Northwest Nazarene University Women's Softball

Biography Rich Wagner enters his 14th season as the Nighthawks' head softball coach in the 2025-26 academic year. Wagner has led an incredible turnaround of the NNU softball program, taking over a team that had not had a winning season in the first 11 years of existence but has now finished at .500 or above in each of the last eight campaigns, including five 30+ win seasons. Since 2018, he has claimed five GNAC Regular Season Championships, three GNAC Tournament Championships, and five NCAA Tournament berths. He earned his 200th win at NNU during his 10th season at the helm in 2022. In his 13 years, Wagner's players have earned seven All-American honors, 31 All-Region honors, two Regional Player of the Year awards, 62 All-GNAC honors, two GNAC Player of the Years, five GNAC Pitcher of the Years, five GNAC Freshman of the Years, two GNAC Newcomer of the Years, and two GNAC Championship MVPs. Academically, NNU softball has also registered 17 CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees and 109 Academic All-GNAC recipients. Wagner's Nighthawks set a new high mark of excellence for the program during the 2024 season. NNU set a new program record for wins in a season, going 41-12 overall and 20-4 in conference play. The Nighthawks won their fourth-straight GNAC Regular Season Championship and qualified for NCAA Regionals for the fourth year in a row. This year, however, NNU hosted the West Regional for the first time in program history as the two-seed and went 2-2 at the regional pod. The Nighthawks were ranked in the NFCA Top 25 all season, rising as high as 13th nationally on April 30. NNU ranked sixth in all of Division II with a 1.56 ERA, 10th with a 1.07 WHIP, and 12th with 16 shutouts. Sidney Booth was recognized as an All-American by two national outlets as well as the D2CAA West Region Pitcher of the Year and GNAC Pitcher of the Year. Emma Mulligan was also named All-Region and four other Nighthawks also earned All-GNAC honors. The 2023 season was likely the best yet for Wagner and the Nighthawks, as NNU set program records for overall wins (39-17 record) and conference wins (21-3 mark in the GNAC). NNU won the GNAC regular season title by six games and flew to the GNAC tournament title with a 3-0 mark at the tourney with just three runs allowed in the three victories. The Nighthawks then advanced to NCAA Regionals for the fourth time in the last five full seasons, where they came as close as could be to their first NCAA Super Regional appearance, winning three games at the regional before falling in the title game. NNU allowed three runs or less in each of their last 14 games and 20 of the final 21 contests. In the circle, the Nighthawks led the GNAC and ranked 20th in the nation with a 1.96 team ERA and 15th nationally with a 1.08 WHIP. Outfielder Maia McNicoll and utility/pitcher Tori Hensley were consensus All-Region honorees while Sidney Booth also earned one regional accolade. McNicoll was the GNAC Player of the Year, leading seven All-GNAC honorees, with Wagner also receiving his fourth GNAC Coach of the Year honor (third in a row).  The Nighthawks had another great season in 2022, going 35-21 overall and 18-6 in GNAC play to set a new program record for wins in a season. NNU won their second-straight GNAC Regular Season Championship and went on to also take the GNAC Tournament Title. The Nighthawks then won their opener at the NCAA West Regional over top seed Cal State San Marcos. Sidney Booth and Ivy Hommel were both consensus All-Region picks, while Booth was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Year for the second-straight season and Charlotte Forniss was the GNAC Freshman of the Year. Six total Nighthawks were named All-Conference, with Wagner also earning the GNAC Coach of the Year honor for the second year in a row. The Nighthawks made history in 2021, equaling the program record for wins in a season while taking their first-ever NCAA Championships victory with a 2-1 win over Central Washington in their second NCAA Regional appearance. NNU finished the campaign with an overall record of 31-14 and an 11-5 mark in conference play, good enough to claim the GNAC regular season title for the second time in school history. Following the season, Wagner was named the GNAC Coach of the Year.   In 2019, NNU earned the second GNAC playoff berth in program history behind a group of 10 seniors, who left the school with nearly every record imaginable at that point.   In 2018, the Nighthawks set program records for wins in a season, conference wins in a season, winning the first GNAC regular-season title, winning the first GNAC conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time.   Wagner has over two decades of coaching experience with college-level student-athletes, having served as an assistant coach with the Northwest Nazarene baseball program from 2001 to 2005 and as a head coach in the Boise Collegiate Summer League (BSL) from 2007 to 2011. Also, in the 2021-22 year he began a three-year term on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee for softball.   Wagner graduated from NNU in 1999 with a degree in Political Science and enjoyed a four-year baseball career at Northwest Nazarene. He earned the Eldon Beer Baseball Award in 1995 as the top freshman player and was a second-team All-Cascade Collegiate Conference team member in both 1997 and 1998.   "I have had a passion for this institution since I came to campus, having the opportunity to start my collegiate career in 1994 as a student-athlete, my coaching career as an assistant in 2001 and now leading the softball team is like a dream come true," Wagner said.   Off the field, Wagner served as a Intensive Behavioral Interventionist from 2002 to 2012 with both Advocates For Inclusion and Community Partnerships of Idaho. Year-by-Year Year Overall Pct. GNAC Pct. Postseason 13 Seasons 303-308 .496 150-152 .497 6 GNAC Tournament Appearances | 5 GNAC Regular Season Championships | 3 GNAC Tournament Championships | 5 NCAA West Regional Appearances 2013 5-39 .114 0-24 .000 -- 2014 13-34 .277 5-19 .208 -- 2015 9-37 .196 2-22 .083 -- 2016 17-29 .370 11-17 .393 -- 2017 23-27 .460 13-15 .464 -- 2018 31-23 .574 19-9 .679 GNAC Regular Season Champs | GNAC Tournament Champs | NCAA West Regional Quarterfinals 2019 28-24 .538 16-12 .571 GNAC Semifinals 2020* 8-8 .500 1-3 .250 -- 2021 31-14 .689 11-5 .688 GNAC Regular Season Champs | GNAC Finals | NCAA West Regional Semifinals 2022 35-21 .625 18-6 .750 GNAC Regular Season Champs | GNAC Tournament Champs | NCAA West Regional Semifinals 2023 39-17 .696 21-3 .875 GNAC Regular Season Champs | GNAC Tournament Champs | NCAA West Regional Final 2024 41-12 .774 20-4 .833 GNAC Regular Season Champs | GNAC Finals | NCAA West Regional Final 2025 23-23 .500 11-13 .458 -- *The rest of the 2020 GNAC regular season & all postseason was canceled due to COVID-19  

