Northwestern University Women's Softball

Drohan has built the program into one of the nation's best, leading the Wildcats to a pair of Big Ten Championships and back-to-back Women's College World Series semifinal appearances alongside her twin sister and associate head coach, Caryl Drohan. Kate Drohan took over the 'Cats after serving as an assistant under legendary head coach Sharon Drysdale for four seasons. In 2013, Northwestern Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips announced a five-year contract extension, ensuring the Drohan era will continue at Northwestern through 2018. After 15 seasons, Drohan's career record of 507-297-1 gives her a .630 overall winning percentage. Her record includes an incredible five-year stretch from 2005-09 in which NU compiled a combined record of 215-77, reached the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament four times and became the first private school in NCAA history to advance to the WCWS semifinals in consecutive years (2006-07). Overall under Drohan, NU has made 11 NCAA Tourney appearances and moved on to the Regional championship round six times. Drohan already has cemented her status as one of the best coaches in Big Ten history, joining four other conference coaches (including Drysdale) as the only coaches to ever take Big Ten schools to the WCWS. Drohan is one of two coaches to make the final pairing in Oklahoma City. Her .630 career winning percentage ranks third-best in Big Ten Conference history among coaches with 10 years of experience in the league. Drohan took over a squad that finished 20-25 in 2001, and led it to a 24-18-1 record in her first season in 2002. Building on its above .500 mark, Northwestern qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2003, kicking off a string of 11 postseason appearances in the next 14 years. Postseason success has become a trademark of Drohan's teams. Northwestern is 30-25 in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, including a 5-4 mark at the Women's College World Series. Since the advent of Super Regional play in 2005, the Wildcats have won their Regional four times and advanced to the Regional final six times. Northwestern has earned national respect from the pollsters as well. The Wildcats were ranked in 76-consecutive NFCA coaches polls and 78-straight USA Softball polls dating from March of 2005 until March of 2010. NU spent 27 of those weeks in the top 10 of the NFCA rankings, and earned the program's first No. 1 vote in 2008 after defeating then-No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 3 Texas A&M to begin the year. Big Ten dominance also has become one of Drohan's hallmarks. Since finishing tied for fifth in the conference in her first year, the 'Cats improved to top-four finishes 10 times in the last 13 years, including capturing Big Ten titles in 2006 and 2008. Northwestern also won the Big Ten Tournament title in 2008 after advancing to the championship game of the event in four of the previous six years. Drohan's career conference record is 195-109. NU led the Big Ten in total league victories in four-straight seasons from 2005-08. In 2006, Northwestern's Big Ten title was its first since 1987, and the Wildcats qualified for the Women's College World Series for the first time in 20 years. In Oklahoma City, the Wildcats made an exciting and perfect 3-0 run through bracket play to the championship series. NU's finish at the WCWS and in the polls -- No. 2 -- both marked program bests. The 'Cats also reached the 50-win plateau for the first time in school history. Drohan and her staff earned NFCA/Speedline National Coaching Staff of the Year honors following the 2006 season. Drohan and the 'Cats then repeated their run to the WCWS semifinals in 2007, again breaking the school record with 52 victories. Northwestern played the nation's No. 4-rated schedule, and earned a program-best No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In 2008, Northwestern performed a Big Ten double dip, winning both the regular season championship and the tournament championship in the same season for the first time in school history. NU's 18-2 record in conference play marked its most wins in the league since going 19-9 in 1995 during an era when teams played four-game sets against each other. From 2005-12, seven different Wildcats earned a total of 14 All-America honors under the Drohans -- including a trio of freshmen. Also, NU has won five Big Ten Player of the Year, three Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and five Big Ten Freshman of the Year awards over the entire Drohan tenure. Since joining the Northwestern staff in 1998, Drohan has coached 42 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selections, 12 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections and 83 All-Big Ten honorees. Ten Wildcats have been selected in the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) senior draft or gone on to play in the league in the last 12 years. Drohan's accomplishments at Northwestern began from the first day. One season after taking over the program in 2002, Drohan led the Wildcats to a 36-19 record and Northwestern's sixth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2003, the first of seven-straight NCAA tourney berths. Drohan coached NU to its third-straight NCAA appearance in 2005, advancing to Super Regional play after winning South Bend Regional as the nation's No. 9 overall seed. Four Wildcats landed first-team All-Big Ten honors, at the time tied for the most in NU history. The Wildcats won 42 games in 2005, one shy of the then-school record, and rose to a ranking of 15th in both national polls -- the highest rankings for NU at the time. Drohan and her staff were named the NFCA's Mideast Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. After its World Series and Super Regional runs of the late 2000s, NU