Grand Valley State University Women's Softball

Dana Callihan will begin her 12th season as Grand Valley State’s head softball coach during the 2026 campaign. She was named the second full-time head softball coach in Laker history on May 30, 2014.   During her 11 years at the helm of the GVSU program, Callihan owns a 416-140 overall record (.748), as well as a 203-53 mark (.792) in GLIAC play. She has been named the GLIAC Coach of the year in six of the last eight seasons.  In the 2024 season, Callihan guided the Lakers to a GLIAC regular season championship for the seventh consecutive year. GVSU earned the six seed in the NCAA MIdwest regional tournament. Senior Hannah Hollister earned first team All-Region and All-GLIAC honors under the guidance of Callihan. Hollister broke the GVSU single season record with 41 stolen bases. Junior Kelsey Komorous earned second team All-Region honors and All-GLIAC honors. GVSU had eight players named to the All-GLIAC teams including two first team, four second team, and two honorable mention.  GVSU finished the 2023 season with a 48-8 overall record, advancing to the DII National Championship Series at the College World Series for the second time in program history. The Lakers made their sixth College World Series Appearance in program history and fourth under Callihan. GVSU claimed the GLIAC Regular Season Championship for the fifth consecutive season with a 20-1 mark. Pitcher Hannah Beatus was named a first team All-American, while infielder Lydia Goble earned second team All-American honors. The Lakers placed five on the Midwest All-Region team with Beatus earning Midwest Pitcher of the Year and Goble earning Midwest Player of the Year. Beatus and Goble earned Midwest Region first team honors as well as outfielder Joanna Cirrincione and catcher Morgan Wagner. Outfielder Kaitlin Lynch earned Midwest Region second team honors. The Lakers placed eleven on the All-GLIAC team with Beatus earning her third Pitcher of the Year honors, Goble earning Player of the Year, and Callihan earning Coach of the Year.  In the 2022 season, the Lakers went 43-8 and 23-3 in the GLIAC. The Lakers claimed the GLIAC Regular Season Championship for the fourth consecutive season and advacned to the Midwest Super Regionals in teh NCAA Tournament. Lydia Goble earned first All-American honors, while Hannah Beatus earned second team honors and Joanna Cirrincione earned third team honors. Four Lakers were named to the Midwest Region team with Goble and Cirrincione earning first tem honors, while Beatus and Kaitlin Lynch earned second team honors. The Lakers placed eleven on he All-GLIAC teams with Hannah Beatus earning Pitcher opf the Year for the second time, Kelsey Komorous earning Freshman of the Year, and Callihan earning Coach of the Year.  The Lakers once again reached the College World Series in 2021, going 45-10 overall en route to a second straight Midwest Regional championship and finishing tied for fifth in the country. The Lakers were GLIAC regular season champions with a 24-4 mark, their fourth straight title. They would then sweep their way through the GLIAC Tournament for a third straight title. Pitcher Hannah Beatus was a unanimous All-American while senior Nikoma Holmen was a unanimous All-Region performer and freshman Hannah Hollister was also a D2CCA All-Region selection. The Lakers placed nine on the All-GLIAC teams and swept the major awards with Beatus earning Pitcher of the Year, Holmen the Player of the Year, Megan Koenigshof the freshman of the year and Callihan the coach of the year.  The 2020 season saw the Lakers hitting their stride right as a global pandemic shut down the season. The Lakers finished their annual Florida trip with 11 straight wins and were on their way home with a 13-3 overall record to begin conference play when COVID-19 canceled the campaign.     2019 was yet another successful campaign under the guidance of Callihan, as the Lakers posted a 51-10 (.836) overall record and a 24-6 (.800) mark in conference play. The 51 wins is the second most by a Laker team while they also finished the season 19-1 at home. GVSU was also 11-2 against nationally ranked opponents and took home their second straight GLIAC Regular Season and Tournament titles. After sweeping through the conference tournament, GVSU rattled off five straight victories to earn their second trip to the NCAA DII College Softball World Series under Callihan. After an opening round loss to #3 Texas A&M-Kingsville, the Lakers won a couple of close games over #23 LIU Post (2-0) and #2 West Florida (3-2) to become just one of four teams left playing. Their season came to an end with another loss to the Javelinas, 3-2. It was the Lakers ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.   