MEET THE STAFF

Jillian Callaway 

What started as a summer job in college running camps, Jill is now in her 20th year. She has always had a passion for softball and teaching. She is very grateful for her two coaching stints she had with her alma mater, the University of Maryland. But, they say "home is where the heart is", and Callaway couldn't be more proud to call 5 Star Athletics her home.

Jill graduated from the University of Maryland in 2003 with a B.S. in Communications. During her collegiate career as a Terrapin, Callaway played nearly every position on the field and amassed a .988 fielding percentage while batting .300 at the plate.

In her first year after graduation she worked as a softball instructor at Planet Fastpitch in Uxbridge, MA, New England's largest exclusive fastpitch softball facility. Callaway moved back to her roots to take the assistant coaching position at her alma mater in the Fall of 2004. She helped the Terrapins to another winning season while promoting character and poise, which won them the ACC Sportmanship Award for the 2005 Season. Callaway continued on as the pitching coach in the fall of 2005 under new Terrapin Coach Laura Watten. She also coach under Watten again in the 2013-2014 seasons. Callaway played an integral part in leading the Terps to it's most win's in the ACC in Maryland history 

Lauren Robinson 

Lauren "LROB" has been a part of the 5 Star family since she was 12 years old. In 2012, Lauren joined 5 Star Athletics on a full-time basis. Her en ergy, passion, and knowledge for the game make her a perfect fit for her role as Master Instructor. Studying under Callaway for the past decade, Robison has developed the skill set for teaching all aspects of the game. She has truly become one of the top instructors in the country. 



5 Star Athletics couldn't be more proud to have her as a part of the family. Robison is also a teacher at Calvert High School in Calvert County, MD. She graduated from James Madison University in 2011 with a Kinesiology degree. Lauren played 3rd base for the Dukes and was a 4-time JMU Athletic Director Scholar Athlete. 

Erin King 

 Erin has been coaching with 5 Star Athletics since 2007. She has an innate ability to connect with young women and motivate them to improve both their mental and physical skills that is further complimented by her professional training. King graduated from Dickinson College where she was the starting 3rd basemen. She was named to the All-Conference 3 times and in 2010 her team won the Centennial Conference Championship and reached the NCAA regional playoffs. 

Megan Maloney 

Megan Maloney: Megan graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2016. She was the starting left fielder for all four years. She was named All-PSAC my senior year. She helped her team her senior year to the 2016 PSAC playoffs for the first time since 2009. She graduated with a Health and Physical Education degree.

Currently Megan teaches at Reservoir high school, her alma mater, where she also helps coach the Varsity softball team. Megan has such a passion for coaching softball and loves giving back to the game.

Taylor Hall

Taylor graduated from UMBC in 2015, where she ended her career as UMBC Softball’s all-time leader in extra base hits. She finished her career ranked in the top-10 of 10 offensive categories at UMBC, and became the 10th player in program history to record 200 hits in her career.

While at UMBC, Taylor was named to the All-America East All-Conference first team, America East All-Rookie team, and ECAC Division I All-Star Second Team. In 2014, she finished the season in the top-50 in NCAA Division I Softball in toughest to strike out (21st), slugging percentage (30th), and runs batted in per game (48th). In 2012, Taylor was named the America East Conference Softball Rookie of the Year.

Taylor currently works as a Contracts and Grants Administrator at the University of Baltimore, and is pursuing her MBA degree at Frostburg State University.

Karlyn 'Bec' Buker

Karlyn "Bec" Buker graduated from the University of Tampa in 2014 with a Sports Management degree. While at Tampa, her team won their conference in 2012 and 2014. They also made NCAA Regional appearances in all of her four years there. Buker earned the minaret scholarship for UT which was awarded based on academics, leadership, and community service. She also served as the SAC representative for her team.

During her time at UT, she worked at the International Softball Federation, working directly under the Director of Competitions. She has also worked part-time as a tournament director. Buker has attended 5 Star camps since she was 8 and worked her way up the "ranks". Most recently, Buker accepted the position as Assistant Coach at LaSalle. Prior to LaSalle, she spent two seasons at Mt. St. Mary's University and one year at the College of New Jersey.

Claire Sturek

Claire was a starting pitcher at The Catholic University of America from 2016-2020. Her family loved to play ball, and her brother played baseball at George Mason University. Claire's hometown is Springfield, VA, and her former travel team was the Virginia Glory. When she is not playing softball, she likes to stay active by golfing and hiking. Claire is so excited to help develop a new generation of players and give back to the sport that she loved!

Jamie Abell

Jamie graduated from Gettysburg College in 2017, starting every game at shortstop for four years and holding the record for consecutive starts. She finished her career with over 200 runs and 200 hits, only the third in Centennial Conference history to accomplish this feat. She holds conference Rookie of the Year (2014) and Player of the Year (2016) honors, as well as one All-Conference Second-Team nod and three First-Team recognitions.

Jamie specializes in defensive techniques for infielders and catchers, slapping, and hitting. Jamie began her softball journey in kindergarten, playing T-ball with classmates, and began attending Jill’s 5 Star Athletics camps when she was 10 years old. She instructed prospective college athletes during her time at Gettysburg and is continuing to give back to the game by inspiring athletes of all ages to pursue their passion for softball.

Kaylee Cross

As a Southern MD native, Kaylee has been involved with 5-Star since she was a young girl. She was a star pitcher at Northern High School, winning 2 state championships as a Patriot. In 2015 Kaylee was named to the Calvert All-County team as a pitcher and in 2016 she was awarded the All-County Player of the Year.

Kaylee began her college career at Mount St. Mary's and had 17 starts as a freshman. She then decided to transfer to Towson University and was accepted as a walk-on to the team for her Junior and Senior years. Kaylee has been working for 5-Star since 2017 is offering pitching and defensive lessons in Southern MD.

Kelly Krizmanich

Kelly started her collegiate career as a pitcher for CCBC Catonsville. Her freshman year she posted a winning record of 15-2 for the season. After two years she transferred to UMBC to become a Retriever and as a Division 1 athlete was able to compete in the NCAA playoffs in Oklahoma.

She will be graduating this December with a Biology Degree. Kelly was a 5-Star Athlete growing up and has worked with the organization since her freshman year in college.

Katie Dustin

Katie is a current Softball Player at the University of Maryland in her Junior year. She is a starting catcher and a power hitter for the Terps.  While finishing out her years at Maryland, Katie has started coaching travel ball teams and wants to help develop the next generation of softball players.