Colorado School of Mines Women's Softball

Tobin Echo-Hawk was named the 13th head coach of the Colorado School of Mines softball program in December of 2024. A native of Louisville, Colorado, Echo-Hawk brings a wealth of experience at the collegiate level as a player and coach to Golden, having been a four-year letter winner at the University of Nebraska and making coaching stops at three other Division I institutions. She was most recently the head softball coach at nearby Erie High School, where she was twice named Front Range League Coach of the Year and guided the Tigers to a CHSAA Class 5A runner-up result in 2023. In her debut season at the helm of the Orediggers in 2025, Echo-Hawk guided the program to a 22-32 record overall and a 21-22 mark in RMAC play with the team in contention for a postseason bid until the penultimate weekend of the season. Under her guidance, Cassidy Chvatal, Kendall Aragon and Kellan Ton all earned All-RMAC honors. Chvatal also led NCAA Division II in home run during the regular season and broke the Mines single-season records for home runs and RBI and led the RMAC in both categories. The Orediggers also hit their most home runs as a team in more than a decade in 2025, leaving the yard 43 times headlined by Chvatal and Lexie Semeyn who became the first teammates in 13 seasons to hit 10 or more home runs apiece. Mines posted four series wins including a sweep of Adams State in mid-April and went 13-7 at home and 16-8 in games played at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field.   Prior to her return to Colorado, Echo-Hawk spent two seasons on staff at New Mexico State University where she helped the Aggies to the 2021 WAC Championship while also taking home Player and Freshman of the Year honors with Nikki Butler and Matalasi Faapito. During her time in Las Cruces, six players earned All-WAC honors and two were named NFCA All-Region selections.   Echo-Hawk ’s last head coaching stop at the collegiate level came at the University of Texas at El Paso where she spent six seasons and led the Miners to 104 wins during that span. During the 2016 season she guided UTEP to a school-record 13 conference wins on their way to an appearance in that year’s Conference USA Softball Championship. That year Courtney Clayton was named C-USA Player of the Year and was one of 10 players during Echo-Hawk ’s time in El Paso named All-Conference while three earned All-Region accolades.   Echo-Hawk made her head coaching debut at Portland State in 2009 following two seasons on staff as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In five seasons at the helm of the Vikings, she led the program to 146 wins including a pair of 30-win seasons, four NCAA tournament appearances and a bevy of other honors. During her time in Portland, she was named Conference Coach of the Year four times and won three Pacific Coast Softball Conference division titles, four PCSC championships, a regular season Big Sky Conference title, a Big Sky Conference tournament title and finished either first or tied for first in all five seasons as head coach. In PSU’s debut season in the Big Sky Conference in 2013, Echo-Hawk was named Coach of the Year and saw eight of her players earn All-Conference honors. She coached three conference Players of the Year and four Pitchers of the Year while totaling 10 NFCA All-Region selections, 29 All-Conference selections, 50 weekly award winners and 41 Academic Honor Roll selections.   A four-year letter winner at Nebraska, Echo-Hawk was a two time All-American in her career as she was part of the Huskers’ re-emergence as a national powerhouse in the mid-1990s. She batted .405 as a junior with a school record 22 doubles as part of a then-school record 43-win season and an NCAA Tournament appearance. In 1996, she batted .340 and scored what was a then-school record 61 runs to lead a second consecutive trip to the national tournament. Echo-Hawk still ranks among the all-time leaders at Nebraska in several career categories including batting average (2nd, .379) hits (1st, 266), runs scored (4th, 168), doubles (t2nd, 48) and total bases (6th, 378) along with numerous single-season records.

