Holly Aprile - Softball Coach - Pitt Panthers #H2P

Holly Aprile

Title:
Head Coach, Softball
Alma Mater:
UMASS, '92
Email:
haprile@athletics.pitt.edu
Season at Pitt:
11th as Head Coach, 16th Overall
Phone:
412-383-7351

Holly Aprile enters her 11^th season as Pitt’s head softball coach and her 16^th season overall at the University.

Career Highlights and Awards

ACC Coach of the Year (2018)
Coastal Division Champions (2018)
Coached the Panthers to their first national rankings in program history (2017)
Led Pitt to its first NCAA Tournament Appearance, including the Regional Final (2015)
ACC Softball Championship Runner-Up (2018, 2015)
NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2015)
10 All-Region Selections (12 honors)
12 All-ACC Selections (13 honors)
8 ACC All-Tournament Selections (8 honors)
14 NFCA Scholar-Athlete Selections (19 honors)
7 ACC All-Academic selections (10 honors)

University of Pittsburgh | Head Coach
2018

Received ACC Coach of the Year Honors after leading the Panthers to their first ACC Coastal Division Championship in program history.
Led Pitt back to the ACC Softball Championship game for the second time in program history, after clinching the No. 2 seed with its Coastal Division Championship.
Guided four players to NFCA All-Region honors in Giorgiana Zeremenko (first team), Kayla Harris (second team) and Kaitlyn Kruger (third team).
Coached Sarah Dawson, Kayla Harris, Erin Hershman and McKayla Taylor to ACC All-Tournament Team accolades.
Saw Olivia Gray and Giorgiana Zeremenko named to the All-ACC First Team, as well as Kayla Harris to the All-ACC Second Team and Hunter Levesque to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Led Pitt to its third 30-win season in the past four years.
Guided the Panthers to 16 conference wins, a program high since entering the ACC in 2014.
Tallied a program record seven ACC series wins.
Saw the defense lead the ACC in double plays per game and rank in the top five in the nation in the category.
Coached Giorgiana Zeremenko to her third straight season of double-digit home runs, allowing the senior to become the career all-time leader in the category.
Guided pitcher Kayla Harris to a 16-3 overall record and a perfect 9-0 mark in ACC Play. The senior tallied six shutouts, the third most in a single-season in program history, and finishes her career second in program history in shutouts (15) and win (54).
Pitt concluded the season with a record of 33-18-1 and a 16-6 mark in ACC play.

2017

Coached the Panthers to their first national rankings in program history in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll. Pitt was ranked for the first three weeks of season, reaching as high as No.19 in week two.
Led senior Kaitlin Manuel to NFCA All-Region second-team honors.
Guided freshman Valerie Ortega to a spot on the All-ACC Freshman Team.
Coached junior Kayla Harris to Pitt’s second perfect game in program history as the Panthers defeated Southeastern Louisiana 5-0 Feb. 26.
Led junior Giorgiana Zeremenko to her second consecutive season of double-digit homers, finishing with 11 a year after setting a new school record of 17. Zeremenko finished top 10 in the ACC in slugging percentage (.604) and home runs (11).
Guided freshman Brittany Knight to 13 wins on the mound, good for eighth in the ACC.
Developed a stifling Panther defense that led the ACC in fielding percentage (.975) and finished second in assists (495). With a .975 fielding percentage, Pitt finished 16th in the NCAA in that category.
Senior Kaitlin Manuel led the charge defensively for Pitt, pacing the conference in chances (415), putouts (401) and fielding double plays (21).
Ortega paced the ACC with 19 runners caught stealing, while her four pickoffs ranked second amongst her ACC counterparts.
Finished the season with a 24-23 overall record.

2016

Coached Pitt to a 31-21 overall record, marking the second consecutive season where the Panthers have won 30-plus games.
Led Pitt to its second ACC Tournament appearance in back-to-back years.
Aided in the development of freshman pitcher Sarah Dawson, who tossed Pitt’s first perfect game in program history in a 13-0, five-inning win over Providence (2/27).
Recorded her 200^th career win after defeating North Carolina 7-3 at Vartabedian Field.
Guided sophomore Giorgiana Zeremenko up the statistical leaderboard, as she became one of the top hitters in the conference and nation. Zeremenko led the ACC in slugging percentage (.888) and ranked third in home runs (17). She finished seventh in the nation in slugging percentage, 11th in home runs per game (0.34) and 16th in total home runs.
Zeremenko also broke the all-time single-season home run record, recording 17 long balls in 2016.
Pitt concluded the regular season leading the ACC in home runs (75), slugging percentage (.552), doubles (82) and total bases (735).
Led three Panthers to NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region honors in redshirt senior Maggie Sevilla (second team) and sophomores Giorgiana Zeremenko (second team) and McKayla Taylor (third team).
Coached sophomore Erin Hershman to All-ACC First Team honors, while senior Jenna Modic and redshirt senior Maggie Sevilla were selected to the second team.
Freshman Olivia Gray, sophomore Erin Hershman and redshirt senior Maggie Sevilla earned All-ACC Academic honors.

2015

Led Pitt to its first NCAA Tournament bid in program history where the team advanced to the Regional Final after defeating California and Oakland.
Coached Pitt to its first ACC Tournament appearance, where the Panthers were runner-ups to Florida State after defeating higher seeds Notre Dame and North Carolina in their opening games.
Finished with a 37-22 record, the winningest season in program history.
Coaching staff was named as the 2015 NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Helped four Panthers earn NFCA All-Region honors including seniors Savannah King (first team) and Carly Thea (third team), in addition to redshirt junior Shelby Pickett (second team) and junior Jenna Modic (third team).
Saw Savannah King, Shelby Pickett, Maggie Sevilla and Carly Thea all named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.
Led Jenna Modic to a First Team All-ACC selection, while Shelby Pickett and Mckayla Taylor each earned Second Team All-ACC honors.
Four Panthers were named to All ACC-Academic Team including Savannah King, Carly Thea, Jenna Modic and Maggie Sevilla.

