University of Minnesota Athletics
Softball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- cshoemak@umn.edu
- Phone:
- 612-626-5594
Jamie Trachsel just completed her third season as the head coach of the University of Minnesota softball team after being named the Gophers' seventh head coach in program history on July 24, 2017.
Trachsel was as the helm for the Gophers shortened 2020 season. The Gophers went 15-9-1 before the season ended on March 12, 2020, when the Big Ten and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns. The Gophers knocked off No. 5 Florida State and No. 19 Missouri in 2020. Trachsel coached Natalie DenHartog to Softball America Shortened Season All-American honors.
Trachsel led the Gophers to historic heights in her second season leading the program. Minnesota finished the year with a 46-14 record and reached the Women's College World Series for the first time ever in the NCAA era. They rolled through the Minneapolis Regional with three wins, one over NDSU and two over Georgia. They followed with two victories over LSU in the first ever Minneapolis Super Regional. Trachsel coached five All-Big Ten honorees and five NFCA Great Lakes All-Region honorees. Under Trachsel's watch, Amber Fiser was also named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-American.
The Gophers closed out the 2019 season ranked No. 8 in both the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top-25 Poll. The No. 8 ranking is the highest the Gophers have finished a season in either major poll. They also finished No. 7 in the NCAA RPI, which is not only the highest RPI to finish a season, but the highest at any point in program history. Trachsel and her staff were named the NFCA Great Lakes All-Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Gophers have also made history in the classroom under Trachsel. Their term GPA of 3.63 set in the spring of 2019 was the highest in program history. Eleven different players notched 2019 Academic All-Big Ten honors.
In her first season at the helm of the program, Trachsel led the Gophers to a 41-17 season, their third straight Big Ten Tournament title and sixth consecutive NCAA tournament. Four Gophers earned All-Region honors, four earned All-Big Ten and Kendyl Lindaman was named Big Ten Player of the Year while earing All-American honors. A notable win during the 2018 season was the Gophers upset win over No. 9 Arizona in Tucson Arizona on March 14. The Gophers snagged a 1-0 win in extras to mark just the second time in 30 seasons that the Gophers defeated Arizona and just the fourth win all time in the series. The Gophers closed out the season winning 21 of their final 24 games.
Trachsel came to Dinkytown from Iowa State, where she led the Cyclones for one year following six at the helm of perennial NCAA Tournament contender North Dakota State. Her hiring at Minnesota will be official after a standard university background check is completed.
"Jamie is one of the country’s premier young softball coaches and we’re excited to bring her to Minnesota to lead our program and build on the success we’ve had in recent years,” said Athletics Director Mark Coyle. “Jamie’s leadership has consistently produced winning results. That track record, paired with her Midwestern roots and proven ability to develop the skills of her student-athletes throughout their collegiate careers, makes her the perfect fit for the Gophers.”
“I could not be more humbled and honored to lead the Gophers softball program, and I want to thank Mark Coyle and search committee for this tremendous opportunity,” Trachsel said. “While the decision to leave Iowa State was challenging, the opportunity that lies ahead at Minnesota to continue building a national powerhouse while returning to my home state is one that I could not pass up. The foundation that is in place is truly remarkable, and I look forward to meeting the team and helping these young women thrive as student-athletes. As a native of this great state, I have always admired how the University of Minnesota offers an athletic and academic experience that is second-to-none in the nation, and I am eager to work with our team and the University community to begin the next chapter of Gopher softball.”
A Duluth, Minn., native and former standout at St. Cloud State., Trachsel led the Cyclones to a fifth-place finish in the Big XII last season, garnering their highest conference win total in eight years along with the best regular-season league finish since 1994. Trachsel’s squad also saw improvement in the circle, dropping their team era by nearly two runs per game to the lowest since 2010.