Senior pitcher Allison Lipovsky became just the second Laker in program history to be named a national player of the year, as she earned Schutt Sports/NFCA National Pitcher of the Year honors. She was also named to the NFCA All-American First Team while sophomore first baseman Nikoma Holmen earned third team honors. Additionally, nine Lakers earned All-GLIAC honors with six first teamers, a second teamer, and two honorable mentions.   The coaching staff consisting of Callihan, assistant coaches Jen Rivera and Aaron Daldos, and graduate assistant Jessi Ramos were honored as the 2019 NCAA DII Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year by the NFCA. The 2018 season saw the Lakers start with a 2-3 record after their first five games but they would quickly get things turned around. After a loss on March 8 to #8 Winona State the Lakers would not lose another game until April 21 as they rattled off 21-straight victories. They closed out the regular season with a 24-2 mark in the conference and proceeded to roll through the GLIAC Tournament to secure both the regular season and tournament championships. After falling in the first game of the NCAA Midwest Region, they bounced back for three more victories to make an appearance in the regional final. They would fall to eventual national champion Southern Indiana, 2-1, to finish their season with a 44-9 overall record.  It was Lakers eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.  For their efforts, junior pitcher Allison Lipovsky earned NFCA First Team All-American Honors while senior Allie Grys was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American as well. The Lakers also took home six All-GLIAC First Team awards and two honorable mention honors. Lipovsky was named the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year for the second season in a row as well.  After a slow start to the 2017 campaign, Callihan and GVSU rebounded to put together a 20-game winning streak, the third-longest in school history and the longest stretch in 17 seasons. The Lakers finished the year as GLIAC regular season champions with a 17-5 mark in conference play and posted a 33-18 overall tally. Grand Valley State completed just the fifth unbeaten home schedule in program history at 14-0; moreover, the perfect slate of 14 wins are the most home victories in a season without a loss in team history. GVSU advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 for the seventh consecutive season and with the 1-0 defeat over Indianapolis, the Lakers have won at least one game in 14 of their 15 NCAA postseason appearances. In addition to Callihan being named the GLIAC Co-Coach of the Year for the first time, Grand Valley State sophomore Allison Lipovsky was tabbed the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year and was part of a seven-member group that received All-GLIAC accolades. 2017 was also Callihan's first year as a head coach of a GVSU All-American. Senior second baseman Jenna Lenza collected multiple All-America honors: Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) First Team, National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) First Team, and CoSIDA Academic First Team. Lenza is just the second Academic All-American in program history and also the second Laker ever to receive Daktronics/D2CCA and NFCA All-America honors in the same year.   In 2016, Grand Valley State returned to the College World Series for the third time in school history, as the Lakers finished the campaign with a 43-13 mark. GVSU went 21-5 in GLIAC play during the 2016 season, finishing as conference regular season runner-up. The Lakers won the Midwest Region #1 Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. by defeating Southern Indiana and #2 nationally-ranked Indianapolis before capturing a pair of elimination games over Trevecca Nazarene to advance to the Midwest Super Regional best-of-three championship series.   The three-game Super Regional series took place in Detroit, Mich. against GLIAC rival #10 Wayne State. GVSU came back to win game one (5-4) before taking the clinching game (1-0) to return to the College World Series for the third time. Grand Valley State lost to #1 West Texas A&M (4-0) and #16 Armstrong State (7-4) at the College World Series in Denver, Colo., in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival.   Callihan has been on the Lakers’ coaching staff during all three berths (2002, 2013, 2016) in the Division II College World Series.   