bio through 2026 season
French is heading into her second year with San Diego State after joining the Aztecs ahead of the 2026 season.
In 2026, The Aztecs won eight of their first ten games and went 12-8 in the month of February, facing eventual NCAA Tournament teams in eight of those 20 games. The highlight of conference play was a 9-1 win over No. 19/24 Grand Canyon in five innings on April 19. San Diego State hit 44 home runs , the fifth-most in a season in program history while placing third in team history with a .470 slugging percentage. In addition, the squad hit .312, the second-best mark in program history. During the season, the offense scored in double figures on six occasions while finishing within a run of that mark three additional times. The top offensive performances were on March 4 at Long Beach State, when SDSU scored 13 runs in five innings, including seven in the first inning, and on March 8 against Princeton, when the Aztecs homered three times in a 14-6 home win in six innings.
San Diego State head softball coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz announced the hiring of Grace French as an assistant coach on August 11, 2025. French had previously worked as an assistant coach for the Bandits of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) and at Northwestern.
“We are very excited to welcome Grace French to our Aztec Softball family,” Coach Nuveman Deniz said on the new addition. “Grace had an outstanding playing career and recently completed a stint on staff at Northwestern University, and her experiences have prepared her to join our staff at SDSU. I had the chance to coach with Grace this summer with the AUSL Bandits, and was impressed by her technical acumen, communication skills and her experience working in the data and analytics side of the game. Her skill set is matched by her passion to be great in the coaching profession, and I have no doubt our student-athletes will thrive under her mentorship.”
With the Bandits, French assisted coach Nuveman Deniz, focusing on scouting reports and film sessions while coaching first base during games. The squad led the league with a +39 run differential and 152 runs scored, went 15-9 and ultimately finished in second place.
French spent the 2023-25 seasons at Northwestern as a graduate assistant coach, even earning the roles of pitching coach and director of camps from September through December 2024. French called pitches and managed pitching strategy as the pitching coach as well as designed bullpen sessions and recruited. Throughout her time with the Wildcats, she helped by throwing batting practice and catching bullpen sessions.
During her playing days, French played all five of her collegiate seasons for the Bradley Braves from 2019-23. She excelled on and off the diamond. In the classroom, she earned NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete honors in each season while being named to the honor roll four times. On the field, French was a two-time All-Missouri Valley second team and defensive team selection and garnered NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team accolades in 2022. The two-way player played everywhere except catcher and first base and finished tenth in the nation in her senior season with 18 doubles. French became the only player in Bradley history to lead the team in wins, complete games, innings pitched and home runs in two seasons while landing in the top ten of the program record book in career wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, starts, appearances, doubles, home runs, times hit by pitch and assists.
A native of Benicia, Calif., French is the sister of incoming freshman infielder Emma French. She graduated from Bradley in 2022 with her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology health science with summa cum laude honors. French achieved two master’s degrees in 2025: a degree in sports administration with sports analytics specialization from Northwestern and a degree in business administration from Bradley.