Two Cyclones earned NFCA All-Region First Team honors in Kelsey McFarland and Sami Williams, the latter selected to the All-Big 12 First Team as well, one of only three freshmen league-wide to earn that award. ISU finished the season strong, winning six of its last seven league games along with a six-game overall winning streak. Two records were set last season, with 99 team stolen bases along with Williams’s 20 doubles breaking previous school marks.
Trachsel arrived in Ames following 14 seasons at North Dakota State, including the final six as co-head coach. In those half-dozen seasons, NDSU compiled a 221-109 overall record (.670), a 98-19 mark (.838) in the Summit League and advanced to NCAA Regional play five times. The Bison won their conference regular-season championship and the tournament championship five times each with Trachsel as co-head coach.
North Dakota State won at least 30 games – including a school-record 45 in 2015 when it climbed as high as 41st in the NCAA Percentage Ratings Index (RPI) – for 10 straight seasons.
The Bison advanced to the NCAA Regionals seven of the last eight years. The 2009 club won the Norman (Okla.) Regional to advance to the NCAA Super Regional in Tempe (Ariz.).
Her tenure with NDSU began with two seasons (2002-04) as a graduate assistant, followed by three (2005-07) as an assistant coach, three (2008-10) as associate head coach and the last six (2011-16) as co-head coach.
Through the course of her career, Trachsel has coached five All-Americans, 25 All-Region players and 59 All-Conference student athletes. She has also been on coaching staffs that were honored seven times, including NFCA Division I Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year twice (2009 and 2015). Trachsel is well respected among peers and lectured at the 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association convention on training drills for outfielders. She was featured in an ESPNW story for her tactical defensive skills.
Trachsel also helped transition the Bison program from Division II to Division I. After placing seventh and third at the Division II national championship in 2002 and 2003, North Dakota State moved up to the highest level in college softball.
As a player at St. Cloud State (1998-2000), she led the Huskies to three straight NCAA Division II tournament appearances and one conference title. Trachsel made the 1999 NCAA Division II All-Region Tournament Team and received All-Academic honors from the NFCA twice. SCSU won 127 games during her career.
As a prep athlete, Trachsel earned 17 letters (softball 6, tennis 5, basketball 5 and soccer 1) at Duluth (Minn.) Central High School. She is also a nine-time national champion in racquetball (1988-93 and 2003-05).
Trachsel earned a B.S. degree in sports management (minors in coaching and human relations) from St. Cloud State in 2001. She added a Master of Education degree (in athletics administration) from North Dakota State in 2006.
JAMIE TRACHSEL’S YEAR-BY-YEAR HEAD COACHING RECORD
| YEAR | School | Overall | Conference | Reg. Season | Conference Tournament |
NCAA Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | NDSU | 30-27 | 17-7 (Summit) | 2nd | 1st | Tempe Regional (0-2) |
| 2012 | NDSU | 38-22 | 18-6 (Summit) | 1st | 1st | Tucson Regional (1-2) |
| 2013 | NDSU | 33-16 | 17-1 (Summit) | 1st | 2nd | --- |
| 2014 | NDSU | 36-18 | 13-3 (Summit) |
1st | 1st | Minneapolis Regional (1-2) |
| 2015 | NDSU | 45-11 | 16-2 (Summit) |
1st | 1st | Eugene Regional (2-2) |
| 2016 | NDSU | 39-15 | 17-0 (Summit) |
1st | 1st | Seattle Regional (1-2) |
| 2017 | Iowa State | 23-35 | 6-12 (Big 12) |
5th | --- | --- |
| 2018 | Minnesota | 41-17 | 17-4 (Big Ten) |
2nd | 1st | Seattle Regional (2-2) |
| 2019 | Minnesota | 46-14 | 20-2 (Big ten) |
3rd | 2nd | Minneapolis Regional, Super Regional, WCWS (5-2) |
| 2020 | Minnesota | 15-9-1 | N/A | |||
| 346-184-1 (.652) |
141-37 (.792) |
12-14 (.462) |