After the 2016 season, Grand Valley State had eight All-GLIAC selections (tied for most in program history) and four All-GLIAC First Team honorees. Pitcher Allison Lipovsky was named the 2016 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, which is the fifth in school history and fourth in the last seven years. GVSU finished 2016 with a #7 national ranking in the last NFCA Top-25 poll of the year.   Additionally, Callihan and assistant coach Jen Rivera were honored as the Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year after the Lakers’ run to the College World Series, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). This is the second time that Callihan and Rivera have received this honor, also doing so in 2011 with head coach Doug ‘Doc’ Woods, as that GVSU team notched a 19-win improvement, won 41 games, was the top-hitting team in Division II, and advanced to the Midwest Super Regional series. Her first season at the helm of the GVSU program was the 2015 campaign, as the Lakers ended the year with a 32-17 overall record. Finishing fourth in the GLIAC, Grand Valley State owned a 17-8 conference mark. The Lakers advanced to the NCAA postseason for the fifth consecutive season, falling in the Midwest Region Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.  Before being chosen to take over the program, Callihan was the top assistant coach for 13 seasons under previous head coach Doug 'Doc' Woods. She was also a four-year letterwinner for the Lakers  on the field. As a player and coach, Callihan has been a part of 649 victories during her 19 seasons affiliated with the program. A player from 1989-92, Callihan was a two-time team captain and all-conference catcher, winning 101 games during her career. Her final two seasons as a Laker player were the first two years of Woods' coaching tenure. She then joined Woods on the coaching staff in the fall of 2001, as GVSU advanced to the Division II College World Series in 2002, her first season as an assistant coach. Callihan was also on staff during the 2013 team's return appearance to the College World Series. Since the 2002 season, the Lakers have compiled an overall record of 581-245-1, good for a .703 winning percentage. Grand Valley State has put together a 260-109 (.705) record in GLIAC play since Callihan joined the staff. The Lakers have had just one losing season over the past 15 years, while winning 30 or more games 13 times, and recording six seasons of at least 40 victories in that span. With Callihan on staff, Grand Valley State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 14 times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) and won seven GLIAC titles (2003, 2004, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019). In 2011, Callihan was part of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year, as the Lakers advanced to the Midwest Super Regional. She is a member of the NFCA and the Alliance of Women Coaches (AWC). Over the years, Callihan has been involved in numerous aspects of softball, as she has played and coached slow-pitch, fast-pitch, and baseball. She has also been a high school softball umpire in the Grand Rapids area. Callihan organized, played, and coached a women's baseball team, which played in the first official women's baseball game held at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Originally from Clare, Mich., Callihan attended Clare High School, where she played softball, volleyball, and basketball. She was also a member of Fellowship for Christian Athletes and National Honor Society. A 1992 graduate of GVSU, Callihan earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial technology, while completing her master's degree in sports administration from Central Michigan in 2009. Before joining the GVSU coaching staff, she worked as a quality engineer and training coordinator for eight years with local automotive manufacturing companies. Callihan and her husband, Charlie, reside in Lowell, Mich. with their son, Zachary. The Dana Callihan File:  Year Record GLIAC Notes 2025    27-26 17-11 2024    37-18 16-8 - NCAA Midwest Region Finalist - GLIAC Regular Season Champions 2023 48-8 20-1 - College World Series National Championship Appearance - NCAA Midwest Super Regional Champions - NCAA Midwest Region Champions - GLIAC Regular Season Champions - GLIAC Coach of the Year 2022 43-8    23-3 - NCAA Midwest Region Finalist - GLIAC Regular Season Champions - GLIAC Coach of the Year 2021 45-10 24-4 - College World Series berth - NCAA Midwest Region Champions - GLIAC Regular Season Champions - GLIAC Tournament Champions - GLIAC Coach of the Year 2020 13-3 NA - Season canceled early by COVID-19 2019 51-10 24-6 - College World Series berth - NCAA Midwest Super Regional Champions - NCAA Midwest Region 1 Champions - GLIAC Regular Season Champions - GLIAC Tournament Champions - GLIAC Coach of the Year - NCAA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year 2018 44-9 24-2 - NCAA Midwest Region Finalist - GLIAC Regular Season Champions - GLIAC Tournament Champions - GLIAC Coach of the Year 2017 33-18 17-5 - NCAA Midwest Region Semifinalist - GLIAC Regular Season Champions - GLIAC Co-Coach of the Year 2016 43-13 21-5 - College World Series berth - NCAA Midwest Super Regional Champions - NCAA Midwest Regional Champions - GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinalist 2015 32-17 17-8 - NCAA Midwest Region Quarterfinalist - GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinalist TOTAL 416-140 (.748) 203-53 (.792) - 4x College World Series Berth - 3x NCAA Midwest Super Regional Champion - 5x NCAA Midwest Region Champion - 7x GLIAC Regular Season Champion - 6x GLIAC Coach of the Year  - 3x GLIAC Tournament Champion - 1x NCAA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year

Jen (Mackson) Rivera will enter her 12th season as Grand Valley State's top assistant coach in the 2026 campaign, promoted to that position in July 2014. Rivera spent the previous 10 seasons on the Laker coaching staff as a part-time assistant coach. Rivera, a former All-American pitcher and Hall of Famer at GVSU, works heavily with the current pitching staff while serving as the primary assistant in all other functions for the team. In the 2024 season, Rivera helped guide GVSU to a GLIAC regular season championship for the seventh consecutive year. Under the guidance of Rivera, the Laker pitching staff was ranked at the top of the GLIAC with a 1.90 ERA. Senior Genesis Eggart tossed a no-hitter in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Ohio Dominican. Ashley Platek tossed a no-hitter in a mercy rule win against California (Pa.). Both Eggart and Platek ranked top in the GLIAC in ERA and earned All-GLIAC honors.  Rivera helped the Lakers make a historic run to the National Championship Series in the College World Series in the 2023 season. The Lakers finished the season with a 48-8 record and 20-1 GLIAC mark to claim their fifth consecutive GLIAC Regular Season Championship. Pitcher Hannah Beatus earned first team All-American honors and was named the Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year under the guidance of Rivera. Beatus was named the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year for the third time in her GVSU career posting a 0.91 ERA.  In 2022, the Lakers finished the season with a 43-8 overall record. The Lakers claimed the GLIAC Regular Season championship for the fourth consecutive season. Hannah Beatus was named an All-American for the second time and earned GLIAC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year. Rivera helped the Lakers to a second straight College World Series appearance in 2021, again backed by an All-American pitcher. Hannah Beatus was a unanimous selection and GLIAC Pitcher of the Year after a 25-5 season and ERA under 1.00 for much of the year.  The Lakers reached the College World Series for the fourth time in program history in 2019, led by Schutt Sports/NFCA National Pitcher of the Year and unanimous All-American pitcher Allison Lipovsky with a 0.94 ERA and a 33-4 record in the circle which sets a new single-season program record for wins. The Lakers eclipsed the 50-win mark as a team for just the second time in program history and claimed both GLIAC regular season and tournament titles.   A 20-game win streak (the third-longest in school history) helped GVSU post a 33-18 overall record in 2017, as the Lakers captured the GLIAC regular season championship. Rivera oversaw the 2017 GLIAC Pitcher of the Year in sophomore right hander Allison Lipovsky, who threw a 1-0 no-hitter in the NCAA Tournament as Grand Valley State topped Indianapolis in Evansville, Ind.  Lipovsky's no-hitter is just the second NCAA Tournament no-no in Laker history; in the 2002 NCAA postseason, Rivera threw an eight-inning no-hitter in a 5-0 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan. Grand Valley State has made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in each of Rivera's three years as the top assistant coach. The Lakers finished 2017 with a perfect 14-0 home record, marking just the fifth time in school history GVSU has went undefeated at home. Moreover, the 14 victories are a new school record for most home wins without a loss in program history.  