DELAWARE SELECTS JAIME WOHLBACH AS NEW WOMEN?S SOFTBALL HEAD COACH
NEWARK, Del. -- Jaime Wohlbach has been selected as the new head
coach of the University of Delaware softball program.
Wohlbach (pronounced "wall-bock"), who served as head coach at
Iona College for the past three seasons after a successful career as a
player and assistant coach, becomes only the fourth head coach in the
36-year history of Blue Hen softball. She quickly turned the Gaels
program around and led Iona to its first NCAA Tournament appearance this
past spring.
"We are excited to welcome Jaime to the University of Delaware
family and we look forward to future success under her leadership,"
said University of Delaware Director of Athletics and Recreation
Services Bernard Muir. "She brings great enthusiasm for the game of
softball and has shown outstanding success in leading student-athletes
as a coach and instructor and in her career as a player."
Wohlbach, who earned a
Bachelor's degree with honors in Elementary Education and Special
Education in 2000 and a Master's degree in student affairs of higher
education in 2002 from Kutztown (Pa.) University, replaces B.J.
Ferguson, who posted a record of 622-583-8 over 30 seasons before
stepping down in May to assume a full-time faculty position in the
College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware.
"First and foremost, I would like to thank Bernard Muir and
the University of Delaware for the tremendous opportunity to build on
the tradition of athletic excellence fostered by the previous coaches,"
said Wohlbach. "I'm thrilled to be part of a university with such rich
traditions. I'm looking forward to getting to know returning players and
incoming recruits, and working with them to build and grow the Blue Hen
softball program."
In just three seasons at the helm of the Gaels, Wohlbach
turned around a program that had not posted a winning season in five
years to one that captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title
this past May and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in
the program's 25-year history with a final mark of 28-26. Iona battled
host Texas and East Carolina at the NCAA regionals before being
eliminated.
She was named the MAAC Coach of the Year in 2010 when she
coached the league Pitcher and Rookie of the Year. Over the last two
seasons she coached nine all-conference selections, two league Rookie of
the Year winners, an All-Region selection, and an ESPN/CoSIDA Academic
All-American.
Prior to joining the Gaels, Wohlbach served as an assistant
coach at Lehigh University in 2006-07, working as the team's hitting and
catcher's coach while also assisting in practice sessions and strength
and conditioning workout programs. She began her college coaching career
as a student assistant at NCAA Division II Kutztown in 2000-01,
volunteer assistant at NCAA Division III Muhlenberg College in 1999-2001
and at Lehigh in 2001-02, and as an assistant at the University of
Pennsylvania in 2002-03.
Since 2002, Wohlbach has run a national and international
softball clinic called Fastpitch Performance. The camps and clinics have
provided instruction for all levels of the game and have taken her all
over the world, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, New Zealand,
the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, Belgium and Australia.
Her international reputation has garnered her contacts and recognition
from both amateur and professional organizations and sponsors.
Wohlbach's coaching and instructing experience came during the
off season of her extensive international playing career. Her
professional resume in the United States began after graduating from
Kutztown University in 2000. She signed with the Tampa Bay FireStix in
the former Women's Professional Softball League for the 2001 season.
Wohlbach moved on to the National Pro Fastpitch League where she was
selected in the fourth round of the December 2003 draft by the
California Sunbirds, a team located in Sacramento, Calif. She played for
the independent league Nebraska Comets before returning to the NPF's
Philadelphia Force for the 2006 season.
While playing professionally in the U.S., Wohlbach also played
for and coached several professional teams in Europe. She has excelled
at the international level throughout the world, including tours in the
Czech Republic and a stop in Great Britain. In 2004 and 2005 she played
professionally in New Zealand and on a world all-star select team, which
included players from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Africa and
the United States.
Earlier in 2004, Wohlbach played for the Great Britain
National Team in Athens as a test run to the 2004 Athens Olympics;
winning a gold medal by defeating Russia, the Czech Republic and Greece.
From 2001-2004, Wohlbach coached an 18-under USA All-Star team in
Australia as a follow-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She also played
professionally in the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Greece, and
coached a youth all-star team in Italy.
Wohlbach was a four-year standout at Kutztown, serving as a
three-time team captain and becoming the first graduate of her school to
play a professional sport. She earned All-Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference honors as a catcher during her junior and senior campaigns as
well as being named to the All-Region Team in 2000. She was the team's
Most Valuable Player in 1999 as well as a nominee for the school's
Female Athlete of the Year.