After a 50-11 regular season and a Pac-12 conference crown to their name, expectations for the Oregon softball team were sky-high. The Ducks looked past the No. 14 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers and lost in game three of the Super Regional’s 4-3, abruptly ending their season and any aspirations of a College World Series national title.

With the 2013 season now in the rear view, Oregon head coach Mike White is faced with the daunting task of improving an already extremely talented team. White took a major step towards achieving that goal earlier this week.

White announced that Jimmy Kolaitis, a former recruiting director and assistant coach at the University of South Alabama, is leaving the Jaguars to become an assistant coach for the Ducks.

“I am excited to join a prestigious program like Oregon,” Kolaitis told GoDucks.com. “I believe what the institution has to offer is second to none. I want to thank everyone that has helped me get there, and I look forward to winning a national championship.”

While coaching at South Alabama, White became an integral part of taking a team made from scratch and turning it into a perennial Sun Belt Conference contender. With Kolaitis in the team’s dugout the Jaguars, who only started playing Division I softball in 2007, went on a 174-95-1 stretch that included the school’s first ever postseason berth in 2012.

Aside from employing a successful coach, the addition of Kolaitis will also be a huge factor in recruiting. Over his many years as a softball coach Kolaitis has developed relationships with many high schools all across the nation and is has a knack for swinging players to play for a specific school.

“He is an excellent recruiter,” White said. “Jimmy is the hidden jewel of the south and he will have an immediate impact on our program.”

Over his years as a recruiter at South Alabama, Kolaitis was forced to play the recruiting game with a disadvantage, relying on clever word usage and a welcoming mentality to convince prospects to join such a young program.