University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Earn Regional Coaching Staff Of The Year
6/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
University of Minnesota head softball coach Jessica Allister and her staff were named the NFCA Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year, the organization announced Monday.
Allister has been at the helm of the program for seven seasons now. Jessica Merchant is the associate head coach and is also in her seventh season. Piper Ritter has now led the pitching staff at Minnesota for ten seasons. The staff is eligible for the NFCA's National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced on June 28.
The Gophers finished 2017 with the best winning percentage amongst Division I programs (.918) with a 56-5 record. They won their first Big Ten regular season title since 1991 and their third Big Ten Tournament championship in three four years.
Minnesota also broke a program record for longest win streak to start a season with 19 and longest win streak ever with 26 straight. Prior to this season the Gophers were never ranked in the top-10 in either major polls. This season they reached No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll and No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
The home crowd atmosphere at Jane Sage Cowles has continued to grow under Allister and her staff. This season the Gophers broke a new season attendance record with 14,346 fans. On April 23, 2017 they broke a Jane Sage Cowles single game attendance record with 1,383 fans after they had added over 200 temporary seats along left field. The Maroon and Gold treated the fans to a 16-0 home record.
This is the first time Allister and her staff have won this honor. Allister was also named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the first time in her career this season.
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