A Closer Look at All 31 Head Coaching Hires in Division I

Fall ball has started for most teams around the country as squads prepare for the upcoming 2024 season.

Coaching movement this late in the season will be minimal and with only two open head coaching vacancies (Coppin State and Maryland Eastern Shore), Extra Inning Softball takes a closer look at the 31 head coaching changes that occurred over the spring and summer months.

Army – Jen Consaul (Previous coach: Jen Consaul interim)
Jen Cousaul has been promoted to Army West Point’s head softball coach after serving as the interim head coach last season. In her first season leading the Black Knights, the team went 22-37 with a 10-8 record in the Patriot League. Army used a five-game win streak from March 24-29 and then a crucial three-game sweep of Colgate in the final series of the weekend to solidify the third overall seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Army beat #4 Bucknell and upset #2 Lehigh to advance to the Patriot League Championship vs. Boston. The wins were marked as the first postseason championship wins since 2017 and the first-time appearing in the championship game since 2016. She originally joined the Army West Point softball staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2019. Consaul arrived at West Point after spending three seasons at UNC Charlotte, where she oversaw all aspects of the pitching staff. Prior to her appointment at UNC Charlotte, Consaul served as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Canisius, for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Ball State – Helen Pena (Previous coach: Lacy Schurr)
Ball State University has selected Helen Peña, the associate head coach at Middle Tennessee State University, to lead its softball program. Peña, who is the 11th head coach in program history, was recently named the 2023 Mid-Major Assistant Coach of the Year by Extra Inning Softball after helping guide MTSU to a program record 42 wins in her first and only season in Murfreesboro. The effort included the Blue Raiders’ second-ever Conference USA tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Final. As Middle Tennessee State’s pitching coach, Peña helped her staff rank 35th nationally with a 2.44 ERA. In addition, the Blue Raiders ranked 35th nationally with 12 shutouts, limited opposing batters to a .219 average and struck out 247 total batters. Prior to joining the Blue Raiders staff, Peña spent five seasons at the University of Memphis. As a student-athlete, Peña helped lead Cal Poly to a pair of Big West Championships over her four-year career, including the program’s first-ever title in 2007. She finished the 2007 season with a 1.75 ERA to rank third among All-Big West pitchers. A two-time All-Big West honoree, Peña helped the Mustangs break into the top 25 for the first time in program history in 2009, with the squad ranking as high as 21st nationally.

Bryant – Bianka Bell (Previous coach: Nick French)
Bryant University announced the hiring of Bianka Bell as the next head softball coach. Bell comes to Bryant after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh for the past two seasons. The Panthers had two players earn All-ACC and All-Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, including first baseman Sarah Seamans who was one of nine players to earn Rawlings Gold Glove recognition. A native of Tampa, Florida, Bell was an assistant coach at Quinnipiac in 2021 and at Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach, Fla. for two seasons. A standout collegiate player, Bell was part of back-to-back Women’s College World Series teams at LSU in 2015 and 2016.  She started 253 games and was the fastest player to record 100 RBIs in LSU history. A four-time All-SEC selection, she earned all-region honors all four years and was named an NFCA All-American twice. Following her collegiate career, Bell played both internationally and professionally. Bell won a silver medal at the World Cup of Softball and won gold at the WBSC Women’s World Championship and Japan Cup.  Drafted by the Pennsylvania Rebellion in the National Pro Fastpitch draft in 2016, she would sign with the USSAA Pride where she won back-to-back regular season titles.

Cal State Bakersfield – Letty Olivarez (Previous coach: Dan Sperl)
Letty Olivarez has been tabbed as the next head coach of the Cal State Bakersfield softball team. Olivarez brings more than a decade of coaching experience and a lifetime of softball knowledge to Bakersfield looking to continue rebuilding the CSUB program. A native of California, Olivarez ventured East to play out her collegiate career in the Big Ten Conference at the University of Wisconsin. While with the Badgers, Olivarez earned All-Big Ten honors as a pitcher and set school records for strikeouts in a game. Following her collegiate career, which included invitations to participate with the Mexican and Peruvian National Teams, Olivarez set out on a coaching journey that eventually led her to Kern County this summer. Olivarez spent the past three seasons at San José State, serving the Spartans as an assistant coach. SJSU fought its way to the Mountain West Tournament Championship Game in 2023 with Olivarez guiding the Spartan pitchers every pitch of the way. In total, Olivarez spent five seasons at SJSU, also enjoying a two-year stint as an assistant coach with the Spartans in 2017 and 2018. In between those shifts, she served in the same position at Texas Tech. She helped lead the Red Raiders to their first NCAA Regional Appearance since 2012 and the best record in program history. Olivarez also brings one year of experience as a head coach to the `Runners. After joining the Pac-12‘s Arizona State in Fall of 2015, she served as a Co-Interim Head Coach of the Sun Devils alongside Robert Wagner. The duo guided ASU to the postseason while maintaining a Top 25 ranking all season long. Starting her coaching career in the Pac-12, Olivarez assisted at Stanford for three years before moving to CSUN in the Big West for the 2015 season.

