20, Arion was an assistant coach who helped lay the foundation for some of the programs top offensive squads, culminating in a 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Championship. In 2020, Arion played a major role in EKU's historic 22-2 start before the season was ended early due to COVID-19. In 2018, Arion helped develop one of the most dominant offenses in the country as the Colonels averaged over 1.3 home runs per game and aided in the growth of 2018 OVC Player of the Year, three -time All-OVC selection and current assistant Bellarmine assistant coach Paige Murphy.

A standout player in her own right, the Delphi, Indiana native was a four-time All-Conference selection at the University of Louisville, highlighted by a first-team All-ACC selection as a senior in 2015. The shortstop helped lead the Cardinals to four NCAA Tournament appearances. Across four seasons as a starter, Arion turned in a .295 batting average with 36 doubles, four triples, 24 home runs, 131 RBI, 116 runs and eight stolen bases. She ranks second in Louisville program history with 444 assists in her career and owns the record for the most assists in a single season with 143 in 2015. Arion is also tied for ninth with her 226 career starts.

Following her time at UofL, Arion played two seasons with the Pennsylvania Rebellion of the National Pro Fastpitch League from 2015-16.

Arion holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Louisville (2015) and a master's degree in physical education from Eastern Kentucky (2018).

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