Virginia Names Eileen Schmidt Softball Coach

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June 24, 2007

Charlottesville, VA – Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage announced today the hiring of Eileen Schmidt as the Cavaliers new softball coach. A former standout player for UVa in the early 90s, Schmidt replaces Karen Johns who announced her resignation May 23.

“I am tremendously enthused that Eileen Schmidt will rejoin the UVa softball program as our head softball coach,” Littlepage said. “She understands the experiences of our student-athletes and will be a leader, mentor, and role model for our players. In addition, her years as a head coach and assistant coach uniquely prepare her to move our softball program forward.”

Schmidt, a native of Barto, Pa., competed for Virginia from 1991 to 1994. She was the first Cavalier softball player to earn All-ACC honors three times (1992, 1993 and 1994) and became Virginia’s first All-American. Schmidt, a catcher, captured third-team All-America accolades in 1994. She was named the ACC Player of the Year in 1993 and was chosen to the ACC All-Tournament Team in 1993 and 1994.

“The University of Virginia has always been a special place and I am honored to return as the head softball coach,” Schmidt said. “It was an extremely difficult decision to leave the University of Kentucky and the program we’ve worked very hard to build. I want to thank Mitch Barnhart and John Cropp for giving me the opportunity and trust to lead the Kentucky softball program over the past three years. I am thankful I had the opportunity to work with a phenomenal group of student-athletes, colleagues, administration, and softball community. Virginia has always been my dream job, the place where I wanted to finish my career and I want to thank Craig Littlepage for bringing that dream to fruition. I am excited about re-joining the Virginia family and looking forward to recruiting the best student-athletes to wear Blue and Orange.

Only the second head coach in Kentucky’s history, Schmidt’s quest to build the Wildcats into a contender in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference included several milestones for the UK program. Last season the Wildcats had three players earn all-SEC honors for the first time and senior shortstop Brooke Marnitz was named to the South All-Region First Team.

The 2007 Wildcats set a school record with 56 home runs, shattering the previous record of 37 set in 2004. They also tied the school mark with 66 doubles and broke the school record for RBI with 237. The previous record was 209 set in 2001. UK also set records for walks (140) and total bases (629).

In 2006 her team earned votes in the national polls for the first time after knocking off 13th-ranked Washington in the season opener.

During her two years at Northwestern State, the Demons compiled a 62-61 record including a 35-28 mark in 2004. Schmidt coached 12 All-Southland Conference selections while taking the Demons to the conference tournament both seasons. In 2004, NSU advanced to the tournament championship game.

Schmidt’s coaching resume includes seven seasons in the SEC as an assistant. She began her coaching career with South Carolina in the fall of 1994 and helped guide the squad to a 50-win season and an NCAA Regional appearance in 1995.

Schmidt left Columbia and was named to the first-ever softball staff at Arkansas in the fall of 1995, where she helped build the Hogs’ program from the ground up. Schmidt was on staff with the Lady Razorbacks for more than a year before they opened collegiate softball play in the spring of 1997. Schmidt assisted Arkansas to two NCAA Regional appearances and a 126-90 record in her final three seasons there. While working at UA, she earned her master’s degree in education in 2000. She earned her undergraduate degree in communication from Virginia in 1994. In 2006 she was a finalist for the United States Olympic Team.

Schmidt as a Head CoachYear    Team                Record       SEC2003    Northwestern St. 	27-33    	 N/A2004    Northwestern St. 	35-28    	 N/A2005    Kentucky         	20-41    	 4-252006    Kentucky         	21-36    	 4-262007	Kentucky         	20-31        4-24Total   Five seasons     	123-169  	12-75

Schmidt as Assistant CoachYear Team Record SEC1995 South Carolina 53-21 N/A1997 Arkansas 16-42 12-161998 Arkansas 21-38 13-171999 Arkansas 46-29 17-132000 Arkansas 44-31 19-112001 Arkansas 36-30 14-162002 Arkansas 39-28-1 14-16