broke a two-year postseason absence with a spectacular finish to the 2012 campaign. Buoyed by playing the nation's No. 1-rated nonconference strength of schedule, the Wildcats won eight of their final nine regular season games to gain eligibility and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 4 seed in the Austin Region, NU upset the Tournament's No. 6 overall seed Texas in the opening round, eventually advancing to its fifth NCAA Regional Final under the Drohans. Drohan has proven to be one of the top recruiters in the country, bringing the best and the brightest to Evanston. In addition to all of NU's Big Ten superlative winners and 14 All-America awards, then-NU senior Carri Leto was one of 45 players and the only Big Ten student-athlete to earn a tryout with the U.S. National Team in 2003. Since then, Garland Cooper, Eileen Canney and Tammy Williams all have earned invites to the U.S. National Team selection camp. Canney and Williams won spots on the 2010 USA Softball Women's National Team, marking Northwestern's first contributions to that roster since Lisa Ishikawa in 1985. Drohan herself joined the USA Softball Women's National Team coaching pool for the 2009-12 quadrennium. She was named the head coach of the 2010 Futures National Team, leading the squad at the 2010 World Cup of Softball. She was slated to coach the National Team at the 2011 Japan Cup before that tournament was canceled after an earthquake and tsunami decimated the host city of Sendai. During Drohan's time as an assistant coach in Evanston, the Wildcats put together three 30-plus win seasons, highlighted by an NCAA Regional appearance in 2000. After the 2000 season, Drohan was promoted to associate head coach and took on further responsibilities within the program. In early 2001, Drysdale informed the administration that she would step down as head coach at the end of the spring. Shortly after that announcement, Athletic Director Rick Taylor announced that Drohan would become NU's head softball coach. Drohan came to Evanston from Boston College, where she had served as an assistant coach for the Eagles for two seasons. There she served as assistant softball coach and assistant athletic director for facilities from 1995-97. In addition to her duties with the softball team, Drohan worked game operations and administration with the Eagles. A much respected and sought-after clinician, Drohan has delivered lectures to players, coaches and students of the game across the country. Beyond the softball arena, the business community has shown a strong interest in the leadership tools Drohan has developed within the program, leading to speaking engagements in the management world as well. Drohan earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Providence in May of 1995. As a member of the Providence softball team, she was named to the All-Big East team in 1992, 1994 and 1995. Drohan resides in Chicago. Kate Drohan Head Coach In her 16th season at Northwestern's helm, head coach Kate Drohan has built the program into one of the nation's best, leading the Wildcats to a pair of Big Ten Championships and back-to-back Women's College World Series semifinal appearances alongside her twin sister and associate head coach, Caryl Drohan. Kate Drohan took over the 'Cats after serving as an assistant under legendary head coach Sharon Drysdale for four seasons. In 2013, Northwestern Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips announced a five-year contract extension, ensuring the Drohan era will continue at Northwestern through 2018. After 15 seasons, Drohan's career record of 507-297-1 gives her a .630 overall winning percentage. Her record includes an incredible five-year stretch from 2005-09 in which NU compiled a combined record of 215-77, reached the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament four times and became the first private school in NCAA history to advance to the WCWS semifinals in consecutive years (2006-07). Overall under Drohan, NU has made 11 NCAA Tourney appearances and moved on to the Regional championship round six times. Drohan already has cemented her status as one of the best coaches in Big Ten history, joining four other conference coaches (including Drysdale) as the only coaches to ever take Big Ten schools to the WCWS. Drohan is one of two coaches to make the final pairing in Oklahoma City. Her .630 career winning percentage ranks third-best in Big Ten Conference history among coaches with 10 years of experience in the league. Drohan took over a squad that finished 20-25 in 2001, and led it to a 24-18-1 record in her first season in 2002. Building on its above .500 mark, Northwestern qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2003, kicking off a string of 11 postseason appearances in the next 14 years. Postseason success has become a trademark of Drohan's teams. Northwestern is 30-25 in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, including a 5-4 mark at the Women's College World Series. Since the advent of Super Regional play in 2005, the Wildcats have won their Regional four times and advanced to the Regional final six times. Northwestern has earned national respect from the pollsters as well. The Wildcats were ranked in 76-consecutive NFCA coaches polls and 78-straight USA Softball polls dating from March of 2005 until March of 2010. NU spent 27 of those weeks in the top 10 of the NFCA rankings, and earned the program's first No. 1 vote in 2008 after defeating then-No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 3 Texas A&M to begin the year. Big Ten dominance also has become one of Drohan's hallmarks. Since finishing tied for fifth in the conference in her first year, the 'Cats improved to top-four finishes 10 times in the last 13 years, including capturing Big Ten titles in 2006 and 2008. Northwestern also won the Big Ten Tournament title in 2008 