Madison College Women's Softball

Leo Kalinowski is entering his 16th season as the Madison College softball head coach after taking over the program prior to the 2011 season. Kalinowski needed just four seasons to become the program's all-time leader in coaching wins. He has also served as a Madison College Athletics Academic Advisor since 2011, aiding student-athletes through the academic rigors of Madison College and preparing them for their futures. Kalinowski was inducted into the Madison College Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2026, Kalinowski was awarded the Gus Burwell Distinguished Service Award by the Madison Dugout Club, Inc. Under the direction of Kalinowski, the WolfPack has vastly improved to become one of the stronger softball programs in the region, while also rising to new heights. Not only did the program shift from NJCAA Division III competition into Division II in 2015, but Kalinowski also turned a winless program in 2010 into a team that set new school records for wins in five straight years (2014 - 22 wins; 2015 - 33 wins; 2016 - 36 wins; 2017 - 37 wins; 2018 - 52 wins). In 2017, the WolfPack made their first-ever appearance in the Region 4 Division II Championship Game, and in 2018, they won the program's first Region 4 Division II District B Championship and made their first-ever NJCAA Division II National Tournament appearance. That effort was duplicated in 2019 and 2021. Kalinowski has been named Region 4 Coach of the Year three times, and North Central Community College Conference (N4C) Coach of the Year once. Madison College also matched Rock Valley College with a 16-2 record atop the N4C standings in 2018, but lost the league crown on a tiebreaker. Prior to that in the ultra competitive N4C, the WolfPack had finished second in the standings each of the previous three years, and has not been lower than third in ten years. Besides setting new win records, his teams have shattered team and individual school records, rewriting the record books for hitting, pitching, and fielding. During his tenure, the WolfPack had its first player in school history receive a softball scholarship to a four-year school, while also coaching the first player to be named N4C Most Valuable Player, Region 4 Player of the Year, and NJCAA All-American. During his tenure, Kalinowski has coached 41 all-conference players, 39 all-region honorees, and four All-Americans.   Prior to softball, Kalinowski put Madison College baseball on the map in the mid-1990's by winning three consecutive NJCAA Division III national titles from 1995-97. Kalinowski earned three NJCAA National Coach of the Year awards and seven Region XIII Coach of the Year awards while his team tallied an incredible 414-169-3 (.706) record in twelve seasons. His coaching record currently ranks as the highest winning percentage of any baseball coach in Madison College history. In all, his teams claimed twelve conference, eleven state, and seven NJCAA region championship titles. Kalinowski coached twelve all-Americans, six major league draftees, and placed numerous athletes in top NCAA baseball colleges across the country. In 2003 Kalinowski retired from coaching baseball at Madison College and moved to North Carolina. However, he soon returned to rejoin the coaching staff as an assistant in the fall of 2009. He helped return the team to the NJCAA National Tournament in 2010 before shifting to the softball diamond as the new head coach. In addition to softball, Kalinowski also serves as the Athletic Academic Advisor for Madison College student-athletes. Coach Kalinowski graduated from the University of Massachusetts- Amherst and was a 3 year letter winner for the Minuteman baseball team. He lives in Stoughton, Wisconsin, and has two children, Kennedy and Connor.  

Mike Bridge enters his 16th season as an assistant coach for the Madison College softball team. In 2019 he was named the NJCAA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Easton. Bridge brought 29 years of coaching experience to the Madison College softball team. He most recently served as the head coach for a Kodiak team that went to the Northern Nationals. It is a U16 traveling team that he coached from 2008-2010. Bridge also has coached at three local high schools from 2008-2010. He served as the assistant coach at Edgewood High School in 2008, and as an assistant volunteer coach at Madison East High School and Sun Prairie High School the last two years. Following a stint as the Lead Softball Instructor at Hitters Sportsplex in Middleton, Bridge now works as a private softball instructor. Bridge is a Madison native and a graduate of Madison East High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He enjoys playing all sports, fishing, and ballroom dancing. He is the father of two children, Chelsea and Casey.  

Jim Wickert became a Madison College assistant softball coach in 2010 and is entering his 17th season. No stranger to the game, Wickert's primary focus at Madison College has been in recruiting. Wickert began his coaching career as an assistant softball coach at McFarland High School in 1988, a postilion he held until 2014. During his 27 years as an assistant coach at McFarland, Wickert helped his team to over 450 wins and eight conference championships, two regional titles, and two trips to the WIAA State Tournament. . He also he formed a boys fast pitch softball team in 1992, and the team went on to win the Wisconsin Amateur Softball Association 12U State Championship. Wickert has received a 2008 Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Association Coaches Award for outstanding service and was named assistant coach for the 2006 WFPSA Senior All-Star Game. In 2016 Wickert was selected to the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Hall of Fame. Wickert currently lives in Madison with his wife, Martha. He retired from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection in 2004 where he served as a dairy inspector for 32 years.  

Ashley Stammen is entering her second season as an assistant softball coach at Madison College. Stammen returns to the WolfPack after playing for head coach Leo Kalinowski in 2015. Stammen started 51 of 52 games as a first year outfielder, helping Madison College to a 33-20 record. She finished third on the team with a .353 batting average and 36 runs batted in, while also sitting among the top five with 48 hits, 38 runs scored, and three home runs. Prior to Madison College, Stammen attended UW-Green Bay and earned her BS degree in Psychology & Human Development. She eventually earned her Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration from UW-Stevens Point.  During her prep days, Stammen was a two-sport athlete at Oregon High School, playing both softball and volleyball. She was a four-time all-conference selection in the Badger South Conference, including first team as a senior, second team as a sophomore, and honorable mention as both a junior and freshman.  Stammen's coaching experience includes working with youth volleyball teams. She is a registered dental hygienist and currently working as a part-time dental hygiene instructor at Madison College. Stammen resides in Arena, Wisconsin, with her husband, Jeremiah. In her free time, she enjoys being active through fitness, golfing, and playing softball.