LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The NFCA is honored to announce that Jenna Putala is the 2025 recipient of the Association’s Donna Newberry “Perseverance” Award, which recognizes an NFCA member coach who has demonstrated extraordinary strength of will and character in the fight to overcome a physical, mental, or social adversity that presented an additional challenge to the already demanding job of a coach.
At just 26, Putala, a longtime assistant coach at Babson College, was diagnosed with PEComa, an extremely rare form of sarcoma, in May 2024 during the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Softball Tournament. The diagnosis came after months of doctor’s appointments and therapies in an attempt to combat the back pain she had been experiencing since the preseason started that February.
Following her diagnosis, she continued to do her daily tasks, which included recruiting trips and campus visits, while also undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments to make sure Babson continued to succeed while transitioning after the retirement of head coach Dave Canan. Radiation treatments were daily — Monday through Friday — during the summer and chemotherapy sessions occurred every other week.
Putala also endured additional treatments and hospitalizations and has been dealing with secondary cancers that have metastasized into her lungs, which forced her to make the difficult decision to step away from her college coaching earlier this year to focus all her attention on her cancer battle. The effects of the disease caused her to go from a very active lifestyle to having to relearn to walk because of radiation recall complications, which can affect everything from muscles and skin to lungs and the brain.
“She has been in and out of the hospital for treatments and complications, and through every twist and curve on the road, she has handled it with incredible courage and strength,” Rowan University assistant Mary Murray, a close friend and one of her three award nominators, said. “Jenna is not only an incredible coach, but an even better human. Her kindness and compassion allow her to build transformative relationships with her student-athletes, and she is an integral part of their growth on and off the field.”
“Jenna is always willing to lend a helping hand and always wants to help grow the game. She is truly a one-of-a-kind person, and has approached this fight with transparency, grace, and a grit that is hard to put into words.”
Dani Bishop and Heather Ross, head coaches at Putala’s fellow New England schools Brandeis and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, also nominated their friend for the award. They held an NFCA StrikeOut Cancer awareness game in her honor this past April 4 when their two schools played a doubleheader in Worcester, Mass. Putala’s boyfriend and brother were among those who ran in the 2025 Boston Marathon to support her and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the foremost and comprehensive cancer treatment and research centers in the country, which is located in Boston. Additional schools and the Western Mass Warriors softball club, for which Putala coached, also supported her with games or fundraising events.
“Jenna continues to courageously fight and keep a positive attitude through the hardest moments in her cancer battle, and has been a source of true inspiration to so many in her life,” Bishop and Ross wrote in their nomination. “No matter who you are, Jenna is the type of person to say ‘hello,’ talk to you and make a positive impression. She made a quick name for herself in her first few years as the Babson assistant coach, and was destined to make an (continued) impact in the softball community.”
“We see no one more deserving of this award than Jenna. We have witnessed courage, hardship, tears, strength, humor, resiliency, as above all else positivity and love for herself and others. She needs the rest of the softball community to share the support as she battles the most important game of her young life.”
Putala will be recognized at the Awards Brunch on Dec. 13, the final day of the 2025 NFCA National Convention at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
ABOUT NEWBERRY
Newberry, the all-time winningest coach in the history of NCAA Division III softball when she passed away in November 2010, spent 36 seasons with Muskingum College athletics. During that time, she transitioned the Muskies from a slowpitch team to a perennial national fastpitch contender in Division III.
Over those 36 seasons, Newberry amassed a record of 906-419-1 and helped guide Muskingum to 17 conference championships, 18 NCAA regional appearances, eight national championship appearances and the 2001 NCAA Division III national championship. Newberry was the only Division III coach to be named national coach of the year in two sports – softball and basketball. As Muskingum’s women’s basketball coach, Newberry earned 403 victories and three OAC championships.
She was a 10-time Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, a seven-time NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honoree and in 2001, the Muskingum staff was named as the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year. In 2008, Newberry was inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame.
Newberry demonstrated her perseverance as she coached what would be her final season in the spring of 2010. While undergoing chemotherapy treatments during her third bout with breast cancer, she led the Lady Muskies to the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament for the 25th consecutive time.
In the months before her death, Muskingum dedicated its softball field in her honor, renaming it the Donna J. Newberry Softball Field. In addition, Newberry finished a book about her coaching career and experiences — "You Must Play to Win: A Coach's Journey from the Pit to the Pinnacle.”
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its extensive awards and scholarships program, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from NFCA podcasts to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and a National Convention.
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