after advancing to the championship game of the event in four of the previous six years. Drohan's career conference record is 195-109. NU led the Big Ten in total league victories in four-straight seasons from 2005-08. In 2006, Northwestern's Big Ten title was its first since 1987, and the Wildcats qualified for the Women's College World Series for the first time in 20 years. In Oklahoma City, the Wildcats made an exciting and perfect 3-0 run through bracket play to the championship series. NU's finish at the WCWS and in the polls -- No. 2 -- both marked program bests. The 'Cats also reached the 50-win plateau for the first time in school history. Drohan and her staff earned NFCA/Speedline National Coaching Staff of the Year honors following the 2006 season. Drohan and the 'Cats then repeated their run to the WCWS semifinals in 2007, again breaking the school record with 52 victories. Northwestern played the nation's No. 4-rated schedule, and earned a program-best No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In 2008, Northwestern performed a Big Ten double dip, winning both the regular season championship and the tournament championship in the same season for the first time in school history. NU's 18-2 record in conference play marked its most wins in the league since going 19-9 in 1995 during an era when teams played four-game sets against each other. From 2005-12, seven different Wildcats earned a total of 14 All-America honors under the Drohans -- including a trio of freshmen. Also, NU has won five Big Ten Player of the Year, three Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and five Big Ten Freshman of the Year awards over the entire Drohan tenure. Since joining the Northwestern staff in 1998, Drohan has coached 42 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selections, 12 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections and 83 All-Big Ten honorees. Ten Wildcats have been selected in the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) senior draft or gone on to play in the league in the last 12 years. Drohan's accomplishments at Northwestern began from the first day. One season after taking over the program in 2002, Drohan led the Wildcats to a 36-19 record and Northwestern's sixth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2003, the first of seven-straight NCAA tourney berths. Drohan coached NU to its third-straight NCAA appearance in 2005, advancing to Super Regional play after winning South Bend Regional as the nation's No. 9 overall seed. Four Wildcats landed first-team All-Big Ten honors, at the time tied for the most in NU history. The Wildcats won 42 games in 2005, one shy of the then-school record, and rose to a ranking of 15th in both national polls -- the highest rankings for NU at the time. Drohan and her staff were named the NFCA's Mideast Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. After its World Series and Super Regional runs of the late 2000s, NU broke a two-year postseason absence with a spectacular finish to the 2012 campaign. Buoyed by playing the nation's No. 1-rated nonconference strength of schedule, the Wildcats won eight of their final nine regular season games to gain eligibility and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 4 seed in the Austin Region, NU upset the Tournament's No. 6 overall seed Texas in the opening round, eventually advancing to its fifth NCAA Regional Final under the Drohans. Drohan has proven to be one of the top recruiters in the country, bringing the best and the brightest to Evanston. In addition to all of NU's Big Ten superlative winners and 14 All-America awards, then-NU senior Carri Leto was one of 45 players and the only Big Ten student-athlete to earn a tryout with the U.S. National Team in 2003. Since then, Garland Cooper, Eileen Canney and Tammy Williams all have earned invites to the U.S. National Team selection camp. Canney and Williams won spots on the 2010 USA Softball Women's National Team, marking Northwestern's first contributions to that roster since Lisa Ishikawa in 1985. Drohan herself joined the USA Softball Women's National Team coaching pool for the 2009-12 quadrennium. She was named the head coach of the 2010 Futures National Team, leading the squad at the 2010 World Cup of Softball. She was slated to coach the National Team at the 2011 Japan Cup before that tournament was canceled after an earthquake and tsunami decimated the host city of Sendai. During Drohan's time as an assistant coach in Evanston, the Wildcats put together three 30-plus win seasons, highlighted by an NCAA Regional appearance in 2000. After the 2000 season, Drohan was promoted to associate head coach and took on further responsibilities within the program. In early 2001, Drysdale informed the administration that she would step down as head coach at the end of the spring. Shortly after that announcement, Athletic Director Rick Taylor announced that Drohan would become NU's head softball coach. Drohan came to Evanston from Boston College, where she had served as an assistant coach for the Eagles for two seasons. There she served as assistant softball coach and assistant athletic director for facilities from 1995-97. In addition to her duties with the softball team, Drohan worked game operations and administration with the Eagles. A much respected and sought-after clinician, Drohan has delivered lectures to players, coaches and students of the game across the country. Beyond the softball arena, the business community has shown a strong interest in the leadership tools Drohan has developed within the program, leading to speaking engagements in the management world as well. Drohan earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Providence in May of 1995. As a member of the Providence softball team, she was named to the All-Big East team in 1992, 1994 and 1995. Drohan resides in Chicago.

