Jacquie Joseph Hometown: Flint, Mich. Position: Head Coach (17th Year at MSU: 493-429-1) Experience: All: 20th Year Alma Mater: Central Michigan, 1985 (M.B.A. 1987)

Jacquie Joseph has instilled core values in the Michigan State softball program, developing student-athletes that are successful on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Under Joseph's leadership, these values allow her players to not only become successful during their college career, but in their future endeavors as well. As the records indicate, Joseph's impact as a mentor and coach has been felt for years in the program she has built into one of the best in the Big Ten Conference.

Since taking over the Spartan program in 1994, the 17th-year head coach has become the winningest coach in program history, guiding MSU to a 493-429-1 record and four NCAA Regional appearances. In addition, she is one of just four active coaches in the Big Ten and 39 in the nation to own over 600 career victories, a milestone she accomplished during the 2008 season. When Joseph was named the fifth head coach in school history, she immediately raised the expectations for the program. MSU has steadily improved under her tutelage, posting three 40-win campaigns and nine 30-win seasons, including four in the past six years.

Joseph's players have performed at a high level her entire career, leading to individual accolades as well as team success. She has coached five All-Americans and her players have earned All-Big Ten honors 40 times and All-Great Lakes Region honors 27 times. In the classroom, an impressive seven student-athletes have been named Academic All-America in her tenure, the most of any active coach in the Michigan State Athletics Department. Her players are a regular on the Academic All-Big Ten Team, earning conference honors 84 times.

Last year, Michigan State earned a berth in the Big Ten Tournament for the sixth straight season and upset sixth-ranked Michigan in the first round. The team fell in the semifinals to close out a 27-29 campaign. Three Spartans earned All-Big Ten honors, including first-team selection Nikki Nicosia, marking the 13th time in Joseph's tenure a player has been named first-team All-Big Ten. Nicosia also garnered first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors for the second consecutive year, and three others were named to the second team. Jessica Bracamonte and Kara Weigle were named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and four players were awarded Academic All-Big Ten accolades.

In 2007, Joseph recorded her second consecutive 30-win season, going 33-26. Three Spartans earned All-Big Ten honors, as Traci Nicosia was named first team while Nikki Nicosia and Caitlin Mahoney were second team Additionally, Nikki Nicosia garnered All-Great Lakes Region Second-Team honors, and five Spartans nabbed Academic All-Big Ten honors.

The Spartans claimed the program's first-ever Big Ten Tournament title in 2004 with a tournament sweep of host Michigan, Northwestern and Illinois. In addition to the league tournament title, the three wins garnered State its second straight appearance in an NCAA Regional, which marked the first time in MSU history the softball team made consecutive appearances in NCAA postseason play. State's 2004 Big Ten Tournament sweep - which came in the midst of a 10-5 run to end the season - was largely due to the resiliency of two-time All-America pitcher Jessica Beech, now pitching coach for the Spartans. Beech was the pitcher of record in 13 of the last 15 games of the season. However, the Spartan bats held their own in the final 15 games, batting .305 with 79 runs scored, 25 doubles and eight home runs during that span. Following the Big Ten Tournament win, MSU went on to defeat Texas A&M, 5-1, before falling to No. 7 Washington, 12-8, in the first two games of the NCAA Regional. State bounced back from its loss to UW with a 13-5 six-inning victory against Massachusetts, but was eliminated from the regional in a 9-1 loss to host Georgia.

As a team, the Spartans raked in postseason honors, while leading the Big Ten in batting for the second consecutive year. Four players were named to All-Big Ten teams, as Jessica Beech and Angel Merren earned first-team honors and Natalie Furrow and Dayna Feenstra were honorable mention selections. Beech earned her second selection as an NFCA All-America honoree, while Furrow and Feenstra were also NFCA All-Region First-Team selections. Brittney Green earned Big Ten Tournament MVP accolades, while Beech, Furrow and Merren were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Green and Elizabeth Peterson were selected to the NCAA Region 8 Team, and Furrow closed out her career as MSU's ninth-ever CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree.

MSU posted 40 wins for the fourth time in school history during the 2003 campaign. In addition, State made its third NCAA Regional run in the previous seven seasons, advanced to the regional final, and picked up its first season sweep of Michigan since the 1981 campaign. The Spartans took third in the Big Ten with a 13-6 mark, improving from a ninth-place finish and 4-16 record in 2002. The team's accomplishments did not go unnoticed, as Joseph earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, and she and her staff were honored as the Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.

