Coaching Hires that Click: Jenny Rohn at Harvard

There are many factors that go into coaching hires at all levels of athletics. Administrators vary in terms of what qualities they seek in their ideal candidate and it can range from experience, to presentation, to personality and to sport knowledge.

Ultimately, administrators choose who they believe to be the best fit and can deliver value to the athletic department and student-athletes.

On September 25, Extra Inning Softball took a closer look at the 31 head coaching hires made in advance of the 2024 season at the Division I level.

This is the third of a five-part series highlighting impactful coaching hires at the Division I level.

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School: Harvard University

Coach Hired: Jenny Rohn

Coaching Experience: Head coach Western Michigan, assistant coach Harvard, head coach Covenant, graduate assistant coach Louisiana Monroe, head coach Birmingham Groves High School

Playing Career: Western Michigan

Coaching Staff: Maddy Carpe, Myka Sutherlin, Amy Lwin

2023 Record: 29-17-1 overall, 16-5 Ivy League (Tied First)

What’s Back for the Crimson: The Crimson return a solid mix of hitting and pitching from the 2023 team that won the Ivy League Tournament and advanced to the Fayetteville Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Offensively, First Team All-Ivy selections Madi Mays and Finley Payne return. Mays hit .347 on the year and drove in 29 runs, while Payne hit .295 with a home run and 18 RBIs. Lauren Bobowski earned Second Team All-Ivy honors after posting a .326 batting average, scoring 32 runs and notching 27 steals, while Savannah Fitzpatrick was named Honorable Mention All-Ivy with a .341 batting average, 15 doubles and a .500 on base percentage. Riley Flynn and Anna Reed return in the circle for the Crimson. Flynn was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and also earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the Ivy League Tournament. She finished the season with an 8-2 record and a 3.15 earned run average to go along with six saves. Reed was named Honorable Mention All-Ivy and was 10-8 last season with a 2.93 ERA and two saves.

What’s To Like About the Hire: There is something about Harvard that keeps bringing Rohn back. The fact that she would leave her alma mater to return to Cambridge speaks volumes. Rohn has already established that she is an outstanding head coach by virtue of her success at Western Michigan, Covenant College and Birmingham Groves High School. At first glance, her year at Western Michigan might not wow you but dig deeper and it becomes clear she did a very good job at the helm of the Broncos. She won 17 games for a program that has averaged 18 wins a season over the last four full years and posted 11 MAC wins which is the most for a first-year head coach in school history. Insiders will tell you that the team was much improved and she laid the foundation for Western Michigan in the years ahead. Understanding the dynamic of Harvard University and the type of student-athlete required to be successful scholastically is vital in this position and given her previous stint with the Crimson, Rohn has a firm grasp on that aspect of the job.

Final Analysis: Replacing Harvard legend Jenny Allard presents its own set of challenges, but Rohn is a perfect fit to make a smooth transition. Harvard softball fans are accustomed to winning as the Crimson have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons (2020 and 2021 seasons were cancelled due to COVID), but Rohn will embrace those expectations as she puts her own stamp on the program. Her first two hires as assistant coaches will help in establishing her culture for the team as she brought in former Boston College catcher Maddy Carpe and 2023 Big West Pitcher of the Year Myka Sutherlin from Cal State Fullerton. Harvard will be one of the favorites to capture the Ivy League crown in 2024 and Rohn wouldn’t have it any other way.

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