Drohan on Caryl: "Working with Caryl is like a dream come true. I admire the loyalty and dedication she possesses and her knowledge of the game is outstanding." Caryl Drohan is in her 16th season with Northwestern alongside her twin sister, head coach Kate Drohan. After three seasons as an assistant coach for the 'Cats, Caryl was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2005 season. She came from Hofstra University after spending five years on the coaching staff there­ -- four as an assistant coach and the 2001 season as the associate head coach. Primarily responsible for hitting, Drohan has led the Wildcats into the offensive upper echelon of the nation, breaking and re-breaking school records in the process. In NU's best offensive season to date in 2014, the squad's top-to-bottom plate presence resulted in a school-record .332 team batting average and a program-best 6.55 runs per game. Drohan began helping NU establish new standards long before that. As a team in 2004, NU broke school records for home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Then-freshman Garland Cooper won the Big Ten batting title with a .384 mark and shattered five Wildcat single-season records. That offensive production exploded during NU's 2005 season. Sixteen individual Northwestern batting records fell, and Cooper was named Big Ten Player of the Year. NU shattered team marks for home runs (by 23; 56 total) and slugging percentage (by .054; .462 total), while putting up in the second-best team batting average in school history. In 2006, Northwestern qualified for its first Women's College World Series in 20 years, and went a perfect 3-0 through bracket play to reach the championship series. In those three games, the Wildcats hit a WCWS-best six home runs. The Wildcats also captured their first Big Ten title since 1987 and reached the 50-win plateau for the first time in school history. Drohan coached Cooper to her second-consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year honor and her third-straight batting title in `06, while helping freshman Tammy Williams set school records for runs scored, total bases and home runs. Williams was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The offensive numbers continued to skyrocket in 2007, when Northwestern again broke its school record with 52 wins. The Wildcats shattered 35 individual and team single-season or career records, including crushing a whopping 85 home runs to annihilate the old mark of 56. Cooper was named an NFCA All-American for the third time and became the first student-athlete in conference history to win a third-consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year award. Freshman Nicole Pauly's 14 home runs and 62 RBIs helped her become NU's third conference Freshman of the Year in the previous four seasons. Cooper hit a school-record 23 home runs in 2007, ending her career as the Big Ten's leader in homers with 55. Williams re-broke her own school records for runs scored (73), hits (91) and total bases (155). In 2008, Williams earned her second NFCA All-America first team honor and was named Big Ten Player of the Year while breaking school records for batting average (.440) and on-base percentage (.538). NU finished in the top 10 in the nation with 1.25 home runs per game. Up and down the order, the Wildcats were solid, with eight Wildcats hitting better than .250 and 10 batting better than .244. Williams was named Big Ten Player of the Year again in 2009, breaking her own school-record for batting average with a .448 mark. Adrienne Monka had the best season a freshman has ever put together for the Wildcats, earning an NFCA All-America first-team accolade after slugging a school-record .900 and ranking in the top-five in the nation in home runs per game, slugging percentage, RBIs per game and total home runs. As a team, NU ranked second in the country with 1.72 homers per game and broke school single-season marks for batting average (.294), slugging percentage (.542) and on-base percentage (.383). With an offense more focused on slapping and speed in 2011, Drohan coached the Wildcats to a school-record .309 batting average -- the first time any Wildcat team ever hit better than .300. Sophomore slapper Emily Allard shattered Williams' school-record for batting average with a .491 mark while Monka also surpassed it with a .461 average while slugging .865 with a school-record .707 on-base percentage. Sophomore Marisa Bast joined the ranks of Drohan-coached All-Americans in 2012, falling just two RBIs shy of the school single-season mark during a campaign in which she batted .411 with a .730 slugging percentage, 13 home runs and 68 RBIs. In 2013, sophomore Amy Letourneau won the Big Ten batting title at the plate while also winning the strikeout crown as a pitcher in the circle -- becoming the first conference student-athlete to ever accomplish that feat. Drohan and the NU coaching staff have twice been named