Claire McDaniel was named the head coach of the Colorado School of Mines men's and women's swimming program in September 2019. In the six seasons since, she has reinvigorated the program, making Mines a RMAC contender and consistently qualifying individuals for nationals as well. During her time at the helm, McDaniel has won RMAC Coach of the Year four times on the men's side (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) and three consecutive years on the women's side (2021, 2022, 2023). She coached the RMAC Women's Swimmer of the Year in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. She also coached the RMAC Women's Freshman of the Year in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Overall, McDaniel has helped Mines send a total of 29 individuals and nine relays to the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships resulting in a total of 27 all-American finishes. Furthermore, McDaniel's women have broken all but one program swimming record (22 of 23) along with 10 facility records. Her men have broken 20 of 23 program records including every relay mark while adding 13 facility records. McDaniel's teams have also succeeded in the classroom as proven by 17 College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans. Her men's teams in 2020-21, 2022-23, and 2023-24 also won the RMAC Brechler Award as the team boasting the highest combined GPA in the conference. McDaniel's first season on the deck in 2019-20 at Mines was a huge success as both Oredigger teams placed second at RMAC Championships and qualified four individuals and one relay to NCAA Championships. Despite the cancellation of nationals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mines had six swimmers named CSCAA All-Americans led by RMAC Swimmer of the Year Mia Wood, who swam the nation's fastest 200-free and was the NCAA silver medalist in the 1,000-free. The Mines women finished the season ranked #17 and the men #22 by the CSCAA, and both teams earned academic honors from the coaches' organization. The shortened 2020-21 season, McDaniel's second at Mines, had plenty of success as she was named the RMAC Coach of the Year for both the men's and women's programs. Both teams finished second at RMAC Championships and Mines qualified three swimmers to NCAA Championships, including all-American Robert Clayton and RMAC triple champions Meghan Slowey and Jorie Selig. Slowey was named the RMAC Swimmer of the Year and Selig the RMAC Freshman of the Year.  McDaniel repeated as the RMAC Coach of the Year in 2021-22 for both the men's and women's programs as the Orediggers again finished second at RMAC Championships and produced three individual qualifiers and one relay qualifier to NCAA Championships. Co-RMAC Swimmer of the Year Meghan Slowey went on to be an all-American in the mile, and Mines minted an RMAC Freshman of the Year for the second consecutive season thanks to Olivia Kisow.  In 2022-23, McDaniel helped the men and women make program history. Not only was she named RMAC Coach of the Year for the Women for a third straight year, she also brought the largest contingency to nationals in program history. Thirteen Orediggers competed in 23 individual events and six relays resulting in seven all-America finishes. The top finisher was RMAC Swimmer of the Year Meghan Slowey who made her second straight podium, finishing fifth in the nation in the 1650-free. Jordan Tierney, Kerrigan Hemp, Annie Osmun, Jorie Selig, Emi Jedryka, Garrett Waite, and Charles Burroughs earned all-America status as well. At the conference meet, the women finished second and the men took third. Slowey earned RMAC Swimmer of the Year for a third straight season, and Jordan Tierney gave Mines its third consecutive RMAC Freshman of the Year on the women's side. The 2023-24 campaign brought more history to the program under McDaniel's guidance. She led the men and women back to a pair of runner-up finishes at the RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships and won RMAC Coach of the Year for the men for a third time. Six individuals (three men, three women) and one relay qualified for the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships. The final result was six all-American finishes including a podium appearance from Jordan Tierney who took national bronze in the 100-breast. Mines' men finished tied for 34th in the nation thanks to six team points. The Oredigger women placed 25th in the nation thanks to the most points at a NCAA meet in program history with 29. Overall, McDaniel's men's squad combined to break nine program records and four Mines pool records during the 2023-24 season. The women took down nine program records as well and updated six facility records. During the 2024-25 season, Mines' men combined for team silver at the conference meet while the women won bronze. McDaniel was again voted the RMAC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year. Her men also tied for 25th in the nation thanks to Vladislav Kazakin's pair of all-American swims. Overall, two men and three women competed for the Orediggers at the national meet. Kazakin's NCAA debut was the most successful appearance for a Mines man since 2005. Kazakin also highlighted the RMAC meet by winning gold in the 1000-free and 500-free. Overall, Kazakin put his name in the program record book seven times in his first collegiate season under McDaniel's guidance. Those performances added to a total of 14 adjustments to the men's program/facility record book while the women made four edits to the all-time top marks in program history. McDaniel brought a diversity of experience in the swimming and nutrition fields to Mines, including assistant coaching stops at the University of Denver, UNC-Asheville, and the Swiss National Team and sports nutrition positions at Missouri and Stanford. Most recently at DU, she coordinated recruiting for the women’s program, handled travel logistics and equipment, and was the head distance coach for the program. McDaniel held a similar role at UNC-Asheville in 2013-14, and also spent two years as an assistant coach in Switzerland where she assisted coaching swimmers on the national junior team.  McDaniel has extensive experience and education in sports nutrition, holding a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a master’s in foods and nutrition & exercise physiology, both from the University of Georgia. At Missouri, she was the assistant athletic director  of performance nutrition in 2017 where she worked with all 20 Tiger teams. At Stanford, she was a sports nutrition consultant from 2012-13 working closely with women’s gymnastics. As a swimmer, the former Claire Maust was a standout at Georgia, winning the 2006 NCAA Division I 800-freestyle relay title. She was a part of UGA’s 2005 NCAA and 2006 SEC team championships, and captured the 2007 SEC crown in the 500-freestyle. A five-time all-American and four-time Scholar All-American, McDaniel was a finalist for the 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year award and a recipient of the NCAA and SEC Community Service post-graduate scholarships. She was elected co-captain of Team USA for the 2007 World University Games where she placed fourth in the 400-free in guiding the Americans to the team win.

