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Holly Aprile Louisville Softball
Maddy Newman celebrates a triple with coach Holly Aprile
Softball's Megan Hensley, head coach Holly Aprile, and Sidney Melton address the media during the second round of Spring Sports Media Day at the Planet Fitness - Kueber Center on campus.
Head coach Holly Aprile contratulates Maddy Newman after a triple
Head Coach Holly Aprile and Team Captain Celene Funke  meet between innings during the game vs Northwestern on March 7, 2020.
Holly Aprile Louisville Softball
Maddy Newman celebrates a triple with coach Holly Aprile
Holly Aprile
Holly Aprile
  • Title:
    Head Coach
  • Phone:
    852-1782
Holly Aprile recently completed her fifth season as UofL’s head coach. During her time at Louisville, which includes the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, the Cardinals have amassed 129 wins and earned a pair of NCAA regional appearances with the 2023 Knoxville Regional and the 2019 NCAA Evanston Regional finals.

Under Aprile’s tutelage, the Cardinals have produced eight National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Southeast Region selections and two NFCA All-Americans.
 
2023 Highlights
Most recently, Louisville finished the 2023 season with a 36-20, the most wins since 2014  - the Cardinals’ 16 ACC wins are tied for the most in program history since joining the league in 2015.
 
The 2023 squad also established a new school record with 64 home runs and stood 13th in the NCAA in home runs per game. The Cardinals also ranked among the top 20 nationally in multiple offensive categories at the conclusion of the season. In addition to leading the ACC and finishing 13th in the NCAA with a .319 team batting average, the Cardinals also ranked 10th in the nation in triples per game (.36), 12th in the NCAA with a .408 on-base percentage), 16th in slugging percentage (.518) and 20th in scoring (5.91). The Cards also set new school records in season walks (198) and tied the all-time mark with 18 sacrifice flies.
 
In addition to the team accomplishments, the Cards also achieved several individual milestones. UofL placed three student-athletes on the NFCA All-Southeast Region teams as Sarah Gordon and Roby were named to the second team and Korbe Otis was a third team selection It marked the most overall regional selections since 2012 when five Cardinals were named to the Great Lakes Region teams.  
 
Louisville placed a program-best six players on the all-conference teams. Gordon was named the ACC Freshman of the Year becoming Louisville’s first ACC Softball Freshman of the Year and the program’s first league freshman of the year since 2004. Gordon was also named to the 2023 TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 List becoming the third Louisville player to make the list and the first since 2016.
 
Upon the conclusion of the season, Roby was named to the NFCA All-America second team, marking the second Cardinal to earn all-America honors in as many seasons. The right-handed pitcher/designated player capped her impressive career tied for second in the nation with a school-record 23 home runs this season and took over the school's career mark with 63.

In addition to the team and player accolades, Aprile was also recognized following the season as the Leadership Playbook 2022-23 Collegiate Coach of the Year.

2022 Highlights    
The 2022 campaign saw Carmyn Greenwood and Roby earn all-ACC and All-Region honors for the second straight year. The Cards finished the season with a 27-25 overall record. The Cardinals produced 27 wins in the midst of a challenging schedule, ranked 18th in the nation and despite season-ending injuries to three starters.
 
Three players earned ACC honors with Greenwood selected to the first team, Roby named to the third team and Korbe Otis tabbed as a member of the all-Freshman team. Greenwood led the ACC and was fifth in the nation with seven triples. She also stood second in the ACC with 70 hits and was third with 54 runs scored. and was second with 52 RBIs.

2021 Highlights    
After the 2020 season was cut short due to the spread of COVID-19, UofL added two more all-region honorees in 2021 with Carmyn Greenwood named to first team and Taylor Roby selected to the second team. In 2021, the Cardinals amassed 21 wins, in the midst of a challenging slate. Among the season highlights were three wins and one tie against top-25 teams including a win and a tie against eventual Women’s College World Series runner-up Florida State. Celene Funke was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after the Cardinals' quarterfinal appearance in the conference tournament.

2020 - Season Interrupted    
In the shortened 2020 season, the Cardinals registered a 10-13 overall record in the midst of a challenging schedule that featured 10 games against teams in the top 25 in the final rankings.
    
The team spent the month of February on the road and emerged with some impressive milestones, including a season-opening upset against No. 21/25 Ole Miss, a no-hitter from junior Chardonnay Harris against Penn State and handing then-10th-ranked Oregon its first loss of the season.

