Angie Churchill Tabbed to Lead Seton Hall Softball - Seton Hall University Athletics
Seton Hall hires Angie Churchill , a veteran of the college softball world with 11 years of head coaching experience, to take over as the Pirates head softba...
shupirates.com
South Orange, N.J. - Angie Churchill, a veteran of the college softball world with 11 years of head coaching experience and a track record of elevating the programs she leads, has been named the new head softball coach at Seton Hall University, Director of Athletics & Recreation Bryan Felt announced Monday. Churchill, who becomes Seton Hall's sixth head softball coach in the program's 44-year history, arrives at The Hall after four seasons serving as the head softball coach at the University of Hartford.
"We are very excited to welcome Angie into the Seton Hall Athletics family," Felt said. "During the interview process, she displayed great energy and passion for the game of softball and for the student-athlete experience which aligns extremely well with our athletics department mission and goals. We are very eager for Angie to get started, and we are looking forward to watching her begin the process of developing our softball program into a consistent BIG EAST Championship contender."
At Hartford, Churchill made outstanding strides in elevating the softball program, which had won a total of 21 games in the four seasons immediately prior to her arrival. In her first season with the Hawks in 2018, the program had a six-win improvement, and then in 2019, she guided the Hawks to their first 20-win season since 2013 and an appearance in the America East Tournament. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hartford was only able to play a combined 29 games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but Churchill got the Hawks off to a 6-4 start in 2020, the program's best 10-game non-conference start since 2008.
Churchill's student-athletes developed into all-conference performers under her watch. In 2019, Hartford earned its first All-America East first-team selection since 2011 when Danielle Rocheleau was picked after hitting .421 with 20 extra-base hits, 31 runs scored and 36 RBI in 51 games. Rocheleau was a repeat first-team honoree in 2021 after hitting .426 with 10 extra-base hits and 10 runs scored in 19 games. In total, Churchill's student-athletes accumulated three All-America East honorees, two selections to the All-Rookie team, three All-Academic team selections and one America East Championship All-Tournament selection in her tenure.
In the classroom, Churchill's commitment to academic success led the Hawks to boast very high team cumulative grade-point averages, including 3.73 at the end of the 2019-20 year.
"I would like to thank Bryan Felt, Jay Judge and the entire search committee for entrusting me to be the next head softball coach at Seton Hall," Churchill said. "I look forward to meeting the student-athletes, coaches, staff and all of Pirates Nation. This is truly an honor and a privilege to be a part of this University and the culture they are building here. Seton Hall is a special place with great history, and I'm excited to get the softball program back to a championship level."
Prior to accepting the Hartford position, Churchill spent 2016 and 2017 leading the Wagner College softball program, where she took a Seahawks team that won only nine games the year prior to her arrival and immediately won 20 games in her first season. In year two, she guided Wagner to a 22-win season and the program's first winning Northeast Conference record (10-6) since 2008. The team also made its first NEC Tournament appearance since 2008 and advanced to its first championship game since 2007. While at Wagner, her student-athletes accumulated five All-NEC selections, three NEC All-Tournament selections and an NFCA Top 10 Academic Team Award.
Churchill got her head coaching start in 2011 when she was named the head coach at D'Youville College, located in Buffalo, N.Y. Inheriting a team that went 8-27 in 2010, she led the program to a 21-10 record and its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) championship and NCAA regional berth in program history. She was named the 2011 AMCC Coach of the Year, and her student-athletes garnered a total of 12 all-conference selections, two pitcher of the year awards and one newcomer of the year award in her three seasons.
Churchill went on to win 35 more games at D'Youville before becoming the head coach at Georgian Court, where in 2014, her team advanced to NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2010, compiling a record of 33-24 and a second-place finish in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). In her two years, she mentored five All-Conference performers, including the 2015 CACC Player of the Year.
Before embarking on her head coaching career, Churchill spent six seasons as a Division I assistant, including one year at Ohio before moving on to a five-year tenure with Buffalo, where she served three seasons as recruiting coordinator. In 2009, the Bulls won 25 games, which at the time tied for the most single-season wins in UB's Division I softball era.
Churchill was a four-year member of the University of Michigan softball team where she helped lead the Wolverines to a 191-57-1 record. In her four years, Michigan won three Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times and advanced to the NCAA Women's College World Series three times. A stellar defensive player for the Wolverines and co-captain her senior year, Churchill was also a versatile performer who finished her career with a .957 fielding percentage. She saw playing time at all eight field positions, the bulk of which came at third base. A 2004 graduate, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management and Communication.
A Mokena, Ill., native, Churchill was an All-Illinois selection in 2000 at Lincoln-Way High School after leading her team to the Illinois High School Association Sectional championship in 1999. In addition to being a softball standout, Churchill also competed on her high school's basketball and tennis teams.
