New Mexico State has officially found its next softball coach.
Interim coach Benet Higgs was named as the Aggies' permanent coach on Monday, May 11. She is now the program's 13th head coach in its history.
"From the moment I asked Coach Higgs to step into this role, her leadership, vision, and commitment to our student-athletes stood out," said NM State athletic director Joe Fields in a press release. "She exceeded every expectation and showed exactly what success for our softball program should look like. I’m proud to officially name Coach Higgs our permanent head softball coach and look forward to building a championship program together."
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Higgs was named interim coach on Oct. 29 after the Aggiesfired Kathy Rodolph. Higgs received a pay raise from $40,000 to $70,000 as part of her temporary elevation. It is unknown yet whether she has received a larger raise now that her interim tag has been removed.
While university leaders have continued to stay silent on why Rodolph was fired (or even publicly acknowledge her departure as a firing), Fields previously told the Las Cruces Sun-News that the reason is separate from Higgs.
"She had nothing to do with any other thing that was happening with the softball program, and she's done nothing but a phenomenal job since being asked to serve in this role," Fields told the Sun-News.
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Under Higgs, the Aggies finished 27-27. Their 16-11 Conference USA record during the regular season gave NM State a No. 5 seed in theconference tournament. The Aggies went 1-2 there, defeating Sam Houston in the first round before losing their next two games against Delaware and Louisiana Tech. NM State was picked by CUSA head coaches in its preseason poll to finish No. 8 in the conference and receive the last seed in the CUSA Tournament.
While a record at .500 doesn't seem special on the surface, Higgs is just the third head coach in Aggies softball history to win at least 25 games in her first season. She was also one of four first-year coaches in the nation to post a winning record in the regular season this year, as NM State was 26-25 entering the CUSA Tournament.
"I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to lead New Mexico State Softball, and I’m incredibly thankful to Joe Fields for the trust and belief in me to lead this program," Higgs said in a press release. "Over the last year, I’ve seen the resilience, toughness, and competitiveness of this group firsthand, and I’m excited to continue building a program centered on development, accountability, connection and competing for championships in Conference USA.
"Las Cruces and NMSU mean a lot to me. There’s a lot of pride in this place, and I’m excited for what’s ahead for Aggie Softball."
Higgs had been an assistant under Rodolph in the 2024 and 2025 seasons after assistant coaching tenures at Stony Brook, Bradley and Army.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News:Benet Higgs named permanent New Mexico State softball coach