2014

Recorded her first ACC victories over Virginia in a series sweep against the Cavaliers.
Carly Thea and Tori Nirschl were named to the All-ACC conference team.
Carly Thea was named to the NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region second team, which marked the first all-region selection in Pitt Softball history.
Eight Panthers were named to the 2013-14 NFCA Division I Scholar-Athlete List (NFCA).
Team finished with a record of 15-29 and 6-18 in their first ever season in the ACC.

2013

Coached Tori Nirschl to Pitt’s first Big East Rookie of the Year honors.
Saw 2013 graduate Holly Stevens become the most prolific player in program history. Stevens graduated as the all-time leader in home runs (34) and runs batted in (127).

2012

Helped guide Savannah King to one of the best individual pitching season in history in 2012, including setting Pitt single-season marks in wins (19) and innings pitched (227.1).
The team ranked among the top of the Big East in several categories, including second in assists, third in triples and fifth in ERA.
Team finished with a record of 26-26.

2011

Led Pitt to its best season in program history as numerous school records fell, both individually and as a team.
The team finished with a 34-17 overall record and a 13-8 mark in Big East play. The 34 overall victories and 13 conference wins were both the most in school history.
The Panthers won 10 of their final 13 games.
Four Panthers earned their first-ever All-Big East honors, a program record. Kelly Hmiel was selected the program's first-ever National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Player of the Week on March 15.

2010

Directed Pitt to a 27-25 finish.
Received the highest seed ever at the Big East Tournament (No. 6).
Junior Alyssa O’Connell pitched her first-ever no-hitter in 9-0 win against St. Francis.

2009

Became the second head coach in Pitt softball history in July, 2008.
Led the Panthers to a winning season in her first year as head coach (25-24).

University of Pittsburgh | Assistant Coach | 2004-08

Helped Pitt earn its first winning season in 2006 (32-27)
Played an instrumental role in the team earning its first winning record in the Big East conference in 2008 (12-10).

South Carolina | Assistant Coach | 1995-2003

Helped guide the Gamecocks to seven NCAA Regional appearances and a College World Series berth in 1997.

Playing Career

A pitcher/outfielder, Aprile was a four-time all-conference first team selection (1989-92) and twice was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.
Tabbed the 1992 A-10 Pitcher of the Year, 1989 A-10 Rookie of the Year and named the A-10 Tournament's outstanding pitcher twice (1989, 1992).
Played a pivotal role in leading UMass to its first trip to the College World Series in 1992, and closed her career with a then-school record 77 victories.
In honor of her achievements, she was inducted into the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame just three years after her graduation.
She was also a participant on the United States National Team from 1993-99, competing in the U.S. Olympic Festival (1993-97), Pan Am Qualifying (1994, 1997) and the South Pacific Classic (1998).

Education

Graduated from UMass in 1992 with a degree in Sport Management.
Earned her master’s degree in political science, while working as a graduate assistant coach at Eastern Illinois University in 1995.

Beyond the Bio

Favorite place on the University of Pittsburgh campus?
- Vartabedian Field which is Pitt’s home softball field.
Favorite sports moment at Pitt?
- Watching the NCAA Selection Show with the 2015 team and hearing our name called for the first time in program history.
What is your favorite thing to do in the city of Pittsburgh?
- Going to Pirate games.
What do you love most about the University of Pittsburgh?
- I love everything about Pitt!

Holly Aprile enters her 10th season as Pitt’s head softball coach and her 15th season overall at the University.

Career Highlights and Awards

Coached the Panthers to their first national rankings in program history in 2017
Led Pitt to its first NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2015, including the Regional Final
Guided the Panthers to a runner-up finish at the 2015 ACC Championship in their first appearance in first ACC Tournament
2015 NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year
Eight All-Region selections (nine honors)
Eight All-ACC selections (nine honors)
Four ACC All-Tournament Selections (four honors)
14 NFCA Scholar-Athlete Selections (19 honors)
Seven ACC All-Academic selections (10 honors)
238 career wins

University of Pittsburgh | Head Coach
2017

Coached the Panthers to their first national rankings in program history in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll. Pitt was ranked for the first three weeks of season, reaching as high as No.19 in week two.
Led senior Kaitlin Manuel to NFCA All-Region second-team honors.
Guided freshman Valerie Ortega to a spot on the All-ACC Freshman Team.
Coached junior Kayla Harris to Pitt’s second perfect game in program history as the Panthers defeated Southeastern Louisiana 5-0 Feb. 26.
Led junior Giorgiana Zeremenko to her second consecutive season of double-digit homers, finishing with 11 a year after setting a new school record of 17. Zeremenko finished top 10 in the ACC in slugging percentage (.604) and home runs (11).
Guided freshman Brittany Knight to 13 wins on the mound, good for eighth in the ACC.
Developed a stifling Panther defense that led the ACC in fielding percentage (.975) and finished second in assists (495). With a .975 fielding percentage, Pitt finished 16th in the NCAA in that category.
Senior Kaitlin Manuel led the charge defensively for Pitt, pacing the conference in chances (415), putouts (401) and fielding double plays (21).
Ortega paced the ACC with 19 runners caught stealing, while her four pickoffs ranked second amongst her ACC counterparts.
Finished the season with a 24-23 overall record.