University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Softball
- Title:
- Head Softball Coach
- Email:
- shana.easley@unco.edu
- Phone:
- 970.351.2055
Head coach Shana Easley will begin her six year at the helm of the Bears softball program.
During the 2017 season, Easley and the Bears amassed a 20-35 record. The 2017 season was capped off when Erica Dick (1st team SS), Jayme Reddacliff (2nd team P) and Jordyn Wiatrak (2nd team 3B) were all awarded Big Sky All-Conference honors.
The 2017 season was highlighted by record-breaking senior pitcher, Jayme Reddacliff. During the 2017 season, she recorded the 5th highest single season ERA of all-time in 2017 at 2.91. She is tied 2nd all-time in appearances in a season with 42. She is the all-time leader in a season for games started as a pitcher with 37. She is tied 2nd all-time for wins in a season with 11 in 2017…Reddacliff is tied for the all-time record for complete games in a season at 15…She holds the all-time season record for solo shutouts with four this year…Her 199.1 innings pitched in 2017 broke the record for most all-time innings pitched in a season.
Easley's athletes continued to excel on and off the diamond in 2016. Ten Bear softball players made the Big Sky All-Academic list and shortstop Erica Dick went on to lead the nation in Triples.
In 2014, Easly led the Bears to their first ever Division I postseason appearance.
Easley, the fourth Softball head coach since the program's reinstatement in 1999, lead a senior-driven team into 2015 while riding momentum off the Big Sky Championship appearance in 2014.
The Bears finished 2014 with an 11-7 record in Big Sky play while having seven student-athletes named to the Big Sky All-Conference team. Mikayla Duffy, Melissa Marcovecchio, Megan Wilkinson and Morgan Yuhas all earned first-team honors.
Duffy won three Big Sky Player of the Week honors while also finishing in the top 10 of 10 offensive categories in the conference, including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, RBIs, doubles, home runs, total bases, total plate appearances and at-bats. Erica Dick also helped the team at the plate, recording the third highest home run total in program history during her freshman season.
The Bears improved upon the 6-12 Big Sky and 16-30-1 overall records posted in 2013 by a young Bears team that included nine sophomores, including two who returned after earning spots on the Big Sky’s All-Conference teams in the inaugural year for the sport in the conference.
Infielder Marcovecchio earned a first-team spot after hitting .301 with 44 hits, a team-leading 28 runs, seven doubles, a home run and 14 RBIs. She finished the season with a .452 slugging percentage and a .379 on-base percentage. It was her second all-conference first-team honor.
She was joined by Duffy, who was named to a second-team spot as a utility player/pitcher.
One of the first things Easley did after being named the Bears head coach in October 2012 was look to the future by recruiting replacements for three seniors who graduated in May, including Lindsey Smith, who led the team with a .338 batting average.
Easley’s top recruits were four-year starters on their high school teams. Dick was a standout pitcher and shortstop at Boise High School in Idaho. Emily Holtz, a speedy outfielder from Arvada West High School in Arvada, Colo., was the team’s captain and earned all-conference honors her junior and senior years.
Easley, a Loveland, Colo., native came to Northern Colorado after spending the previous four years as an assistant coach at UMKC. During her time with the Kangaroos she helped turn the program into a perennial contender in the Summit League.
Over the previous four years in Kansas City, Easley coached 11 all-conference performers, including both a pitcher and player of the year in the Summit League.
As the 'Roos third-base coach Easley helped lead the team to a Summit League championship in 2011, and behind her aggressive coaching the 'Roos finished the season as the second-best base stealing team in the nation.
To go along with her duties on the field, Easley also created UMKC's scouting reports and assisted in recruiting, among other duties.
Before beginning her coaching career for the 'Roos, Easley had plenty of experience playing softball at the highest levels. She was a four-year starting catcher for the Arkansas Razorbacks in the vaunted Southeastern Conference, and she became one of the program's most prolific players during her time in Fayetteville.
Easley finished her career with just 21 errors in 213 starts--putting her fourth on the school's all-time list in fielding percentage (.985)--and her offense wasn't anything to be dismissed either, as she finished second on the team in RBIs in both her junior and senior campaigns.
As a senior she led the Razorbacks in home runs and total bases while finishing second in doubles.
After graduating from Arkansas in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in marketing Easley signed with the Arizona Heat of the National Pro Fastpitch League, and she batted .250 in 52 at-bats during the season.
She then spent the next two seasons as the director of softball operations for Arkansas before moving overseas to continue her professional career in Italy. She played for Reggio Emilia--a city nestled in northern Italy--and spent a season as the only American on the team.
There's no doubt Easley's ample playing experience will benefit the Bears.
Shana Easley's NCAA Division I coaching resume
| YEAR | PROGRAM | RECORD | HIGHLIGHTS |
| 2009 | UMKC (AC) | 20-34 (.370) | |
| 2010 | UMKC (AC) | 22-26 (.458) | |
| 2011 | UMKC (AC) | 38-16 (.704) | Summit League Championship |
| 2012 | UMKC (AC) | 27-30 (.474) | |
| 2013 | Northern Colorado | 16-30-1 (.340) | Big Sky Coach of the Year |
| 2014 | Northern Colorado | 20-33 (.377) | |
| 2015 | Northern Colorado | 17-25-1 (.395) | |
| 2016 | Northern Colorado | 9-33 (.222) | |
| 2017 | Northern Colorado | 20-35 (.364) | |
| OVERALL | 189-262-2 (.417) |
