Aquinas College Women's Softball

Ellie Adams joined the Aquinas College Athletic Department in the summer of 2024 and serves as the head coach of the JV softball team. She replaced long-time softball assistant and head coach, Don Galster, in the position.  Adams was originally a member of the AQ softball team from 2014 to 2017. The first baseman was a prolific batter for Aquinas, leading the team in batting average in 2016 (.341). She also led the team in slugging percentage, hits, RBIs, doubles, home runs, total bases, and walks in 2015 as a part of her dominant run from 2015 to 2017. In total, Adams batted .331 over four seasons with 160 hits, 38 doubles, 16 home runs, 105 RBIs, and 248 total bases. Following her career at Aquinas, Adams turned to coaching after her graduation in 2017. She started at Kalamazoo College as an assistant coach in the fall of 2017. She then moved to Indiana Tech in 2018 and returned to Aquinas in 2019, assisting current head coach, Brad Koch, for the 2020 season. Her coaching career took her to Agnes Scott College in the fall of 2020 to work as a graduate assistant softball coach for the ensuing two years. This experience helped open the door for her most recent position as the head softball coach for Regis College in Massachusetts after she accepted the position in 2022. Adams accomplished quite a bit in her two years as the head coach of the Pride. Academically, her team had 22 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes and won the 2024 Regis Athletic Department's Judith W Burling Team Award for Academic Excellence, given to the team with the highest GPA on campus. Athletically, she coached her teams to three individual records and one team record as the Pride posted the most triples in a season since the record was set in 1996. She had one athlete named Second Team All-GNAC, two named Third Team All-GNAC, and one member of the All-Rookie Team.

Kristy Hepp joined the Aquinas Athletic Department in the winter of 2021 and serves as the head coach of the men's and women's swim and dive programs. Hepp is the first head coach in the history of both the men's and women's swim and dive teams.  After accepting the head coaching position in 2021, Hepp quickly secured the sizable East Grand Rapids High School natatorium as the team’s home base for training and competition, with her sights set on pushing the team to become a national powerhouse. In no less than two seasons, Hepp has built up the program to include diving, significantly expanded the roster, and has already coached an individual national champion at the 2024 NAIA National Championships (Ashley McNamara, 1M Board).  In just three years, Aquinas has already had five NAIA All-Americans, one NAIA All-American Honorable Mention, five All-KCAC First Team selections, and nine All-KCAC Second Team selections. The 2023-24 season was the best season to-date in the history of the AQ swim and dive programs. The Saints set 36 new school records and had both teams finish inside the top-20 schools at NAIA Nationals. Coach Hepp was named the KCAC Men's Coach of the Year following the teams' outstanding performances on the boards and in the water, leading to the team's highest finish to date (3rd). The women also made waves by moving up three places in the KCAC standings in 2024 and all three NAIA qualifiers scoring points at the championship meet.  Academically, the men's and women's swim and dive programs have supported 13 NAIA scholar-athletes in just three short seasons.  As a collegiate athlete, Hepp was an All-American backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle specialist at Calvin University. After completing her BSN from Calvin and earning nursing license, Hepp worked as a neurology nurse in downtown Grand Rapids before returning to serve as an assistant coach with Calvin's men's and women's swimming and diving teams. During her two seasons on the Calvin staff, both Knights teams captured MIAA championships in 2016 and the women repeated as conference champions in 2017. Pursuing her call to full-time collegiate coaching, Hepp attended Western Michigan University as a Graduate Assistant to obtain a Master’s of Science in Exercise Physiology and intern in the strength and conditioning department with WMU’s Olympic sports. This experience catapulted Hepp’s coaching career to serve as an assistant coach at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. Coach Hepp helped CWRU tally strong finishes at the 2019-02 UAA Championships, sending five women to the 2020 NCAA Championships and earning All-American and Academic All-American honors. Case Western Reserve's men broke five new school records and the women set three program records, while the women also posted the 10th-highest team GPA (3.63) among all NCAA Division III schools. On the rare occasion that Hepp isn’t on the pool deck, you can find her training for triathlons, cooking with her husband John, traveling with family and friends, and enjoying time with the Calvary Church body.

Patty Jansen is the newest head coach of the Saints’ softball program. Jansen brings more than three decades of coaching and teaching experience, along with an impressive track record of success at the high school level. Jansen earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Northern Illinois University before completing a Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership at Silver Lake College. She went on to serve the Watertown Unified School District in Wisconsin for 33 years, teaching physical and health education as well as adaptive PE. During her time at Watertown, she also led the varsity softball program for the entirety of her tenure, compiling a remarkable 463–233 overall record. Her leadership and success on the diamond have been widely recognized. In 2015, Jansen was named Wisconsin Division I Coach of the Year, and in 2021, she was inducted into the Wisconsin Softball Hall of Fame. Her long-standing commitment to her players and her sport has made her one of the most respected figures in Wisconsin high school softball. Now in Marne, Michigan, Jansen is excited to begin the next chapter of her career at Aquinas. “After visiting Aquinas while interviewing for the head coaching job, I realized how beautiful this campus is—you would never guess that it is located in the heart of Grand Rapids,” she said. “Immediately, the people here were wonderful and answered each question with pride for AQ. It truly has a family atmosphere.” Away from the field, Jansen enjoys traveling, golf, and spending time with her five granddaughters—Kinley, Murphy, Amelia, Emerson, and Charlee. Family is at the heart of her life, and she is especially proud of her children, Jordyn (and son-in-law Austin Dieter) and Taylor (and daughter-in-law Madeline Jansen). With her experience, passion, and proven ability to build successful programs, Jansen is poised to make an immediate and lasting impact on Aquinas softball.

Trevor Sparks joins the Aquinas Athletic Department as the first full-time assistant coach to the swim and dive teams for the 2024 season. Hailing from Otsego, MI, Sparks brings a wealth of competitive athletic and coaching experience to help propel Aquinas’ teams to the next level. Sparks was a six-time all-state high school swimmer, team captain, and team record-holder for Otsego High School. As a collegiate swimmer for Calvin University, Sparks was a freestyle and backstroke specialist, earning accolades as a two-time DIII All-American, All-MIAA contender and record-holder.  During his two-year assistant coaching stint at Northview High School, Sparks helped the girls' team finish third and fourth at the MHSAA Division 2 Championships in 2022 and 2023. Sparks served as an assistant club coach to the North Kent Aquatic Team, propelling the athletes to their highest team finishes at the sectional meet to date. Off the pool deck, Sparks puts his film and media degree to use by making short films with friends. You can also find him working out and playing Xbox.