Speedline/NFCA Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2005-06) and earned the 2006 Speedline/NFCA National Staff of the Year award. In the last 12 years, Wildcat batters have earned 11 All-America accolades, and Cooper and  Williams both earned U.S. National Team selection camp invitations. Williams became the first NU hitter to ever make the U.S. National Team in 2010, and she is the only four-time NFCA All-American in school history. During Drohan's time at Hofstra, the Pride won four-consecutive America East championships (1998-2001) and advanced to the NCAA Championships three straight times (1999-2001). In 2000, the Hofstra coaching staff was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) regional staff of the year. In her five years with the Pride, Drohan coached a pair of All-Americans. Her players earned 21 All-Region awards as well as 27 All-America East honors. Prior to her arrival at Hofstra, Drohan spent a year at Providence as an assistant coach. She also played at Providence from 1992-95, lettering four times as the Lady Friars went 145-72. They won ECAC Championships in 1994 and 1995, the Big East title in 1994, and played in the 1994 NCAA Championship. Drohan was second- team All-ECAC in 1994 and second- team All-Big East in 1995. She received a degree in social science from Providence. Active on the camp circuit, Drohan has traveled all over the nation to work with high school, club, ASA and fellow collegiate coaches. Her travels have taken her from the East Coast to Hawaii and all points in between, lecturing on hitting and offensive technique and strategy. Drohan also served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Force of National Professional Fastpitch in 2006. She resides in Chicago. Caryl Drohan Associate Head Coach Kate Drohan on Caryl: "Working with Caryl is like a dream come true. I admire the loyalty and dedication she possesses and her knowledge of the game is outstanding." Caryl Drohan is in her 16th season with Northwestern alongside her twin sister, head coach Kate Drohan. After three seasons as an assistant coach for the 'Cats, Caryl was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2005 season. She came from Hofstra University after spending five years on the coaching staff there­ -- four as an assistant coach and the 2001 season as the associate head coach. Primarily responsible for hitting, Drohan has led the Wildcats into the offensive upper echelon of the nation, breaking and re-breaking school records in the process. In NU's best offensive season to date in 2014, the squad's top-to-bottom plate presence resulted in a school-record .332 team batting average and a program-best 6.55 runs per game. Drohan began helping NU establish new standards long before that. As a team in 2004, NU broke school records for home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Then-freshman Garland Cooper won the Big Ten batting title with a .384 mark and shattered five Wildcat single-season records. That offensive production exploded during NU's 2005 season. Sixteen individual Northwestern batting records fell, and Cooper was named Big Ten Player of the Year. NU shattered team marks for home runs (by 23; 56 total) and slugging percentage (by .054; .462 total), while putting up in the second-best team batting average in school history. In 2006, Northwestern qualified for its first Women's College World Series in 20 years, and went a perfect 3-0 through bracket play to reach the championship series. In those three games, the Wildcats hit a WCWS-best six home runs. The Wildcats also captured their first Big Ten title since 1987 and reached the 50-win plateau for the first time in school history. Drohan coached Cooper to her second-consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year honor and her third-straight batting title in `06, while helping freshman Tammy Williams set school records for runs scored, total bases and home runs. Williams was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The offensive numbers continued to skyrocket in 2007, when Northwestern again broke its school record with 52 wins. The Wildcats shattered 35 individual and team single-season or career records, including crushing a whopping 85 home runs to annihilate the old mark of 56. Cooper was named an NFCA All-American for the third time and became the first student-athlete in conference history to win a third-consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year award. Freshman Nicole Pauly's 14 home runs and 62 RBIs helped her become NU's third conference Freshman of the Year in the previous four seasons. Cooper hit a school-record 23 home runs in 2007, ending her career as the Big Ten's leader in homers with 55. Williams re-broke her own school records for runs scored (73), hits (91) and total bases (155). In 2008, Williams earned her second NFCA All-America first team honor and was named Big Ten Player of the Year while breaking school records for batting average (.440) and