Academy of Art University Women's Softball

Geena Garabedian began as Academy of Art softball head coach in August 2023. Garabedian's debut 2024 season saw the Urban Knights win their first Pacific West Conference series against Biola, close their Hawaii road trip on an triumphant note with a doubleheader sweep of Chaminade, see the emergence of a young pitching staff along the way, and ultimately celebrate a veteran quintet with a pair of victories over Dominican on Senior Day. The squad was led by All-PacWest Third Team selections Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki and Alexis Folks who combined for 21 multi-hit games and ranked inside the Pacific West Conference's top 20 in runs scored. Other highlights included three Urban Knights ranking inside the PacWest's top 20 in earned run average including Kayla Vaughan who led all freshman pitchers with 95 strikeouts, four ART U student-athletes with CSC Academic All-District Team selections, and 15 Knights making the Academic All-PacWest Team as well. A familiar face within the Pacific West Conference following her recent stint leading Holy Names softball, Garabedian brings over six years of coaching experience into her role at ART U. Beginning as a graduate assistant and assistant coach with HNU softball in 2018, Garabedian progressed to become the program’s head coach ahead of the 2021 campaign. The Hawks finished that season ranked second in the PacWest in batting average (.302) as well as third in slugging percentage (.409) then remained among the conference’s statistical leaders the following year, ending second in stolen bases (57) as well as third in batting average (.281), home runs (15), and runs batted in (155) with All-PacWest First Team honoree Lyndsey Widner shining with the conference’s highest slugging percentage (.629). After Holy Names earned the first of what would be back-to-back Highest Team GPA Awards thanks to a collective 3.61 mark in 2022, the Hawks spent 2023 matching their highest conference win total in program history while adding the highest overall win total since 2016, achieving a victory over No. 9 Concordia along the way. Garabedian previously served as an assistant coach for Washington Union High School during the 2018 spring season. Prior to her time with Washington Union, Garabedian coached multiple age groups for travel ball organizations in both Fresno and Oakland.   A former softball student-athlete herself, Garabedian competed at Buchanan High School then Reedley College where she was a regular starter, two-time First Team All-Conference, Female Athlete of the Year, and an Academic All-American. She would finish her softball career at Holy Names prior to earning her bachelor’s degree in Sport Biology then her master’s degree in Education. Head Coach, ART U 2023 - present   Year Overall (Pct.) PacWest (Place) 2024 12-32 (.273) 8-20 (7th) Totals 12-32 (.273) 8-20 (.286)

Dominique Humphrey began as Academy of Art softball assistant coach in November 2023. In 2024, Humphrey helped the Urban Knights win their first Pacific West Conference series against Biola, close their Hawaii road trip on an triumphant note with a doubleheader sweep of Chaminade, see the emergence of a young pitching staff along the way, and ultimately celebrate a veteran quintet with a pair of victories over Dominican on Senior Day. The squad was led by All-PacWest Third Team selections Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki and Alexis Folks who combined for 21 multi-hit games and ranked inside the Pacific West Conference's top 20 in runs scored. Other highlights included three Urban Knights ranking inside the PacWest's top 20 in earned run average including Kayla Vaughan who led all freshman pitchers with 95 strikeouts, four ART U student-athletes with CSC Academic All-District Team selections, and 15 Knights making the Academic All-PacWest Team as well. Making history as the Historical Black Colleges and Universities’ first international softball player and the first HBCU product to coach softball internationally, Humphrey began her professional career with Malta’s Ghajnsielem Redcoats then joined Switzerland’s Zurich Challengers for the 2021 Milan Winners Cup. She then returned to the Red Coats and won a second Maltese National Championship. Humphrey was also a Spanish League and Copa de La Reina Champion with Rivas Madrid in Spain, part of the Papanui Tigers Premier Women’s Team in New Zealand, and both a 2023 Swiss Regular Season and National Champion with the Wittenbach Panthers in Switzerland. A head coach during her overseas career as well, Humphrey helped the Papanui Tigers’ 18U Team be named 2022-23 Team of the Year as the they prepared for the New Zealand National Team selection. Prior to her time with the Tigers, Humphrey led the Malta National Team to their first-ever European Championship appearance where her team would finish their season ranked 19th in the continent. En route to earning her master’s degree in Addiction Studies University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Humphrey served as a graduate assistant coach for her alma mater from 2019 to 2021. A collegiate softball student-athlete in her own right, Humphrey was a starting catcher across 72 games, finishing her career with eight home runs, including one grand slam, 31 runs batted in, and a 0.965 fielding percentage in her final two seasons before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from UAPB.