Graham Walker joined the Oredigger swimming & diving staff in the fall of 2025, making the 2025-26 season his first as an assistant coach at Mines. Walker joined the Oredigger staff following an elite amateur and collegiate swimming career. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Walker represented Team Kenya at both the All-Africa Games and the Commonwealth Games. He went on to compete for the University of Denver under coach McDaniel. His high-level performance in the pool also led to serving as team captain his final two years with the Pioneers. Walker’s coach career started while he was still in college, teaching swimming lessons, and continued after graduation. He eventually accepted a formal coaching role with the University of Denver Hilltoppers Swim Club in 2022. Since then, Walker coached multiple state champions and program record holders. He returned to DU as an assistant coach in 2024 and helped oversee conference titles and continued competitive success.  

Zoe Bacon joined the Colorado School of Mines softball program as the top assistant coach in the summer of 2025. Prior to her arrival in Golden, was most recently the assistant coach at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas during the 2024-25 season. There she worked primarily with the Hilltopper pitching staff and oversaw an ERA improvement of 1.79 year over year from 5.72 in 2024 to 3.93 in 2025. She also worked with SEU’s hitters and helped the offense increase their hit production from 293 to 449, batting average from .235 to .298, OPS from .596 to .743 and nearly doubled their run production from 132 to 245. Bacon also worked with Katie Dillon, the program’s first First Team All-Lone Star Conference selection since SEU joined the league in 2016.   In addition to her time with SEU, Bacon also served as head coach for the Texas Ninebands of the Lonestar State Collegiate Summer League in Georgetown, Texas for one season. There she managed a 16-player roster with talent from the junior college ranks to the Southeastern Conference and all points in between and in 2024 saw her team lead the league in wins, ERA, BAA and runs scored.   In addition to her time in the Lone Star State, Bacon has worked as an instructor with Beyond The White Lines in Vancouver, Canada as part of an initiative to bring high-level softball to the country and grow the game while providing opportunities for Canadians to pursue careers at the amateur and professional levels in the United States. She also ran her own training business, Bacon Softball, for eight years, offering group and private lessons where she worked with athletes who went on to play collegiately at Oklahoma State, Auburn, Texas Tech, Colgate and more.   Bacon played collegiately at the University of Texas San Antonio from 2015-2017 before being forced to medically retire following her sophomore season. With the Roadrunners, she was part of a team that appeared in the Conference USA Softball Championship in 2016. In that season, Bacon started 10 times in 41 games with appearances in right field and in the circle as well as at designated played as she went 1-2 in 11 innings of work while homering three times and driving in 10 at the dish as a prolific pinch-hitter.   Following her time at UTSA, Bacon transferred to the University of Texas at Austin to complete her studies and begin her training business. In 2023, Bacon was offered the opportunity to tryout for the Texas Smoke of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch League. She made the opening day roster in the team’s inaugural campaign, but had her season cut short once again due to injury.   A native of Denver, Bacon graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies in May 2020.

Brad Shannon joined the swimming & diving staff at Mines in the summer of 2025, making the 2025-26 his first season on deck with the Orediggers. Shannon arrived in Golden, Colo., following two years as the head man at William Peace University in North Carolina. He and his staff earned 2024-25 Independent South Swimming Conference Men’s Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding WPU’s men to second-place finish at the conference meet while the women took team bronze. Overall, the Pacers had nine All-ISSC finishes last season. Additionally, nine total swimmers earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District distinction. Shannon’s first season at the helm featured a total of six individual titles at the ISSC meet along with nine program records. Academically in 2023-24, four swimmers were CSC Academic All-District and the women’s team earned Spring Scholar All-America honors from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches’ Association of America.   Prior to William Peace, Shannon was an assistant at the University of Rochester from 2019-23. Additional professional experience includes work as a counselor at both the University of Florida and N.C. State swim camps. In college, Shannon competed at Ohio State University and earned Ohio State and Big Ten Scholar Athlete distinction all four years. He was a USA Swimming Olympic Trial Qualifier in 2016 as well. He owns a bachelor’s degree in international studies with a specialization in security and intelligence from OSU. Shannon earned his master’s degree from Concordia Chicago in applied exercise science.

Katherine Andrie joined the Oredigger swimming & diving staff as the diving coach in the fall of 2025 after Mines announced the return of men's and women's diving as a sponsored sport. Andrie boasts an impressive résumé as a diving coach and holds a personal familiarity with Colorado School of Mines. Two of her children, Marty and Carlie, attended Mines and competed for the Orediggers. Marty was a nine-time all-American in cross country and track & field and a member of the 2015 Men’s Cross Country team which won the NCAA Division II Championship. That team was inducted into the Harry D. Campbell Oredigger Hall of Fame in 2023. Carlie competed in triathlon and for the club water polo team during her time at Mines. On deck, Coach Andrie boasts multiple decades of high school and club coaching experience with stops at numerous high schools in the Denver area including Valor Christian, Littleton, Douglas County, Smoky Hill, and more. She was named East Metro Diving Coach of the Year in 2011 and CHSAA 4A Dive Coach of the Year in 2018.