LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ten programs were recognized by their peers as 2025 ATEC/NFCA Division I Regional Coaching Staffs of the Year, announced the Association on Friday.
Representing each of the NFCA’s 10 Division I regions, these respective coaching staffs – Texas Tech University (Central), University of Connecticut (East), Ohio State University (Great Lakes), Southeastern Louisiana University (Gulf), Liberty University (Mid-Atlantic), University of Oklahoma (Midwest), University of Oregon (Mountain), Marist University (Northeast), University of Mississippi (South) and University of California, Los Angeles (West) – garnered Coaching Staff of the Year honors. These 10 programs, along with the national champion should it not be a regional winner, are eligible for the NFCA’s Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced on June 19.
Regional (respective region only) and National Coaching Staffs of the Year are voted on by active member head coaches.
Central: Texas Tech
Head Coach: Gerry Glasco
Associate Head Coach: Tara Archibald | Assistant Coaches: Hunter Veach, Kayla Kowalik
Reached the Championship Series in its first-ever trip to the WCWS … Started its postseason 8-0 and is 12-1 overall heading into the winner-take-all championship game … Earned World Series wins over Ole Miss, No. 9 UCLA and No. 2 Oklahoma … Swept through the Lubbock Regional with wins over Brown and Mississippi State (twice) and the Tallahassee Super Regional, winning a pair of close contests over No. 4 Florida State on the road … Set program mark for wins (54) … The Red Raiders have tied or broken a total of 21 team records this season … Won its first-ever Big 12 regular season and tournament championships … Nationally ranked in the NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll the entire season, reaching a program-best 10th on May 12 … Glasco was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.
East: UConn
Head Coach: Laura Valentino
Assistant Coaches: Mackenzie Keyes, Giselle Juarez, Ashley Buschgans
Earned its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2001 … Finished season 35-19, the Huskies’ fourth straight 30-win season … Won the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2001 and finished second in the league’s regular season … Mentored eight BIG EAST All-Conference selections, the most since a program-record eight in 1994, which included the league’s Player and Freshman of the Year.
Great Lakes: Ohio State
Head Coach: Kirin Kumar
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Guemmer, Courtney Vierstra
Regional finalist at the Knoxville Regional … Went 2-2 in Knoxville, earning wins over North Carolina and Miami (Ohio) … Finished with a 45-14-1 record, its most wins since 2009 … Ranked nationally in the NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll for the first time since 2018 and remained ranked in the top 25 since March 18 … Set an Ohio State and Big Ten record with 147 home runs.
Gulf: Southeastern Louisiana
Head Coach: Rick Fremin
Assistant Coach: Alana Fremin | Interim Assistant Coaches: Kaylan Lander, Madison Rayner
Regional finalist for the second consecutive season … Eliminated host and No. 10 overall LSU with a pair of wins over the Tigers … Registered a program-record 50 wins (50-16) … Just the fourth Southland Conference team to reach 50 wins … Set single-season program marks for runs, hits, triples, RBI, walks and shutouts, while also leading Division I in stolen bases … Captured the Southland Tournament championship for the second consecutive season.
Mid-Atlantic: Liberty
Head Coach: Dot Richardson
Associate Head Coach: Kasey Fagan | Assistant Coaches: Sami Fagan, Emily Kirby
Made its first-ever Super Regional appearance (at Oregon) after becoming the first team to eliminate the No. 1 overall seed in the super Regional era … Went 3-1 at the Bryan-College Station Regional, which included two wins over the host Aggies … First Super Regional participant from Conference USA since 2013 … Set a program record with 50 wins (50-15) … Richardson was named CUSA Coach of the Year … Won the CUSA regular season and tournament titles.
Midwest: Oklahoma
Head Coach: Patty Gasso
Associate Head Coaches: Jennifer Rocha, JT Gasso | Assistant Coach: Falepolima Steele
National semifinalist in the program’s ninth consecutive trip to the WCWS … Swept through Regionals and Super Regionals as the No. 2 overall seed, winning four of the five games by run rule … Went 2-2 at WCWS with wins over No. 7 seed Tennessee and No. 16 seed Oregon … Finished 7-2 in the postseason … In their first season, the Sooners claimed the Southeastern Conference regular season title and was declared co-champion of the tournament (final was canceled due to inclement weather) … Top three in NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll all season with three weeks at No. 1 … Finished season 52-9.
Mountain: University of Oregon
Head Coach: Melyssa Lombardi
Associate Head Coach: Sam Marder | Assistant Coaches: Sydney Romero, Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza
Steered the Ducks to their first WCWS since 2018 … Went 1-2 in Oklahoma City and 7-3 in the postseason as the No. 16 seed … Won three elimination games in regionals, including a winner-take-all over Stanford to advance to Super Regionals … Swept Liberty in Super Regionals … Finished season 54-10, which is tied for the second most wins in program history … In first season, won the Big Ten regular season crown … Ranked as high as No. 3 in the NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll … Lombardi was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Northeast: Marist
Head Coach: Joe Ausanio
Assistant Coaches: Kristin Erb, Alyssa Grupp
Earned its second NCAA Tournament berth in the last three seasons … Collected its first NCAA Tournament win and the first for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since 2008 with an 8-0 victory over St. Francis at the Bryan-College Station Regional … Set a program record with 48 wins (48-9-1) … Swept the MAAC regular season and tournament titles … Recorded a school-record 19-game win streak and also entered regionals on a 17-game win streak … Finished the season winning 37 of its final 42 games (37-4-1) … Ausanio was named MAAC Head Coach of the Year.
South: Ole Miss
Head Coach: Jamie Trachsel
Assistant Coaches: Ehren Earleywine, Nancy Evans, Bobby Buchanan
Made first-ever WCWS appearance as the only unseeded team in the field … Ole Miss won the Tucson Regional, which included wins over No. 23 Grand Canyon and two against host and No. 12 seed Arizona … Won Super Regional in three games at No. 4 seed Arkansas … Finished postseason with a 6-4 record … Went 2-1 at the SEC Tournament, reaching the quarterfinals … National ranked in the NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll from March 4 on, getting as high as No. 16 … Finished season with 42-21 record … Smashed the program record for home runs with 67, breaking the previous mark of 49 set in 2023.
West: UCLA
Head Coach: Kelly Inouye-Perez
Associate Head Coach: Lisa Fernandez | Assistant Coaches: Rob Schweyer, Madilyn Nickles-Camarena
Punched ticket to 33rd Women’s College World Series, the most of any collegiate program … As the No. 9 seed, swept through regional action and rallied from a game-one defeat to knock off the No. 8 seed South Carolina in the Super Regionals … 1-2 at the WCWS, picking up a win over Oregon … Finished second in their first Big Ten regular season and runner up in the league tournament … Notched 55-12 overall and 17-5 conference records … Ranked ninth or higher in the NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll all season, peaking at No. 4 for three weeks.
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