From 1998-2000, Michigan State posted an overall record of 105-66, winning at least 30 games all three seasons. During the 1999 campaign, the Spartans compiled a 41-23 overall record and made their second NCAA Regional appearance in three years. The Spartans advanced to the regional finals before losing to DePaul to end the postseason run. The 1998 season marked the first time in program history that the Spartans won 30 games in three consecutive years. In the three-year span, MSU had two NFCA All-Americans, two All-Great Lakes Region and six All-Big Ten honorees, and three players named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. Off the field, the accolades were just as impressive, as players earned Academic All-America honors three times and Academic All-Big Ten honors 15 times.

Rebuilding the MSU program would have been a daunting task for most, but Joseph accepted the challenge and quickly reversed its fortunes. She gradually brought MSU back to respectability during her first three seasons, and the result was a record-setting campaign in 1997. The Spartans won a school-record 47 games in 1997 and made their first-ever Big Ten Tournament appearance after finishing third in the Big Ten regular season standings with a 14-9 record. The reward for turning around a program that had gone 258-409-4 in the 14 years prior to her arrival came on May 11, 1997, when the Spartans received the school's first-ever bid to the NCAA Softball Tournament.

In her first season at the helm of the Spartan program in 1994, the energetic and enthusiastic Joseph guided MSU to its most overall wins (19) since the 1989 season. In addition, two of her players earned All-Great Lakes Region honors and three players earned CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition. Joseph's coaching talents were recognized on a national level as well. In June of 1997, she served as co-coach of the West Team at the U.S. Softball Women's National Team Festival in Midland, Mich. Joseph went on to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the Pan Am Qualifier in Medellin, Colombia, July 18-26, 1997.

Joseph has helped mold several talented players in her MSU career. In 1996, Patti Raduenz, currently the head softball coach at Elon University, and Keri Lemasters, currently the head coach at Suffolk University in Boston, each earned NFCA Second-Team All-America honors, the first Spartan players to earn All-America status since 1984. In addition, pitcher Stacey Smith landed a spot on the All-Great Lakes Region Second Team. Raduenz was also lauded for her classroom ability, earning first-team Academic All-America recognition. After completing her final season of eligibility in 1997, Lemasters went on to play for the USA National Team and professionally for the Durham Dragons. Raduenz played four years in the Women's Professional Softball League, while Smith played one season in the pro leagues. In December of 1999, Stacey Phillips was drafted by the Tampa Bay FireStix of the WPSL. In 1998, Phillips earned third-team All-America honors, becoming the third player under Joseph to garner All-America recognition. Phillips was also the head softball coach at Indiana University from 2006-2008.

Prior to accepting the MSU position, the Flint, Mich., native spent five seasons as the head coach at Bowling Green State University. During her tenure, the Falcons compiled a record of 136-133, including a 71-34 mark in her last two seasons. Joseph guided Bowling Green to a 37-16 record and a runner-up finish in the Mid-American Conference in 1992, setting a school record for overall wins.

In 1993, the Falcons finished with a 34-18 record, captured their first MAC title under Joseph and advanced to the NCAA Regional. For her efforts, she was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. In five years at BGSU, Joseph produced four All-Mideast Region honorees, 12 All-Mid-American Conference selections and one CoSIDA Academic All-American. In addition, she coached the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in 1992 and `93.

Joseph was an assistant coach at Indiana for one year prior to being named BGSU head coach on Oct. 13, 1988. Before her stint at Indiana, she spent two years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Central Michigan. While at Indiana, Joseph helped the Hoosiers to a 36-20-1 record and a fourth-place Big Ten finish. In her two years at CMU, she helped guide the Chippewas to back-to-back Mid-American Conference titles.

During her playing career, Joseph led Central Michigan to three MAC titles and three National Tournament appearances. She was a two-time First-Team All-MAC selection. Joseph graduated from Central Michigan in 1985 with a degree in business administration and earned her master's degree from CMU in business in `87.

In the fall of 2002, Joseph was enshrined in the Carman-Ainsworth High School Hall of Fame as a member of the 1980 state championship team, and more recently was inducted as an individual in the fall of 2005.

In September of 2002, Joseph started a four-year term as a member of the NCAA softball committee. In December of 1998, she completed her fourth and final year as president of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) after serving as vice president of the NFCA from 1993-94. In her free time, Joseph enjoys playing golf.

The Spartan mentor is a veteran clinician and has authored two books, Defensive Softball Drills and The Baffled Parent's Guide To Coaching Youth Softball, as well as five videos: Drills For Successful Catching, Hitting Mechanics and Drills, Complete Defense for All Positions, Strength & Conditioning and Defensive Softball Drills.

Joseph has a nine-year-old daughter, Emma.

MSU Softball

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