Loza Selected As Spark Assistant Coach For Summer Season
June 02, 2026 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Former Bulldog pitcher and current coordinator of player development Alyssa Loza will spend her summer on the coaching staff of the Oklahoma City Spark in the AUSL. Loza will remain on staff with the Bulldogs and return to Starkville in the fall.
This will be Loza's third summer at the professional level, having spent the last two as a batting practice pitcher for Athletes Unlimited's 2024 Championship season and 2025 All-Star Cup in Rosemont, Illinois. This will be her first coaching position at the professional level.
Loza is one of the nation's up-and-coming coaching talents. After three years as a student-athlete at MSU, she spent three seasons as a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs before transitioning to a fellow in player development. Following the 2024 season, she was promoted to a full–time role on the Mississippi State coaching staff as the coordinator of player development. This year, she helped the Bulldogs reach the Women's College World Series for the first time in program history.
Following her graduation, Loza's graduate assistantship gave her experience with team travel and equipment orders while serving as an extra arm for live batting practice and assisting with the pitching staff's fielding development. In 2022, Loza helped the Bulldog pitching staff turn in an impressive season with just three errors in 64 games. She assisted with pitch charting and opponent scouting as the Bulldogs reached their first Super Regional in program history that year.
She transitioned from graduate assistant to fellow in 2023, where she added managing player performance data to her responsibilities. In her full-time role over the last two years, she has continued managing biometric and performance data for the Bulldog softball team, while serving as the coaching staff's liaison with the Bulldogs' sports science department and the athlete engineering department on campus. Additionally, she helps with State's recruiting operations, tracking prospects' metrics and maintaining scouting records.
As a player, Loza became a dominant figure in State's bullpen making over 50 appearances in the circle. In her final collegiate season, she earned her nickname of "Loza the Closa", earning six saves, which ranked third in the nation. She was just the fourth Bulldog in program history to record six or more saves in a year. The month of May was especially strong for the fifth-year senior as she picked up five saves and a win in nine appearances with a 2.37 ERA. Loza led all Bulldog pitchers with 21 relief appearances and struck out 44 batters in 54.0 innings that year.
The OKC Spark are an expansion franchise this season in the AUSL after having previously played independently for a number of years. The Spark are led by head coach Amber Flores, and Loza will be joined by State's Peja Goold, who signed her rookie contract with the club today. The Spark will open the season on June 9 with a home matchup against the Texas Volts.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
This will be Loza's third summer at the professional level, having spent the last two as a batting practice pitcher for Athletes Unlimited's 2024 Championship season and 2025 All-Star Cup in Rosemont, Illinois. This will be her first coaching position at the professional level.
Loza is one of the nation's up-and-coming coaching talents. After three years as a student-athlete at MSU, she spent three seasons as a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs before transitioning to a fellow in player development. Following the 2024 season, she was promoted to a full–time role on the Mississippi State coaching staff as the coordinator of player development. This year, she helped the Bulldogs reach the Women's College World Series for the first time in program history.
Following her graduation, Loza's graduate assistantship gave her experience with team travel and equipment orders while serving as an extra arm for live batting practice and assisting with the pitching staff's fielding development. In 2022, Loza helped the Bulldog pitching staff turn in an impressive season with just three errors in 64 games. She assisted with pitch charting and opponent scouting as the Bulldogs reached their first Super Regional in program history that year.
She transitioned from graduate assistant to fellow in 2023, where she added managing player performance data to her responsibilities. In her full-time role over the last two years, she has continued managing biometric and performance data for the Bulldog softball team, while serving as the coaching staff's liaison with the Bulldogs' sports science department and the athlete engineering department on campus. Additionally, she helps with State's recruiting operations, tracking prospects' metrics and maintaining scouting records.
As a player, Loza became a dominant figure in State's bullpen making over 50 appearances in the circle. In her final collegiate season, she earned her nickname of "Loza the Closa", earning six saves, which ranked third in the nation. She was just the fourth Bulldog in program history to record six or more saves in a year. The month of May was especially strong for the fifth-year senior as she picked up five saves and a win in nine appearances with a 2.37 ERA. Loza led all Bulldog pitchers with 21 relief appearances and struck out 44 batters in 54.0 innings that year.
The OKC Spark are an expansion franchise this season in the AUSL after having previously played independently for a number of years. The Spark are led by head coach Amber Flores, and Loza will be joined by State's Peja Goold, who signed her rookie contract with the club today. The Spark will open the season on June 9 with a home matchup against the Texas Volts.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
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