NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Monroe College, home of the NJCAA Division I Monroe Mustangs athletics program, announced on Wednesday the appointment of Katie Jansson to lead the Monroe College softball team as head coach. Jansson joins Monroe from Iona College, where she was the assistant coach of their softball program.
Jansson served as the Iona softball team’s assistant coach for the most recent season. Prior to Iona, she served as the graduate assistant coach for the Manhattanville College softball team, where she was responsible for assisting the head coach with day-to-day activities such as practice planning, instruction, game planning, and recruiting.
Monroe launched its softball team in 2004, and began competing at the NJCAA Division I level in 2017. The Mustangs went 14-14 overall in their first year at the NJCAA’s highest division, and batted an impressive .342 as a team over 28 games. Monroe took home the NJCAA Region XV Title in 2014.
“Katie is a terrific addition to our coaching staff,” Melendez said. “In addition to the unique perspective that comes from being an accomplished former student-athlete herself, she has the depth and breadth of expertise as a coach to guide the Mustangs program forward and to help those on the team accomplish their goals in the classroom as well as out on the field.”
With Jansson as the assistant coach, the Iona softball team took home the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Regular Season Title for the 2017 season. Under her tutelage, Iona qualified for the inaugural National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) Tournament last season, where the Gaels won the program’s first national postseason game. Iona had two student-athletes win major MAAC awards in Jansson’s lone year with the team, while six total Gaels earned All-MAAC recognition, and 10 took home MAAC All-Academic honors.
Jansson began her tenure with the Iona’s softball team as a student-athlete. She was a three-time All-Academic performer, playing in 199 career games and making 517 career plate appearances, each of which ranks Top-10 in Iona College softball program history. Her 16 home runs stand 10th all-time, and her 79 RBIs currently place her ninth in Iona’s record book. She was the starting catcher for the Gaels while they won three MAAC Championships across her four years.
After graduating from Iona in 2014, Jansson went to Manhattanville to work with the Valiants’ softball team, as well as pursue her master’s degree in sports business management. The Valiants had a remarkable 2016 season, winning the MAC Freedom Conference, and earning a berth into the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. With Jansson’s assistance, Manhattanville took home the 2016 NCAA New Jersey Regional Championship, and the Valiants concluded the season with a 41-5 record, ranked 19th in the national poll.
Jansson has also given her time to work at various camps and clinics hosted by Iona College, Princeton University, Kutztown University, and the South Brunswick (NJ) Athletic Association.
Jansson graduated cum laude from Iona in 2014 with a bachelor of arts in speech language pathology. She earned her Master of Science in Sports Business Management while serving as a graduate assistant coach at Manhattanville.