on-base percentage (.538). NU finished in the top 10 in the nation with 1.25 home runs per game. Up and down the order, the Wildcats were solid, with eight Wildcats hitting better than .250 and 10 batting better than .244. Williams was named Big Ten Player of the Year again in 2009, breaking her own school-record for batting average with a .448 mark. Adrienne Monka had the best season a freshman has ever put together for the Wildcats, earning an NFCA All-America first-team accolade after slugging a school-record .900 and ranking in the top-five in the nation in home runs per game, slugging percentage, RBIs per game and total home runs. As a team, NU ranked second in the country with 1.72 homers per game and broke school single-season marks for batting average (.294), slugging percentage (.542) and on-base percentage (.383). With an offense more focused on slapping and speed in 2011, Drohan coached the Wildcats to a school-record .309 batting average -- the first time any Wildcat team ever hit better than .300. Sophomore slapper Emily Allard shattered Williams' school-record for batting average with a .491 mark while Monka also surpassed it with a .461 average while slugging .865 with a school-record .707 on-base percentage. Sophomore Marisa Bast joined the ranks of Drohan-coached All-Americans in 2012, falling just two RBIs shy of the school single-season mark during a campaign in which she batted .411 with a .730 slugging percentage, 13 home runs and 68 RBIs. In 2013, sophomore Amy Letourneau won the Big Ten batting title at the plate while also winning the strikeout crown as a pitcher in the circle -- becoming the first conference student-athlete to ever accomplish that feat. Drohan and the NU coaching staff have twice been named Speedline/NFCA Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2005-06) and earned the 2006 Speedline/NFCA National Staff of the Year award. In the last 12 years, Wildcat batters have earned 11 All-America accolades, and Cooper and  Williams both earned U.S. National Team selection camp invitations. Williams became the first NU hitter to ever make the U.S. National Team in 2010, and she is the only four-time NFCA All-American in school history. During Drohan's time at Hofstra, the Pride won four-consecutive America East championships (1998-2001) and advanced to the NCAA Championships three straight times (1999-2001). In 2000, the Hofstra coaching staff was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) regional staff of the year. In her five years with the Pride, Drohan coached a pair of All-Americans. Her players earned 21 All-Region awards as well as 27 All-America East honors. Prior to her arrival at Hofstra, Drohan spent a year at Providence as an assistant coach. She also played at Providence from 1992-95, lettering four times as the Lady Friars went 145-72. They won ECAC Championships in 1994 and 1995, the Big East title in 1994, and played in the 1994 NCAA Championship. Drohan was second- team All-ECAC in 1994 and second- team All-Big East in 1995. She received a degree in social science from Providence. Active on the camp circuit, Drohan has traveled all over the nation to work with high school, club, ASA and fellow collegiate coaches. Her travels have taken her from the East Coast to Hawaii and all points in between, lecturing on hitting and offensive technique and strategy. Drohan also served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Force of National Professional Fastpitch in 2006. She resides in Chicago.

Gascoigne, a 2013 NCAA champion and currently the ace of National Pro Fastpitch's Chicago Bandits, joined the Wildcats' staff as pitching coach in September of 2015. In her first season leading the NU pitchers, Gascoigne brought a new approach and focus to the staff that resulted in dramatic drops in ERA for senior aces Amy Letourneau and Kristen Wood. A Capital One Academic All-American in 2013, Gascoigne graduated from Oklahoma with a degree in education. She combined with classmate Keilani Ricketts to form the best pitching duo in the nation that season, leading the Sooners to the Women's College World Series championship game where Gascoigne threw a three-hit shutout to secure the national title for OU.   Over her collegiate career, Gascoigne compiled a 49-7 record with a 1.65 ERA and 507 strikeouts in 378.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .189 average. The lefty strikeout artist was one of 10 finalists for the 2013 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award.   Following the completion of her collegiate career, Gascoigne began playing professionally for the Bandits. Gascoigne was an All-NPF selection in both 2013 and 2014, and helped pitch the Bandits to the National Professional Fastpitch Cowles Cup Championship in 2015. She assumed the leadership role of the Bandits' pitching staff in the 2016 season. Gascoigne has prior coaching experience after serving as a graduate manager for her alma mater from 2014-15.