Kate Nygaard Named Softball Assistant Coach
9/7/2016 3:31:00 PM | Softball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Seton Hall softball head coach Paige Smith has announcing the hiring of Kate Nygaard as an assistant coach. Nygaard comes to The Hall with more than a decade of collegiate coaching experience, including spending the last three seasons as the lead assistant at Weber State.
"Kate has spent time building teams into powerhouses from the ground up," Smith said. "She has an innate ability to find what motivates athletes and connect to get the most out of them," the fifth-year head coach added.
"I am honored to become a part of the Seton Hall family. The success and tradition that Coach Smith has built at Seton Hall is something that I am excited to join and continue to build. I want to thank Seton Hall for welcoming me with open arms and making me feel a part of the team," said Nygaard.
In her position with the Pirates, the former college catcher will work with the Pirates' battery and as the team's hitting coach.
During Nygaard's three years on staff at Weber State, the Wildcats became a dominant force in the Big Sky conference. Weber State won the Big Sky Tournament in both 2015 and 2016, making NCAA Regionals appearances in each year. Under Nygaard's tutelage 11 players received First or Second Team All-Big Sky honors and Aubrey Whitmer was named 2016 Big Sky Player of the Year.
Over her final two years at Weber State, the program went 75-38 for a .664 winning percentage and held team batting averages of .318 and .319. Nygaard helped the Wildcats go 28-11 in conference play over that span and win both the Big Sky regular season and tournament crowns in 2016.
"In her previous position, Kate helped build a good program into a perennial postseason contender and her big-game experience will be an asset to our team," Smith added.
Prior to her time at Weber State Nygaard spent eight seasons on the coaching staff at Salt Lake Community College. With the Bruins, she reached three NJCAA national championship games and helped SLCC win the Scenic West Athletic Conference seven-straight seasons. She also worked as the Sports Information Director and then Athletics Promotions Director at Salt Lake.
During her playing career she earned All-Region 18 and NJCAA All-American honors for SLCC before transferring to the University of Utah to finish out her softball eligibility. Nygaard still ranks in the top five in home runs and RBIs in school history at Salt Lake, and hit 13 round-trippers in her time at Utah.
Nygaard graduated from Utah in 2005 with a degree in sociology and completed her Master's degree from Lasell College in Sports Leadership in 2013.
"Kate has spent time building teams into powerhouses from the ground up," Smith said. "She has an innate ability to find what motivates athletes and connect to get the most out of them," the fifth-year head coach added.
"I am honored to become a part of the Seton Hall family. The success and tradition that Coach Smith has built at Seton Hall is something that I am excited to join and continue to build. I want to thank Seton Hall for welcoming me with open arms and making me feel a part of the team," said Nygaard.
In her position with the Pirates, the former college catcher will work with the Pirates' battery and as the team's hitting coach.
During Nygaard's three years on staff at Weber State, the Wildcats became a dominant force in the Big Sky conference. Weber State won the Big Sky Tournament in both 2015 and 2016, making NCAA Regionals appearances in each year. Under Nygaard's tutelage 11 players received First or Second Team All-Big Sky honors and Aubrey Whitmer was named 2016 Big Sky Player of the Year.
Over her final two years at Weber State, the program went 75-38 for a .664 winning percentage and held team batting averages of .318 and .319. Nygaard helped the Wildcats go 28-11 in conference play over that span and win both the Big Sky regular season and tournament crowns in 2016.
"In her previous position, Kate helped build a good program into a perennial postseason contender and her big-game experience will be an asset to our team," Smith added.
Prior to her time at Weber State Nygaard spent eight seasons on the coaching staff at Salt Lake Community College. With the Bruins, she reached three NJCAA national championship games and helped SLCC win the Scenic West Athletic Conference seven-straight seasons. She also worked as the Sports Information Director and then Athletics Promotions Director at Salt Lake.
During her playing career she earned All-Region 18 and NJCAA All-American honors for SLCC before transferring to the University of Utah to finish out her softball eligibility. Nygaard still ranks in the top five in home runs and RBIs in school history at Salt Lake, and hit 13 round-trippers in her time at Utah.
Nygaard graduated from Utah in 2005 with a degree in sociology and completed her Master's degree from Lasell College in Sports Leadership in 2013.
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