Greg Mitchell joined the NNU track & field and cross country staff in the fall of 2022, first serving as the assistant cross country coach and the assistant track & field coach for the distance events before earning promotion to Head Coach in the fall of 2024. In his first year as the head coach of the Nighthawks in 2024-25, two of Mitchell's athletes earned NCAA DII Outdoor All-American honors. Laurenz Waldbauer was the National Runner-Up in the javelin, while also earned GNAC Men's Field Athlete of the Year honors and GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition. Destany Herbert earned Second Team All-American honors with a ninth-place finish in the shot put at the outdoor championships. Gerohm Rihari also qualified for Outdoor Nationals in the high jump. The Nighthawks also earned 14 All-Region honors from the USTFCCCA and 26 All-GNAC honors, including four individual GNAC titles. NNU also broke school records 15 times during the year and registered nine NCAA provisional qualifying marks. The men's cross country squad also recorded their best finish in over 20 years at the GNAC Championships with a runner-up finish as a team. In his first cross country season at the helm, Mitchell led the men's team to a runner-up finish at the 2024 GNAC Championships, the team's highest finish since winning the conference title in 2001. Brody Kemble earned his second-straight All-GNAC honor, while Kemble and Morgan Erler both achieved All-Region recognition.  Mitchell joined the program with over 25 years of previous coaching experience at the collegiate, high school, and club level. He most recently served as the head coach of the Rose City Track Club in Portland from 2017-2021, coaching post-collegiate athletes to achievements such as Olympic Trials Marathon and Boston Marathon qualifying times.  Prior to that, Mitchell spent two years, one as an assistant and one as the head coach, at Mountainside High School in Beaverton, Oregon, helping to establish a brand new program at a new high school. Before Mountainside, he spent 10 years at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, first as an assistant coach and then the associate head cross country coach for six seasons, coaching numerous individual NCAA DIII national qualifiers and conference champions.  Prior to Linfield, he held multiple cross country and track & field roles at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, McMinnville High School in Oregon, and Gresham High School in Oregon. Mitchell ran collegiately for Linfield, claiming two conference championships and two conference runner-up finishes in the 10,000 meters. He also earned a runner-up finish in the 5000 meters and finished second twice at the conference cross country meet. His Linfield squad won the conference's team track & field championship twice and the cross country championship once. At the national level, he qualified for the NAIA Cross Country Championships three times and the NAIA Track & Field Championships twice. He continues to compete at a high level, as he is a 13-time USATF Masters Individual Champion (cross country, track, and roads), a six-time USATF Masters Team Cross Country Champion with the Bowerman Track Club, and the American Masters record holder in the 20,000 meters. Mitchell earned his undergraduate degree from Linfield before receiving a Masters of Education from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He and his wife Stephanie have one daughter, Phoebe.

