Former All-Conference Player McKenzie Onyango Hired as UNT Pitching Coach
6/25/2025 11:15:00 AM | Softball
Onyango completes head coach Cody White’s staff, played for Mean Green in 2023-24
DENTON – Mean Green softball alumna McKenzie (Wagoner) Onyango has been hired as pitching coach at UNT, head coach Cody White announced on Wednesday. Last season, Onyango worked as the pitching coach at Dodge City Community College.
"We're excited to welcome McKenzie back to UNT as our new pitching coach," White said. "Her experience as a Mean Green player along with her immediate coaching success at Dodge City make her the perfect fit. She can help elevate our pitching staff, and having someone with her connection to North Texas will be huge for us."
Onyango, formerly McKenzie Wagoner, played two seasons for the Mean Green and was named Second Team All-Conference USA as a junior and American Conference All-Tournament Team as a senior. She holds top 10 career UNT marks in seven pitching categories including ERA (2.04), wins (25) and shutouts (7).
"I'm so excited to be back home with a program that means so much to me," Onyango said. "I know what it takes to succeed here as a player and now I get to help build that same confidence and belief as a coach. I appreciate Coach White providing me with this opportunity and I cannot wait to get started. Go Mean Green!"
In 2025 at Dodge City, Onyango worked under former Mean Green assistant Mike Viramontez and helped lead the team to a 14-win improvement from the previous season. Finishing with 27 wins, the Conquistadors marked its highest single season win total since 2005.
Onyango's bullpen, composed solely of freshmen, lowered its ERA by 63% from the previous season and more than doubled its strikeout total. Four Dodge City players earned recognition from the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) as honorable mention all-league selections.
This summer, Onyango is the head coach for the Smoky Mountain Rain of the Scenic City Collegiate League, which is based in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Onyango played four seasons of collegiate softball beginning with a two-year stint at Liberty (2021-22) before she capped her career at UNT (2023-24). She finished her four-year career with 36 wins, seven saves, a 2.09 ERA and 234 strikeouts over 365 1/3 innings pitched. Additionally, she collected 10 career hits as a batter including two home runs and nine RBI.
In her first two seasons, she helped Liberty win Atlantic Sun tournament and regular season titles to earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons. She also collected numerous academic awards during her career including three Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors, one CSC Academic All-District team selection and an American Athletic Conference All-Academic team distinction.
Onyango grew up in Newcastle, Okla., and attended Newcastle High School where she won the 2020 Oklahoma Gatorade Softball Player of the Year. She was also named one of five recipients of the Michele Smith Award which honors the best softball players in the state of Oklahoma.
Onyango earned her bachelor's degree and graduated cum laude from UNT in 2024 with a concentration in computer science, business and computer information systems and technical communication.
PLAYING CAREER
2021-22: Liberty
2023-24: UNT
COACHING CAREER
2024-25: Dodge City Community College (Dodge City, Kan.), Pitching Coach
2025: Smoky Mountain Rain (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Head Coach
2025-present: UNT, Pitching Coach
"We're excited to welcome McKenzie back to UNT as our new pitching coach," White said. "Her experience as a Mean Green player along with her immediate coaching success at Dodge City make her the perfect fit. She can help elevate our pitching staff, and having someone with her connection to North Texas will be huge for us."
Onyango, formerly McKenzie Wagoner, played two seasons for the Mean Green and was named Second Team All-Conference USA as a junior and American Conference All-Tournament Team as a senior. She holds top 10 career UNT marks in seven pitching categories including ERA (2.04), wins (25) and shutouts (7).
"I'm so excited to be back home with a program that means so much to me," Onyango said. "I know what it takes to succeed here as a player and now I get to help build that same confidence and belief as a coach. I appreciate Coach White providing me with this opportunity and I cannot wait to get started. Go Mean Green!"
In 2025 at Dodge City, Onyango worked under former Mean Green assistant Mike Viramontez and helped lead the team to a 14-win improvement from the previous season. Finishing with 27 wins, the Conquistadors marked its highest single season win total since 2005.
Onyango's bullpen, composed solely of freshmen, lowered its ERA by 63% from the previous season and more than doubled its strikeout total. Four Dodge City players earned recognition from the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) as honorable mention all-league selections.
This summer, Onyango is the head coach for the Smoky Mountain Rain of the Scenic City Collegiate League, which is based in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Onyango played four seasons of collegiate softball beginning with a two-year stint at Liberty (2021-22) before she capped her career at UNT (2023-24). She finished her four-year career with 36 wins, seven saves, a 2.09 ERA and 234 strikeouts over 365 1/3 innings pitched. Additionally, she collected 10 career hits as a batter including two home runs and nine RBI.
In her first two seasons, she helped Liberty win Atlantic Sun tournament and regular season titles to earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons. She also collected numerous academic awards during her career including three Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors, one CSC Academic All-District team selection and an American Athletic Conference All-Academic team distinction.
Onyango grew up in Newcastle, Okla., and attended Newcastle High School where she won the 2020 Oklahoma Gatorade Softball Player of the Year. She was also named one of five recipients of the Michele Smith Award which honors the best softball players in the state of Oklahoma.
Onyango earned her bachelor's degree and graduated cum laude from UNT in 2024 with a concentration in computer science, business and computer information systems and technical communication.
PLAYING CAREER
2021-22: Liberty
2023-24: UNT
COACHING CAREER
2024-25: Dodge City Community College (Dodge City, Kan.), Pitching Coach
2025: Smoky Mountain Rain (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Head Coach
2025-present: UNT, Pitching Coach
Players Mentioned
RHP
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