Western Illinois University Women's Softball

Western Illinois University welcomed Alisa Goler as its head softball coach on June 23, 2020. She has served as the Leathernecks' fourth head coach in program history, after experience on staff at Pennsylvania State University, Syracuse University, and Roosevelt University.   In her first four seasons, Goler has compiled an overall record of 49-136 and a Summit League record 13-46. After moving to the OVC in 2024, the Leathernecks finished with a 5-22 record in year one in the Ohio Valley. During that timeframe, Western Illinois has had one first-team all conference player, four second-teamers and a trio of honorable mention players.  On April 1, 2024, Alisa Goler was named as an assistant coach to USA Softball's Elite and U-18 teams. In 2024, the Elite team will compete in a two-game exhibition series against Great Britain on June 29 and 30, which will mark Goler's coaching debut with USA Softball. The Elite Team will also travel to Japan in early July for the Japan All-Star Series. The U-18 team competes later in the summer, hosting the WBSC U-18 World Cup Stage Event, with Group C in Dallas from August 29-September 2.  In 2024, Western picked up three OVC honors, as senior corner infielder Bella Alvarez was named the conference's player of the week on Feb. 26. Freshman center fielder Malia Robertson was named to the All-OVC Second Team, also being named to the All-Newcomer team.  In early February of Goler's fourth season, the Leathernecks picked up a signature win over Northern Iowa in the UNI-Dome, a victory over a Panther squad that finished 77th in the nation in the NCAA's RPI metric. On March 10 at UT-Martin, coach Goler and Western grabbed their first OVC win in a gritty two-to-one victory.  During the 2023 season, pitcher/utility Savannah Rodriguez was named National Fastpitch Coaches Association 2023 NFCA DI All-Central Region First Team. As an assistant coach, Goler was responsible for boosting Penn State's offensive production at the plate. She spent two seasons in Happy Valley, and the first highlighted several single-season milestones alongside two All-Big 10 selections.  Under her tutelage, the Nittany Lions hit a program-record 49 home runs in 2019, while also combining for a .261 batting average (sixth all-time in program history) and a .427 slugging percentage (third all-time).  Prior to her stop at Penn State, Goler spent three seasons at Syracuse (2016-18), where she served as recruiting coordinator and the infield and hitting coach. She was named associate head coach ahead of the 2017 season, and the year resulted in single-season records in batting average (.307), hits (433); and on-base percentage (.388).  Four players were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region that year, which tied a program record, and Goler also had a hand in Sydney O'Hara's historic 2017 season. The NFCA Third Team All-American owned a .476 batting average, .626 on-base percentage, and .833 slugging percentage that set single-season records at 'Cuse.  A three-time All-American at the University of Georgia, Goler began her coaching career at Roosevelt University in 2014, where she served as the hitting coach. Her highly-decorated playing career included four first-team All-Southeast Region selections, three first-team All-SEC honors, and finalists recognition for the 2009 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. She also set UGA single-season records for batting average (.455), slugging percentage (.994), on-base percentage (.551), home runs (24), extra-base hits (41), RBI (83), and total bases (164). Off the field, Goler was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member and a member of the SEC Community Service Team. She earned first-team Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors and CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team honors in 2011. She enjoyed seven years of professional play in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), after being drafted by the Chicago Bandits in 2011. She was named Rookie of the Year in 2011 and was a two-time All-NPF Team honoree. Goler graduated from Georgia in December 2010 with a bachelor's degree in recreation and leisure studies and a master's of education in the same field in May 2012.

Collin Hopkins joined the Western Illinois softball program in August of 2020, after serving as a graduate assistant coach for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. During his tenure in Louisiana, Hopkins' duties involved training pitchers, scouting opponents, and assisting with the operation of practice. The Decatur, Ill., native spent his undergraduate years just 1.5 hours away from Macomb at MacMurray College. Attending from 2014-18, he earned four varsity letters at pitcher, and was named a three-time academic all-conference honoree by the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as well as a five-time Dean's List selection. Prior to college, Hopkins represented his country as a member of the USA Softball Junior Men's National Team. The experience led to impactful experiences for the young talent, opening the door to various camps that featured top-tier coaching, participation in specialized training for pitchers, and competition in the World Tournament in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.  His resume includes championship appearances in the Amateur Softball Association, North American Fastpitch Association, and International Softball Congress, and he has also tabbed personal success. In 2017, Hopkins took home pitching MVP honors from the NAFA. Hopkins attained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Accounting and Finance in May 2018, and went on to get a Master of Science in Kinesiology and Sport Management two years later.  

Tori McQueen joined the Leathernecks as a graduate assistant coach in the summer of 2024. McQueen brings a wealth of pitching experience to the WIU staff, as she just finished a 4-year career at the University of Illinois. With the Fighting Illini, McQueen appeared in 100 games, making 59 starts in the circle. McQueen had a career 3.14 ERA over 401.2 innings in the orange and blue, striking out 372 batters in her career. McQueen was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, earning the honor in her sophomore, junior, and senior years. McQueen is a native of Mooreville, Indiana.