Kelli Rich was announced as the first head coach in NNU STUNT history in September of 2024, taking the reins of the program after the athletic department's 16th intercollegiate sport was revealed in June. "We are blessed to have Kelli as our new STUNT Coach," said Rush. "She has the drive, intellect, and ability to launch this program and ignite the new sport of STUNT at NNU. Kelli is a tremendous fit for our University and Athletic Department, and as a leader and mentor she will have a great impact on the athletes she brings to NNU." With more than twenty years of experience in coaching cheerleading, Rich has already been deeply dedicated to the sport and mentoring young athletes. As the head coach of a successful cheerleading program in Nampa, Idaho, she has led multiple teams to victory, achieving five consecutive district championships and seven state tournament awards. Numerous athletes she has coached have progressed to collegiate cheerleading and subsequently gone on to coach successful teams in their adult careers. "As a cheerleading coach, I have seen the incredible impact cheerleading has in shaping young athletes into resilient and well-rounded adults," said Rich. "I am dedicated to remaining active in the cheerleading community and excited to build the STUNT program at Northwest Nazarene University, where I can share my experience and passion with future generations of Nighthawks. "I take immense pride in helping athletes develop not only their athletic skills but also their confidence and teamwork capabilities. 'The Pyramid of Success Playbook' by John Wooden holds a special place on my bookshelf, because of its focus on the essential elements of teamwork. My commitment to building a strong team is focused on cultivating a culture with well-defined expectations, utilizing individual strengths to achieve team success, and empowering individuals to recognize their strengths given by the Lord." Kelli and her husband, Cody, happily call Nampa, Idaho their home. They have three children – a vibrant daughter who excels in cheerleading, a son who is thriving in his college baseball journey, and their eldest son who serves with pride in the U.S. Navy. 

Hallie Swanson enters her 10th season as an assistant coach with the Northwest Nazarene softball program in the 2025-26 academic year. Swanson, who was elevated to the top assistant role in 2019, works with the outfielders and assists in all facets of the program.  Swanson's nine years in Nampa have coincided with the best run of success in NNU softball history. Excluding the COVID-shortened 2021 season, the Nighthawks have won five of the eight GNAC Regular Season Championships during that stretch. They have also won three GNAC Tournament titles and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the five conference championship campaigns.  Swanson has also been a travel ball coach for the Idaho Dirtdogs since 2017, which has included consecutive PGF Nationals Berths from 2020-2023. Prior to joining NNU's program, she was a high school coach in the valley from 2014-17 and earned 5A JV Coach of the Year honors in both 2016 and 2017. She also earned coaching experience in the 90's when she was a player/coach with a travel ball organization called the Inland Empire Pirettes. Originally from Redlands, California, Swanson's collegiate playing career started at Cal Poly Pomona, but the softball program was dropped after her freshman year so she moved to Huntington, West Virginia to be a part of DI Marshall University's inaugural softball program. She played second base and right field for her three seasons at Marshall, where she was a part of the Thundering Herd's 1995 Southern Conference Tournament Championship and was credited with three walk-off wins in the 1994 season. Of note, she attended Marshall at the same time as future NFL stars Randy Moss and Chad Pennington.  Swanson graduated from Marshall in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Medicine. Upon graduation, she spent a year as a sports medicine graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky University and graduated from EKU in July 1998 with a Masters in Athletic Administration. She then worked at the University of Wyoming as an assistant athletic trainer for women's basketball & women's soccer from 1998-2001.  Hallie lives in Eagle, Idaho and is married to Matt Swanson. They have two daughters, Annie Swanson (currently attending NNU) & Sophie Swanson (11th grade at Eagle High School).

