University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Minnesota Named Regional Coaching Staff of The Year
6/11/2019 4:20:00 PM | Softball
University of Minnesota head softball coach Jamie Trachsel and her staff have been named the NFCA Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year, the organization announced Tuesday.Â
Trachsel is in her second season at the helm of the program while assistant coach Piper Ritter has been at Minnesota for 12 seasons and Katie Rietkovich just finished her first season as a Gopher.
Ritter is in charge of the pitching staff while Rietkovich took control of the offense this season. Trachsel was part of staffs at NDSU that earned Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors in both 2009 and 2015. Ritter was on the Minnesota staff that earned the Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2017.Â
Trachsel is also assisted by volunteer coach Alyssa Reina in her second season, graduate manager Michael Lewis in his first season and director of operations Cody Shoemaker in his first year at Minnesota.Â
The Gophers just wrapped up a historic season. They hosted a Super Regional for the first time in program history and advanced to the Women's College World Series for the first time in the NCAA Softball era. They finished ranked No. 8 in the NFCA Coaches Poll with a 46-14 record including a 5-0 record through Regional and Super Regional play.Â
Eight Gophers picked up Big Ten hardware including Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Amber Fiser. For the seventh straight season Minnesota has an All-American with Fiser picking up the accolade for the first time in her career. Natalie DenHartog was named a Top-3 Freshman of the Year finalist after a breakout campaign.Â
The Gophers finished with a school record .976 fielding percentage this season. They hit 72 home runs which was the second most in program history and their 476 strikeouts was good for the third most ever in a Minnesota single season.Â
Minnesota's coaching staff is eligible for the NFCA's Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced on June 26.Â
Â
Trachsel is in her second season at the helm of the program while assistant coach Piper Ritter has been at Minnesota for 12 seasons and Katie Rietkovich just finished her first season as a Gopher.
Ritter is in charge of the pitching staff while Rietkovich took control of the offense this season. Trachsel was part of staffs at NDSU that earned Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors in both 2009 and 2015. Ritter was on the Minnesota staff that earned the Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2017.Â
Trachsel is also assisted by volunteer coach Alyssa Reina in her second season, graduate manager Michael Lewis in his first season and director of operations Cody Shoemaker in his first year at Minnesota.Â
The Gophers just wrapped up a historic season. They hosted a Super Regional for the first time in program history and advanced to the Women's College World Series for the first time in the NCAA Softball era. They finished ranked No. 8 in the NFCA Coaches Poll with a 46-14 record including a 5-0 record through Regional and Super Regional play.Â
Eight Gophers picked up Big Ten hardware including Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Amber Fiser. For the seventh straight season Minnesota has an All-American with Fiser picking up the accolade for the first time in her career. Natalie DenHartog was named a Top-3 Freshman of the Year finalist after a breakout campaign.Â
The Gophers finished with a school record .976 fielding percentage this season. They hit 72 home runs which was the second most in program history and their 476 strikeouts was good for the third most ever in a Minnesota single season.Â
Minnesota's coaching staff is eligible for the NFCA's Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced on June 26.Â
Â
Minnesota (4) - Michigan (0) Highlights
Friday, May 02
Sydney Schwartz Throws No-Hitter
Tuesday, April 29
Gophers (8) - North Dakota (0) Highlights
Sunday, April 27
Gophers (5) - North Dakota (3) Highlights
Saturday, April 26