Northern Kentucky University Women's Softball

It is another historic day for Northern Kentucky Athletics as vice president and director of athletics Christina Roybal has announced the hiring of Morgan Gerak as the next head coach of the Norse softball program on August 1, 2024. Gerak, who spent the past two years as a top assistant with NKU, will become the youngest softball head coach in school history.   During her time with the Norse, Gerak has helped Northern Kentucky post the two most successful seasons in NKU's NCAA Division I era, which included the program's first Power Five victories (over Michigan State in 2023 and Michigan in 2024) and the school's first Horizon League Championship and NCAA Regional appearance in school history in 2023.   "We are thrilled to announce Morgan as the next head coach of our softball program," vice president and director of athletics Christina Roybal said. "We have been able to see firsthand the dedication she has for her student-athletes, both on and off the field, over the past two years as an assistant coach for the Norse. She is a rising star in the profession and with her success and potential, the sky is the limit for both Coach Gerak and the softball program."   "I am humbled and honored to be the next softball coach at NKU," an excited Gerak said. "This program has a special place in my heart, and I am thrilled for the opportunity to lead these young women who are so dedicated to their team, their teammates, their studies, their community and Northern Kentucky University."   "I am grateful to NKU, President Dr. Cady Short-Thompson and vice president and director of athletics Christina Roybal for this opportunity and to Coach Kathryn Gleason for bringing me into this program," Gerak concluded. "I am excited for the future of NKU softball!"   Over her first two years with the Norse, Gerak worked primarily with the NKU pitching staff while also assisting with the offense, recruiting, academics and all things related to team travel.   To go with the program's first conference championship and NCAA appearance in 2023, NKU racked up 50 wins over the past two seasons to go with having one of the best pitching staffs in the conference.   In 2024, Northern Kentucky led the Horizon in opponent batting average (.249) and shutouts (eight) to go with second-place rankings in strikeouts (267), victories (27) and saves (eight). This came a year after the Norse paced the Horizon in punchouts (316) and were ranked second in the conference in saves (three), third in wins (23) and fourth in opponent batting average (.269).   To go with the team success, the Norse recorded the first and second no-hitters of NKU's NCAA DI era in 2023 as Lauryn Hicks and Alicia Flores made history against Detroit Mercy on April 14 and 15. Northern Kentucky's pitching staff has also picked up three conference yearly honors (one First Team, one Second Team and one All-Freshman Team nod) over Gerak's first two years working with the program.   Gerak joined the Norse after a successful stint as the graduate assistant coach at Northwestern University. Before joining the coaching ranks, the DeKalb, Illinois native was a five-year student-athlete at NU, where she was a standout on the field and in the classroom for the Wildcats.   To go with her playing experience both in the circle and in the outfield, Gerak was a Big Ten Conference Autonomy Representative, a head coach with the Wasco Diamonds Fastpitch softball program and a member of Northwestern's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).   At Northwestern, Gerak called pitches and served as the pitching coach during the 2021 Tempe Super Regional, coordinated the bullpen schedule for all pitchers and catchers, oversaw all Wildcat softball camps and served as a role model to NU student-athletes by developing her young women into leaders, both on-and-off the field.  The Wildcats had a stellar season in 2022, that saw the program finish with a regular season record of 45-13, which included a mark of 19-4 in conference play. Northwestern won the Big Ten Championships and advanced through the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals to appear in the Women's College World Series for just the sixth time in program history.  Wildcat senior hurler Danielle Williams was also unanimously chosen as the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in 2022 and the Northwestern staff was named the Great Lakes Regional NCAA DI Coaching Staff of the Year to close the storybook campaign.   Gerak received both her bachelor's degree in biological sciences and her master's degree in sports administration from Northwestern.

Following her playing career, Maddie Lacer was hired as an assistant coach for the Northern Kentucky softball program by first-year head coach Morgan Gerak. Lacer played four years in Highland Heights, winning a Horizon League Championship and Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year twice.  ""Maddie Lacer made a tremendous imprint on our program as a student-athlete. She set the standard for the way our players challenge themselves and compete. We are thrilled that she will continue to grow our program on the other side of the game. Her dedication to NKU and her understanding of our team culture will make an immediate impact to the NKU softball program. Maddie's knowledge not only of the catching position but also our hitting philosophy along with her relatability as a former student-athlete will serve our team in multitudes." - Morgan Gerak 2024: Appeared in 49 games, starting 49 as catcher All-League Second Team  Named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year; her second year earning this award Finished with a .990 fielding percentage with 263 putouts with 43 assists Had twelve multi-hit and four multi-RBI games Posted a season-high three hits against Detroit Mercy after going 3-for-4 with two doubles (April 26)  Went 2-for-4 with two RBI against Purdue Fort Wayne (March 30) 2023: Appeared in 51 games, starting 50 as catcher Named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year All-League First Team  Finished with a career-best .991 fielding percentage with 311 putouts and 28 assists Had 7 multi-hit and 5 multi-RBI games Went 2-for-3 with a double against Oakland during the Horizon League Tournament (May 12)  Posted a season-high three RBI against PFW (April 22)  Posted a season-high four RBI against Oakland (March 24) Went 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBI against Oakland (March 24)  Finished with a .991 fielding percentage, adding 311 putouts and 28 assists 2022:  Appeared in 54 games, starting all 54 at catcher Posted 6 multi-hit games Went 2-for-3 with two RBI against PFW (March 8) Went 2-for-4 with a home run against PFW (March 7) Caught a season high of two runners stealing against Michigan (February 25) Finished with a .989 fielding percentage, adding and 351 putouts and 23 assists 2021: Made 23 appearances with 21starts Started 16 games as catcher and five as pinch hitter Record a .268 batting average Belted a line-drive grand slam to left field against Cleveland State, marking her first career homerun (March 27) Had five hits against Oakland on March 20 in the double-header series Posted a .998 fielding percentage with only one error on the season, adding 74 putouts.

Alexa began as an Assistant Athletic Trainer for NKU in January 2023.She works primarily with the Softball and Cheerleading teams. She is one of NKU’s insurance coordinators.   Alexa graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science at the University of Louisville in 2020. She received her master's degree in athletic Training from the University of Evansville in 2022.  During her time at Evansville, she gained clinical experience with The University of Florida Gymnastics team as well as Evansville’s baseball and volleyball teams. After completing her masters, she worked as an Assistant Athletic Trainer for Bellarmine University.