Also in 2017, Rivera coached her first GVSU All-American as a full-time assistant. Senior second baseman Jenna Lenza was a Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) First Team All-American, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Second Team All-American, and a CoSIDA Academic First Team All-American. In 2016, GVSU posted a 43-13 overall record, while finishing conference play with a 21-5 league record. The Lakers won both the Midwest Region #1 Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. (defeating Southern Indiana, #2 Indianapolis, and Trevecca Nazarene twice) and swept #10 Wayne State in the Midwest Super Regional best-of-three series. With the two-game sweep of the Warriors, Grand Valley State returned to the College World Series for the third time. The Lakers fell to #1 West Texas A&M and #16 Armstrong State at the College World Series in Denver, Colo. GVSU ended the year ranked #7 in the latest NFCA Top-25 poll. Rivera and current head coach Dana Callihan were voted the 2016 Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year, announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).   The Lakers went 32-17 in Rivera's first season as a full-time assistant, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row. In 2015, GVSU went 17-8 in conference play, finishing fourth in the GLIAC standings. Rivera has been the team’s pitching coach since the 2005 season and a member of the Laker staff under Callihan and former head coach Doug ‘Doc’ Woods.   While on staff, Rivera has helped the Lakers to an overall record of 447-219 (.671) over the past 13 seasons. During that time, GVSU has gone 212-99 (.682) in conference play. She has been a part of 13 NCAA Tournament appearances overall - four as a player (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) and nine as an assistant coach (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).   The Lakers have also won six GLIAC titles during Rivera’s time in Allendale - three as a player (2001, 2003, 2004) and three on the coaching staff (2012, 2013, 2017). She has been a member of all three of Grand Valley State’s berths in the Division II College World Series; she was the team’s starting pitcher in the 2002 appearance in Salem, Va., the Lakers' pitching coach during the 2013 trip to Salem, Va., and the top assistant during the 2016 berth in Denver, Colo.   In 2011 - when the Lakers went 41-16 and improved their record by 19 victories from the previous season - Rivera was a part of the Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year, as awarded by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).   Rivera is arguably the greatest pitcher in GLIAC history, as she finished her four-year career in the circle with an incredible record of 103-16. She struck out 1,015 batters in 821.0 innings, tossing 58 solo shutouts and owning a 0.67 career earned run average. A dominating righthander, Rivera also collected 16 saves and never won less than 20 games in a season.   She is still the only person to be named GLIAC Softball Player of the Year three times. Only two other players in conference history have won the award more than once. Rivera continues to rank first in league history in wins and ERA, third in innings pitched and saves (16), and fourth in strikeouts. Her 102 complete games and 58 shutouts are unofficial conference records. She tossed six no-hitters during her career, four of which were perfect games. Both of those figures are school records.   During her playing career, Rivera and the Lakers went 182-33-2, good for an .843 winning percentage. The team owned an .821 winning mark in GLIAC games, totaling a league record of 64-14. As a player and coach with GVSU, Rivera has been a part of 629 victories in her GVSU career, winning at a .713 clip.   In 2002, Rivera notched a school-record 30 victories in the circle and led GVSU to its first-ever Division II College World Series berth - and also the Division II National Championship game. That same year, she was named an NFCA First Team All-American; she would be a Second Team All-America choice in 2003.   A four-time All-GLIAC selection, Rivera was inducted into the Grand Valley State Hall of Fame in 2010. In addition to her on-field honors, she was also a 2003 Verizon Academic All-American.   From 2008 to 2014, Rivera pulled double duty, both as an assistant coach and as a teacher in Grand Rapids. She spent five years at William C. Abney Academy and most recently worked at Vista Charter Academy, teaching science at both institutions.   Originally from Pinconning, Rivera is a 2005 graduate of Grand Valley State. She holds a bachelor of science degree in group science, with a minor in elementary education, and is nearing completion of a masters of education degree from GVSU. Rivera has two sons, Mack (9) and Miles (4).