Detroit Mercy – Dan Vitale (Previous coach: Mark Gillis)
The University of Detroit Mercy softball program announced the hiring of Dan Vitale as the new head coach. Vitale returns to the program after helping guide the Titans to the 2019 Horizon League Championship as a volunteer assistant coach. After his three seasons at Detroit Mercy (2016-19), Vitale served as the Head Coach for the Dakota High School where he complied a 93-18-1 record over five seasons leading the Cougars to three consecutive MAC (Macomb Area Conference) Red titles and three straight District crowns. He also helped Dakota claim two Regional titles along with a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) State quarterfinal appearance and runner-up finish in 2021. Additionally, Vitale is a two-time MAC Coach of the Year (2021, 2023) and Regional Coach of the Year (2021, 2022) and All-County Coach of the Year (2023). He also coached the 2022 High School All-Star team and under his guidance over the past three seasons, six Dakota student-athletes are playing softball at the Division I colligate level. Vitale is the President and Founder of the Michigan Batbusters Softball Organization since 2009, which has helped over 100 student-athletes play collegiate softball, and is the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Fast Pitch Elite Program Director. He also was an Assistant Coach at Macomb Community College helping the Monarchs to a conference and regional championship in 2015. Prior to his time at Chippewa and Dakota, Vitale served as General Manager and Lead Hitting Instructor for Total Sports Complex. He also founded, owned, and operated Vitale’s Perfect Game Training Facility for indoor baseball and softball for 12 years.

Drake – Lindsay Diehl (Previous coach: Rich Calvert)
Drake softball has found its next leader as Lindsay Diehl has been selected as the program’s next head coach. Diehl has been the head coach of junior college power Indian Hills Community College since 2018. While leading the Warriors, she amassed 186 wins and an impressive .762 winning percentage while guiding Indian Hills to four NJCAA Region 11 Championships, two NJCAA District titles, and a pair of NJCAA World Series appearances. Individually, Diehl garnered four NJCAA Region 11 Coach of the Year honors and two NJCAA District Coach of the Year awards. Some of Diehl’s most cherished accomplishments belong to the players she has coached. During her tenure at Indian Hills, 15 different Warriors have earned All-America status, including five First Team selections. She has also coached over 40 NJCAA All-Region 11 players and multiple offensive, defensive, and pitchers of the year in the region. Prior to Indian Hills, Diehl made coaching stops at Iowa Central Community College and Clarke High School in Osceola, Iowa. Diehl also excelled as a player starting at Clarke and continuing at Indian Hills from 2001-02. As a sophomore, she earned Third Team All-America and Academic All-America honors while hitting for a .407 average with 12 home runs. She also posted a 33-game hitting streak that year, the second-longest such streak in program history. After graduating from IHCC with her associate degree, Diehl moved on to Western Illinois University where she played for NFCA Hall of Fame coach Kathy Veroni and earned her bachelor’s degree. Diehl eventually earned her third academic degree, a Master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Irvine.

Harvard – Jenny Rohn (Previous coach: Jenny Allard)
Jenny Rohn, a former Crimson assistant coach, has been named Harvard softball head coach. She returns to Cambridge after serving as head coach at her alma mater, Western Michigan. Rohn took over a Broncos program she captained for two seasons and led Western Michigan to 17 victories overall and 11 against MAC opposition in 2023. The 17 wins were the most by a first-year WMU head coach since 1986, and the 11 conference victories represented the most ever by a Broncos head coach in their first season. Under Rohn’s leadership, pitcher Rissa Bajusz earned 2023 All-MAC Second-Team accolades, nine players were recognized as Academic All-MAC performers and five landed on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Rohn left for Kalamazoo, Michigan, after returning to Harvard for the 2022 campaign. Competing for a full season for the first time since 2019, Rohn helped eight Crimson players receive All-Ivy League honors en route to 22 victories – the program’s 14^th straight season with a .500-or-better record – and a berth in the Ivy League Playoff Series. Before guiding Harvard back to the diamond for the first time since the pandemic shuttered more than a season-and-a-half, Rohn served a one-year stint as the head coach at Covenant College. In her lone season at the helm, Rohn led the Scots to an 18-18 overall record and a 7-7 mark in conference play. Rohn coached the first NFCA All-Region First Team selection in program history, while producing a program-record six All-USA South West honorees. During her first full-time stint with the Crimson, covering the 2018-20 campaigns, Rohn helped the program to a pair of Ivy League titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2018, 2019). In those years, Harvard went 30-12 against Ivy League competition and produced 15 All-Ivy honorees. A native of Rochester Hills, Michigan, Rohn also served as a volunteer assistant at Harvard during the ’16 season, helping guide the Crimson to a 29-17 record, including a 16-4 mark in Ivy League play capped off by a North Division Championship.