After posting a 3-1 record in its home-opening Red & Black Challenge, Louisville looked to carry the home stand momentum into its ACC-opening series against Boston College when the spring season was canceled.
 
Impressive Start
Aprile’s Cardinals enjoyed a successful in the 2019 campaign which was highlighted by an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and a regional final appearance. The team amassed a 35-23 overall record and a 12-12 mark in ACC play for a third place finish in the league’s Atlantic Division and fifth in the overall conference standings. Louisville's 35 wins marked the most victories in a season since 2016 when the Cards posted a 35-17 record.
 
Facing a tough schedule, the Cards collected six wins over teams ranked in the top 25 including a pair of contests against then-No. 3/3 Florida State. With the series win, Louisville became the first ACC team to claim a series against the Seminoles since 2012. Other ranked wins included No. 15/17 Michigan, No. 24/19 Virginia Tech, No. 24/23 Kentucky and No. 18/17 Northwestern.
 
In addition to Louisville’s quality wins on the field, junior Celene Funke belted out an NCAA-best 13 in the season, also setting a school record in the single-season category. She paced the Cardinals who led the nation in triples per game with 31 in 58 games (1.87) and tied UofL’s single-season team mark.
 
The 2019 squad also set a school record with 106 stolen bases, surpassing the previous record of 68. Redshirt senior Sidney Melton also established a new school mark with 35 on the season, Funke was right behind her with 29.
 
Several players also picked up individual honors at the end of the season. Melton earned her second straight all-ACC nod while Charley Butler and Rebecca Chung were selected to the all-freshmen team. Senior Megan Hensley was named to the NFCA All-Southeast Region first team, becoming the first player in program history to be named to the first team since the Cardinals moved into the region.
 
In the classroom
Aprile’s Louisville teams have also been impressive in the classroom, placing seven players on the All-ACC Academic Teams in the two seasons in which the award was given.  
• UofL posted a 3.381 team GPA during the 2020-21 academic year with 14 players named NFCA Scholar Athletes.
• In total, 19 student-athletes earning a GPA of 3.0 or better with seniors Celene Funke and Carmyn Greenwood garnering All-ACC Academic Team honors in 2021.
• With the spring season in 2020, Louisville softball continued to excel in the classroom with a 3.557 team GPA. Funke went on to earn her fourth consecutive CoSIDA Academic All-America nod.
• The 2019 squad also turned in impressive results in the classroom as the team produced a combined 3.157 grade point average for the academic year and earning NFCA Academic Team honors with five All-America Scholar Athletes.
• In addition, Louisville placed five on the 2019 All-ACC Academic Team, tied for the most among league schools. Funke was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team for the second straight year. Funke and Melton were also CoSIDA Academic All-District selections.
 
A New Chapter
On July 16, 2018, Aprile was named the head softball coach at the University of Louisville. She became just the second head coach in the history of UofL softball following the retirement of Sandy Pearsall who started the program in 2000.

“We are excited to welcome Holly Aprile to the Louisville family as our new softball coach,” said UofL Vice President/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra upon her hiring. “Over the last 19 years, our program has grown and achieved great success and I am confident that Holly will take us to the next level. She is well-respected in the softball community as a talented coach with tremendous integrity and a strong work ethic. She has a passion for developing student-athletes on and off the field and we look forward to having her lead our program.”
 
Aprile came to Louisville from the University of Pittsburgh, where she spent 10 seasons (2009-18) as the Panthers’ head coach and five years (2004-08) as an assistant. This past season, she earned ACC Coach of the Year honors after leading Pitt to the 2018 ACC Coastal Division title and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament where it fell in the championship game to eventual national champion Florida State.
 
Pittsburgh finished the 2018 campaign with a 33-18-1 overall record, marking the program’s third 30-win season in four years. The Coastal Division champions notched a program-best 16-6 mark in ACC play while winning seven of their eight conference series. During the regular season, the Panthers defeated then-No. 9/13 Florida State 1-0 in Tallahassee, halting the Seminoles’ 36-game ACC win streak and marking Pitt’s first victory over the perennial conference power.
 