Brittany Genuardi begins her fifth season as an assistant coach with the Northwest Nazarene softball program in 2025-26. Genuardi was a standout catcher for the Nighthawks for five years from 2017-21. She finished her career at or near the top of multiple NNU Top-Ten lists, including holding three program records: career home runs (34), RBIs (171), and walks (125). She was also fourth in batting average (.361), second in slugging percentage (.619), second in on-base percentage (.468), second in runs scored (127), second in hits (219), and tied for second in doubles (49). After her senior season in 2021, Genuardi was named a D2CCA Honorable Mention All-American, the D2CCA West Region Player of the Year, First Team All-Region by the D2CCA and the NFCA, the GNAC Player of the Year, and First Team All-GNAC. During the rest of her career, she was also named D2CCA Second Team All-Region in 2017, the GNAC Freshman of the Year in 2017, and All-GNAC in 2017, 2018, and 2019.  

Tori Hensley joined the Northwest Nazarene softball coaching staff as an assistant prior to the 2025 season. Hensley returned to the Nighthawks program a year after finishing her career in Nampa in 2023. Hensley was one of the top two-way players in program history, ranking in the top five all-time at NNU in batting average, ERA, wins, saves, complete games, and innings pitched.  She earned three All-GNAC honors and was named All-Region in both 2021 and 2023. Her career in Nampa coincided with an incredible stretch for the program, as the Nighthawks won GNAC Regular Season titles in all three full seasons, two GNAC tournament titles, and reached NCAA Regionals all three times. 

Brenna Higdon is in her first full season as an assistant coach with the Northwest Nazarene STUNT program in its inaugural 2025-26 year. Higdon came to Nampa after a four-year career with the Vanguard University STUNT team. She was a flyer/tumbler for the Lions and was a two-time NAIA First Team All-American in 2021 and 2024. Higdon and the Lions also won the NAIA STUNT National Championship in 2021.  While at Vanguard, she ran the STUNT program's social media accounts for her final two seasons, and also worked as a Sports Media Associate with the entire athletic department all four years.  Higdon is a native of Sacramento, California and graduated from Vanguard in the spring of 2024 with a degree in Kinesiology.

Jake Knight returned to his alma mater as an assistant track and field coach ahead of the 2024-25 year, specializing in the throwing events. In his first year coaching with the Nighthawks in 2024-25, two of Knight's throwers earned NCAA DII Outdoor All-American honors. Laurenz Waldbauer was the National Runner-Up in the javelin, while also earned GNAC Men's Field Athlete of the Year honors and GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition. Destany Herbert earned Second Team All-American honors with a ninth-place finish in the shot put at the outdoor championships. Waldbauer, Herbert, and Emily Powers (javelin) were also each named All-Region by the USTFCCCA.  Knight graduated from NNU in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. Following graduation, he continued to compete in the discus at the national level while coaching several high school and collegiate throwers to improved performances. Knight is the current school record holder in the shot put (18.29m/60’0.25”) and discus (55.78m/183’). At the GNAC level, he is the conference record holder in the discus and is ranked second all-time in the shot put. He was the 2019 GNAC Champion in both the shot put and discus, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both events. He placed fifth in the discus at the NCAA meet, earning All-American honors. Prior to NNU, Knight played football at Boise State University from 2015 to 2017. He was a scholar-athlete every season and won the Hammer Award in 2016. Knight spent his freshman year of college at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, where he was a member of the track & field team and an NCAA DI championships and SEC championships qualifier in 2015. Knight has lived in Meridian since 2006. He graduated from Rocky Mountain High School where he was a three-sport athlete. Knight is an avid fly-fisherman and mountain bike rider, and works part-time during summers as a fly-fishing guide.

Dakota Hutton-King joined the Northwest Nazarene track & field coaching staff prior to the 2024-25 year. Dakota is no stranger to Nampa, as she spent six years as a student-athlete with the Nighthawks from 2018-24. She works with NNU's jumps squad and also serves as the team's Recruiting & Visit Coordinator. The Sun Valley, Idaho native competed primarily in the long jump and triple jump during her time as an athlete, with her triple jump personal best of 11.06 meters slotting in 10th in program history at the time of her graduation.