Redlands Softball

Staff

Jose Ortega | Head Coach

Jose Ortega became the Head Softball Coach for the Bulldogs in October 2018.

Prior to his arrival, Ortega served as the Associate Head Coach at nearby Riverside City College to complete his 10-year tenure as a Tiger. In addition to providing on-field instruction as a hitting and infield coach, he managed all aspects of offense, including coaching third base. He brings experience with fundraising, practice planning, recruiting, and scouting, as well as teaching Kinesiology courses.

With Ortega's involvement, RCC earned a spot in the playoffs each season and reached the Super Regionals seven out of 10 seasons. The Tigers also advanced to the State Championships on three occasions and captured two Orange Empire Conference titles.

During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Ortega worked as an assistant coach at UC Riverside, specifically as the hitting coach while helping to develop the infield and catchers. With his contributions, the Highlanders broke multiple offensive school records, including batting average, hits, runs scored and, most significantly, wins.

Ortega began his coaching career in professional baseball as an infield coach with the Cleveland Indians. After playing for the organization for two seasons, he moved into this new role, which in many ways redirected his career path.

As a student-athlete, he attended Riverside Community College before transferring to the University of San Diego, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. He later completed his master's in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University – Irvine. He helped lead the RCC baseball program to two State Championships and landed on the OEC First Team. At USD, Ortega contributed to the 2003 West Coast Conference Championship en route to First-Team All-Conference honors.

Outside of coaching, Ortega enjoys spending time with his wife Whitney and their two daughters.

Kaitlyn Hooper-Bell | Assistant Coach

Kaitlyn Hooper-Bell joins the University of Redlands as a new softball assistant coach in summer of 2022. Hooper-Bell returns to the school after graduating with a BA in Psychology in 2014. After Redlands she earned her MS in Kinesiology from California Baptist University in 2017.

Hooper-Bell’s coaching experience includes a stop as an assistant at El Camino College (2014-2021). She was promoted to the associate head coach role in 2018. At El Camino her duties included working with pitchers and catchers, recruiting, fundraising, and helping student-athletes successfully transfer to four-year institutions. Her non-coaching duties included teaching as a part-time faculty member in the health sciences and athletics department.

In August of 2021 Hooper-Bell was hired as the head softball coach for Victor Valley College. She also continued her teaching as a part-time faculty member teaching classes in self-defense and sport-specific training.

After a short stay at Victor Valley, Hooper-Bell was named the first assistant softball coach at Chaffey College in January of 2022. She focused on player development, organizing practices, and coordinating recruiting.

During her collegiate playing career as a Bulldog, Hooper-Bell played for two years during the 2013 and 2014 seasons after transferring from Santa Ana College.

During her final season in 2014, Hooper-Bell helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA postseason and were regional finalists and finished 31-15 overall and won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular season title. She finished that season with the third most innings pitched in a single-season with 180.2, third most wins with 21, and the fourth most starts with 25. For her success on the field, she was named first team All-SCIAC.