Under Aprile’s direction, Pitt achieved several milestones while making the transition from the BIG EAST Conference to the ACC. In 2015, she guided her team to the championship game of the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history. The Panthers went on to earn their first NCAA bid and advanced to the regional finals. After finishing the season with a program-best 37 wins, Aprile and her assistants garnered National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
 
While at the helm, Aprile guided Pittsburgh to 271 wins and oversaw 12 NFCA All-Region selections and 13 All-ACC selections, with eight players earning ACC All-Tournament nods. Her teams and players have put up impressive numbers, leading the ACC in fielding percentage (.975) in 2017 and home runs (75), slugging percentage (.552) and doubles (82) in 2016.  In the past four seasons, her teams have continually set school records in wins, hits, batting average, RBI, home runs, runs scored and shutouts.
 
Aprile’s student-athletes have also been successful in the classroom with 19 NFCA Scholar-Athlete selections and 10 ACC All-Academic honorees. Additionally, her teams achieved perfect scores in the NCAA Public Recognition Awards for Academic Progress Rates in 2017 and 2018.
 
Before being named the Panthers’ head coach in July 2008, she served as an assistant coach at Pitt for five years, helping the program produce its first winning season in school history and earn its first BIG EAST Conference tournament berth.

At South Carolina (Assistant Coach)
Prior to her arrival in Pittsburgh, Aprile was an assistant coach at South Carolina, where she was the recruiting coordinator and assisted in the development of the team’s offense while working specifically with the pitchers and outfielders. During her nine-year stint in Columbia, she helped direct the Gamecocks to five Southeastern Conference titles, five NCAA Regional appearances and a Women’s College World Series appearance in 1997.
 
At Eastern Illinois (Graduate Assistant)
Aprile began her coaching career at Eastern Illinois, where she served as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons working primarily with the pitchers and the outfielders.
 
As a player, Aprile built an impressive resume at the University of Massachusetts, where she was a four-year all-Atlantic 10 selection. As a senior, she was the Most Valuable Player for the Minutewomen softball team that finished third in the 1992 Women’s College World Series and was selected to the WCWS All-Tournament team. That same year, she earned third-team All-America honors. Aprile produced stellar results both as a pitcher and an outfielder, earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year (1989), Player of Year (1990 and 1991) and Pitcher of the Year (1992).
 
Aprile was a participant on USA Softball’s national team for seven years (1993-99). During that time, she helped Team USA to gold medals in the Pan-American Qualifiers in 1994 and 1997 and the South Pacific Classic in 1998.
 
The Afton, N.Y., native earned her bachelor’s in sports management from UMass in 1992 and received her master’s degree in political science from Eastern Illinois in 1995.

Holly Aprile File
Coaching Career
Louisville (Head Coach) | 2019 –present

• Guided Louisville to the 2019 Evanston Regional Final, and the 2023 Knoxville Regional
• 2 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Americans
• 8 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Southeast Region Selections
• 15 All-ACC honorees
• 12 ACC All-Academic selections
• 30 NFCA Scholar Athlete selections
• The 2019 Cardinals led the nation in triples per game as a team; Celene Funke led the nation in triples
 
Pittsburgh (Head Coach) | 2009-2018; (271-234/.537)
(Assistant Coach) | 2004-08
• 2018 ACC Coach of the Year
• Guided the Panthers to their first ACC Coastal Division title (2018)
• ACC Championship runner-up (2018, 2015)
• Pittsburgh achieved its first national ranking (2017)
• Guided Pitt to its first NCAA tournament appearance and regional final (2015)
• NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2015)
• 12 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region selections
• 14 All-ACC honorees
• 8 ACC All-Tournament Team members
• 19 NFCA Scholar-Athletes
• 10 ACC All-Academic selections
 
South Carolina (Assistant Coach) | 1995-2004
• Helped lead the Gamecocks to five Southeastern Conference Championships
• Assisted with five NCAA Regional appearances, reaching the Women’s College World Series in 1997
 
Eastern Illinois University (Graduate Assistant) | 1993-1995
• Team compiled 54 wins and a runner-up finish in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament (1994)
 
Playing Career
UMass (1989-92)
• Inducted into UMass Athletic Hall of Fame (1995)
• Third Team All-American (1992)
• NCAA College World Series All-Tournament Team (1992)
• Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Year (1992)
• Division I leader in doubles (1991)
• Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year (1990)
• Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year (1989)
• Four-time All-Atlantic 10 selection
 
USA Softball | 1993-1999
• Helped Team USA to gold medals in the South Pacific Classic (1998) and Pan-Am Qualifiers in Colombia (1997) and Guatemala (1994)