Kent State – Jessica O’Donnell (Previous coach: Eric Oakley)
Kent State has named Jessica O’Donnell as the seventh head softball coach in program history. O’Donnell brings 12 years of coaching experience with her to Kent State, including the last five as head coach of the Saint Francis University Red Flash in Loretto, Pa. She has had tremendous success at Saint Francis, leading the Red Flash to three Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season and tournament titles. In five seasons, she led the Red Flash to two 40-plus win seasons and won over 78 percent of her conference games During her five seasons in Loretto, O’Donnell coached two NEC Pitchers of the Year and a pair of NEC Players of the Year. Sixteen student-athletes earned first-team all-conference honors, six earned all-rookie accolades and three were named first-team all-region. Eight program records were broken during her tenure, and she was the fastest to 100 career wins at Saint Francis and her 131 victories are second all-time. Success was not limited to the diamond, 31 student-athletes earned Scholar-Athlete honors from the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Prior to her time in Loretto, O’Donnell was the Associate Head Coach and Camp Director at Villanova. During her five years with the Wildcats, she was part of a staff that engineered a 17-win improvement and had a pair of 30-plus win seasons. She also had previous coaching stops at Francis Marion University and the Community College of Baltimore in Catonsville, Maryland (CCBC). The Pasadena, Md., native played collegiately at CCBC as well, earning all-conference, all-region and NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors before transferring to the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC).

Manhattan – Bridget Hurlman (Previous coach: Cat Clifford)
Manhattan College has named Bridget Hurlman as its next head softball coach. Hurlman arrives in Riverdale after serving as the head softball coach at the University of Rhode Island from 2016-21. While at URI, Hurlman coached two Atlantic 10 All-Conference selections, five All-Rookie picks, and two Academic All-Conference honorees. Her players have also earned 12 weekly conference honors. In 2019, Rhode Island increased its win total for the second straight season, winning 17 games – the most games in seven seasons. The team also set single-season program records in home runs (33), slugging percentage (.398), on-base percentage (.341), and team batting average (.260) was Rhody’s highest since 1997, and the fifth highest in program history that season. Before URI, Hurlman spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Manhattan College. She served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach under former head coach Tom Pardalis. While with the Jaspers, from 2009-15, Manhattan was 59-45 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play, finishing .500 or better in league play in five out of six seasons. In her final year on staff, Manhattan was 26-20 overall and 13-7 in MAAC games. With Hurlman serving as the team’s hitting coach, Manhattan led the MAAC in slugging percentage, doubles, home runs and walks, and was second in runs batted in and on-base percentage. She also worked with the team’s pitchers, helping the unit post a 3.50 earned run average in 2015, which ranked second in the MAAC. Hurlman mentored Amy Bright, who earned First Team All-MAAC honors. During her time at Manhattan, Hurlman coached six All-MAAC First Team selections and three All-MAAC Second Team honorees. She recruited 2015 MAAC Player of the Year Elena Bowman, as well as 2015 All-Rookie Team pitcher Briana Matazinsky, who was 9-7 with a 3.91 ERA while also batting .276 with six home runs.

Marshall – Morgan Zerkle (Previous coach: Megan Smith)
Morgan Zerkle has been selected as the new head softball coach at Marshall. Zerkle, who starred at Marshall from 2014-17 and went on to represent Team USA and play professionally, takes over as head coach after spending the last four seasons at Miami (Ohio). Success has followed Zerkle throughout her career in softball, which has included coaching, representing Team USA, playing professionally and her collegiate career at Marshall. While at Miami (Ohio), Zerkle helped lead the RedHawks to three consecutive MAC Championships and trips to the NCAA Tournament. Miami (Ohio) went a combined 137-55-1 in her four seasons in Oxford. She was also responsible for tutoring 24 All-MAC honorees and a pair of MAC Freshman of the Year winners. Prior to joining the Miami (Ohio) staff, Zerkle served as a graduate assistant at Indiana in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, reconnecting with former Marshall head coach Shonda Stanton, whom she played for while with the Thundering Herd. The Milton, W.Va., native returns home to Marshall where she became one of the Thundering Herd’s most decorated student-athletes in recent memory. A two-time finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Zerkle was also a four-time All-Conference USA selection and three-time NFCA All-Region honoree while being named as Marshall Female Athlete of the Year twice, as well.

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