University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Softball

Piper Ritter was named the eighth head coach in program history on May 3, 2020 after 13 seasons as the Gophers pitching coach. The 2024 season marks her fourth year as the Gopher head coach and 17th year with the program as a coach. The Former Minnesota standout pitcher has developed five of the top hurlers in Minnesota softball history in Briana Hassett, Sara Moulton, Sara Groenewegen, Amber Fiser, and Autumn Pease. Ritter has also developed top players outside of the circle in Sara Groenewegen, Kendyl Lindaman, and now Jess Oakland as 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year. During her fourth season as head coach, the Golden Gophers finished the 2024 season with a fifth place conference finish. Minnesota saw four All-Big Ten selections, including two first team honorees in Taylor Krapf and Jess Oakland, and two second teamers in Sydney Strelow and Morgan DeBord. Oakland was named 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year and was also an NFCA Second Team All-American. Oakland is the third Gopher to receive All-American distinction in the last two seasons. In 2023, Ritter led the Gophers to a third place conference finish, appearance in the Big Ten Tournament semi final and NCAA Seattle Regional berth as the No. 2 seed. Along with six All-Big Ten selections, the Gophers led the entire conference with five first team caliber players and Ritter’s fourth Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in Autumn Pease. Minnesota also had an All-American battery in Pease and Taylor Krapf, the first All-American select

Autumn Pease returned to the University of Minnesota softball program in 2026 as the team’s Player Development Coordinator following a decorated collegiate a...

Bailey Oetting enters her third season heading into 2025 with Minnesota and second season as assistant coach. During her first season as an assistant under Piper Ritter, Oetting helped pave the way for Minnesota's four All-Big Ten selections. With her guidance, Minnesota saw a Big Ten Player of the Year and NFCA All-American in Jess Oakland. As a volunteer assistant, the Golden Gophers saw two NFCA All-Americans in Taylor Krapf and Autumn Pease, five NFCA Great Lakes All-Region honorees (Taylor Krapf, Autumn Pease, Natalie DenHartog, Jess Oakland, Kayla Chavez), five All-Big Ten selections (Taylor Krapf, Autumn Pease, Natalie DenHartog, Jess Oakland, Kayla Chavez), a third place finish in conference play, a Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance, and berth in the 2023 NCAA Tournament at the Seattle Regional. Oetting joined the 'U' staff after spending the 2022 season at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich., as its assistant coach, helping the Chargers to a 31-20 record. After graduating from Arizona State in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, Oetting began her coaching career as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with Arizona Christian University in Phoenix. She spent the 2019 season as the head coach at Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, Ill., before two years as a graduate assistant at Southern Arkansas. Oetting guided the Muleriders to a No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division II during the 2020 season before a 29-10 record and NCAA Central Reg

DeBord returns to Minnesota after competing in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, where she hit .333 with four hits in 12 at-bats over nine games. She p...

Roya St. Clair enters her second season as assistant coach heading into 2026 with Minnesota. During her first season, St. Clair helped guide Minnesota to a Big Ten All-Defensive Team player in Sydney Schwartz as well as a Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree in Nani Valencia. Prior to Minnesota, St. Clair spent the 2024 season at Texas Tech, where she helped coach a top 20 infield in the nation for double plays per game after recording 25. This included a program-leading three double plays in a game against Baylor (April 6). While at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders broke the program’s single-season home run record after hitting 74 long balls. Along with this, St. Clair coached the team to a single-season program record in doubles (93) and slugging percentage (.543). All three of the program records had previously stood for at least a decade. Prior to her time in Lubbock, St. Clair spent three years with WashU, including an NCAA DIII Regional appearance in 2022. The Bears posted a 32-12 record with a pair of wins in the St. Paul Regional and earned five all-conference selections. She was also a member of the WashU staff that was named UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. Before WashU, the Livonia, Mich. native helped lead Miami (OH) to the 2019 MAC Regular Season Championship. The RedHawks tied for the most league wins in a single season (16) and posted a 35-16 overall record that season. St. Clair also spent two years in the Big Ten as an assistant coach at Rutgers (2017-18) and one season a

Lombardo joins the Gophers after serving as a development coach for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Grasshoppers currently sit atop the South Atlantic League with a 71–30 record. Prior to her time in Greensboro, Lombardo worked as a development coach and operations assistant with the Pirates' Single-A affiliate, the Bradenton Marauders. She also served as a coaching and operations assistant for the FCL Pirates in 2023. Lombardo's international coaching resume includes stops in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic with the Dominican Instructional League, and in Barranquilla, Colombia, where she served as an infield coach for Los Caimanes de Barranquilla. Her coaching career began at Eastern Kentucky University as a graduate assistant, where she helped guide EKU to its first Ohio Valley Conference Championship and NCAA Regional appearance since 2004. A former standout at the University of Wisconsin, Lombardo returned to her alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach. As a player, Lombardo was a four-time Big Ten Scholar-Athlete, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2019), and a two-time NFCA Academic All-American (2018, 2019). She earned her bachelor's degree in Economics and Retailing & Consumer Behavior from Wisconsin and later completed her master's in Exercise and Sport Science at EKU.