History
Manhattan has been a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since its inception in 1980 and has fielded a softball team each year since 1987. [3] Despite this, the Jaspers have managed to win the conference regular season championship only twice in that timespan, sharing titles in both 1994 and 2009 with Canisius and Fairfield respectively. Manhattan has won the conference tournament twice, doing so in 1999 and 2021. [4] [5] In doing so, they advanced to the NCAA Division I softball tournament both years.
In the 1999 NCAA Division I softball tournament, the Jaspers were defeated in their first game by Louisiana by a score of 15–0 in a game that ended via mercy rule after five innings. [6] Manhattan was eliminated from the tournament after losing their second and final game of the tournament, this time in a 4–3 loss to LIU Brooklyn that went to extra innings. [6] [7]
The Jaspers returned to the tournament for the first time in 22 years in 2021 where they faced off against sixth ranked Arkansas and were defeated 8–0 innings via the mercy rule. [8] [9] The team was sent to the losers bracket where they were officially eliminated from the tournament by Stanford, losing an 11–2 contest. [10] [11]
Former head coach Cat Clifford departed from the program after the 2023 season. [12] On June 6, 2023, it was announced by the NCAA that the Manhattan athletic program improperly certified 26 student athletes across six sports, including softball. The Jaspers' softball program was handed additional penalties after it was found that a former assistant coach improperly recruited players without completing a mandatory recruiting exam. The assistant also failed to cooperate with the investigation. [13] The college was hit with several penalties, which included being placed on two years of probation, a $5,000 fine, a suspension for the softball head coach for the first two non-conference games of the 2024 season, a 16-day prohibition against all softball recruiting activities during the June/July 2023 contact period, a five year show cause penalty for the former assistant coach, and a vacation of all records in which the student athletes competed while ineligible. [14] The MAAC released a statement in support of the NCAA's findings, while also maintaining they will continue to work with Manhattan to ensure the penalties are enforced. [15]
Former Rhode Island head coach Bridget Hurlman was named as Manhattan's next head coach following the departure of Clifford. [16]
Coaching history
|
| Years | Coach | Record | % |
|---|
| 1989–1995 [17] | Paul Mazzei | N/A | N/A |
| 1996–2001 | Susan Hannon | 107–160–1 | .401 [18] [19] |
| 2002 | Lois J. Kahl | 15–27 | .357 [20] |
| 2003–2004 | Jennifer Fisher | 24–66 | .267 [21] |
| 2005–2009 | Meaghan Asselta | 83–153 | .352 [22] |
| 2010–2021 | Tom Pardalis | 275–274–1 | .501 |
| 2022–2023 | Cat Clifford | 26–67 | .280 |
| 2024–present | Bridget Hurlman | 13–37 | .260 |
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