By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
South Jersey’s top public school softball program will have a new leader this spring.
Jill Ward announced she is stepping down as the head softball coach at Kingsway Regional High, Dragons Athletic Director June Cioffi confirmed to South Jersey Glory Days on Friday.
Ward took over as head coach before the 2020 season, which was canceled due to the covid pandemic. In her five full seasons at the helm since, she compiled an impressive 111-23 record and directed the Dragons to the 2021, 2023 and 2025 South Jersey Group 4 titles.
Last season, Kingsway went 24-3 and won the Tri-County Conference’s Royal Division title, the Rancocas Valley Elite Tournament, The South Jersey Classic and the sectional title before falling to Hunterdon Central in the state semifinals. The Dragons started the season with 20 straight wins before a late May defeat at Donovan Catholic.
“The girls adored her,” Cioffi said. “She knows her softball — she knows the game, the X’s and O’s, up and down. She’s a loss.”
Ward said she stepped away to focus primarily on her job as a mental health therapist and to spend more time watching her children play sports, according to Cioffi.
Her son, A.J., is a senior at Kingsway and is a Rowan College of South Jersey-Cumberland baseball commit, while her daughter, Ellie, plays collegiate softball at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.
Cioffi said she hasn’t yet conducted any interviews for the open position, but there has been interest.
“We do have some people interested,” she said. “Some people in the building and some out of the building as well. They’re going to walk into a good program. We have continually, year after year, great softball players and nice kids.”
Note: Varsity assistant and head field hockey coach Erin Bernat plans to remain on staff in that role. Coach Ward could not be reached for comment.
