Following the departure of Michael Merrilees, West Ranch High School has named Brianna Velasquez as the new head coach for the softball program, according to Ramon Zuniga, West Ranch’s assistant principal.
Velasquez, who’s a 28-year-old Chatsworth High graduate, takes over the West Ranch softball program after the Wildcats completed back-to-back playoff appearances, including a second-place finish in the 2026 Foothill League season.
“This is not my first head coach position, but it is for high school,” Velasquez said in an interview with The Signal. “We played [West Ranch] at my old high school, and they were competitive, loud and energetic … so being able to coach them next season, I’m so excited.”
Velasquez joins the Wildcats with championship pedigree having won a California Interscholastic Federation title with Chatworth High School as a player. After her high school career came to an end, Velasquez played collegiate softball for the University of New Mexico Highlands and joined the coaching staff after graduating as an assistant.
With championship and collegiate softball experience, Velasquez is looking to utilize those skills she’s learned with the West Ranch High School softball program for the upcoming season and beyond.
“I’m all live, laugh, love softball and I’m just really excited for this new opportunity and this new responsibility as a head coach at West Ranch,” she said. “I want to focus on the hard work, the determination, the demeanor and accountability. I want to make sure that the kids are trusted as young women, and that they have the strength to be great athletes.”
After her time with the University of New Mexico Highlands, Velasquez returned to Southern California and took on a role with the Harvard-Westlake softball coaching in which she’s spent the previous four years.
Velasquez said she’s looking forward to coaching West Ranch as she’s been keeping an eye on the program over the past few seasons and was in attendance for the 2025 Division 5 CIF-SS title game in which the Wildcats lost in a walk-off to St Bonaventure.
With the Wildcats returning eight all-Foothill League honors from the 2026 season, Velasquez is looking to challenge for the league crown and make a deep championship run with the Wildcats in pursuit of a CIF title in 2027.
“I’m just excited to play aggressive, fundamental and sound softball,” she said. “We’re going to build something special and I’m hopingeverybody will just buy in and support the kids this season.”
