Staff Directory
- Title:
- Softball Assistant Coach
Faith Canfield is in her fifth season as an assistant coach for the University of Michigan softball program and, along with fellow assistant Amanda Chidester, oversees the Wolverines' hitting. A two-time NFCA All-American during her own Michigan career (2026-19), Canfield was elevated to assistant coach in 2023 after serving two years as U-M's volunteer coach.
Canfield helped lead the Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2024 and 2025. The Wolverines avenged a pair of regular-season sweeps to shut out both No. 4 Oregon (5-0) and No. 9 UCLA (2-0) in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and championship game, respectively, before falling to eventual NCAA champion Texas in the Austin Regional. Michigan batted .309 as a team in 2024 -- its highest combined batting average since 2019 (.315) and belted its most home runs (67) since registering 86 in 2016. Five of eight returning starters tallied career-high offensive numbers.
In 2024, Michigan boasted a 43-18 record behind a remarkable second-half turnaround, which featured wins in 33 of their final 42 games and a .297 team batting average and .506 slugging percentage over the stretch. U-M captured the Big Ten Tournament title after taking second in the conference's regular-season standings and led all teams with four All-Big Ten first team honorees. Michigan also returned to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the regional championship against No. 5-seeded and eventual WCWS participant Oklahoma State. Canfield was named part of the NFCA's 2024 Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Canfield returned to Ann Arbor after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Northwestern, where she earned a master's degree in sport administration. The Wildcats posted a 41-29 record with Canfield on staff and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2021.
A four-year starter and two-year team captain at Michigan (2016-19), Canfield was twice selected as a NFCA Third Team All-American at second base (2017, '18) and was a three-time NFCA All-Great Lakes Region and All-Big Ten first team honoree. She also garnered a pair of Big Ten All-Defensive Team nods over her final two seasons.
Canfield batted .390 or better in each of her last three seasons at Michigan, including a career-best .404 average in 2019, and graduated with a .379 career batting average with a .579 slugging percentage and .436 on-base percentage. She totaled 253 hits, 178 runs and 131 RBI with 28 home runs. Canfield committed just seven total errors over her career at second base and posted a stellar .987 career fielding percentage.
The Wolverines posted a 184-46-1 record during Canfield's tenure, captured three Big Ten regular-season titles (2016, '18, '19), added a Big Ten Tournament title in 2019 and reached the NCAA Women's College World Series in 2016.
