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Caitlyn de la Haba
Caitlyn de la Haba was named head coach of the Bellarmine University softball team in August of 2022.
de la Haba is the sixth head coach in program history after spending the previous five seasons at the helm of Lafayette College in Easton, Pa (Division I – Patriot League). She took over the Leopard softball coaching reins in July of 2017.
When de la Haba was initially hired by Lafayette in 2017, she was the youngest Division I head softball coach in the nation for nearly a year.
The team's progression, especially on offense, was immediate. The Leopards more than doubled their run production, scoring 165 runs compared to 88 in 2017. The team also saw significant improvements in doubles (35 to 59), home runs (8 to 24), RBI (78-145), slugging percentage (.279 to .338), on-base percentage (.280 to .318) walks (72 to 118) and stolen bases (30 to 41). The final numbers in those categories were also top numbers over the last five seasons.
In the classroom, de la Haba's teams at Lafayette performed well, placing 13 on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in 2018, 10 in 2019, and a program-best 15 in 2020. This past year, Natasha Miner and Grace Harvey were named Academic All-Patriot League while the team placed five athlete on the NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete Team.
In the COVID-shortened 2022 season, the Leopards won their most games since 2017, while the pitching staff showed tremendous improvement by shaving five runs off its ERA from the previous season and registering a 4.31 ERA - the lowest during de la Haba's tenure. Leopard pitchers struck out 143 batters - the second most during her five-year tenure. At the plate, the team had its best batting average (.226) since 2016.
Prior to coming to Lafayette, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach at George Mason, working primarily with the George Mason pitching staff. One of her pitchers, sophomore Marina Vitalich, earned Atlantic 10 Co-Pitcher of the Year, third-team All-Region, and first-team Virginia SID All-State honors after finishing first in the conference in ERA (1.87) in 195 innings pitched.
de la Haba arrived at George Mason after an assistant coaching stint at Lehigh where she spent nearly two years. In 2013, Lehigh won a regular-season title with 37 victories. Two of de la Haba's main responsibilities were to coordinate recruitment and monitor student-athletes' academic success to ensure compliance. In addition, she has been a softball instructor in Pennsylvania and Virginia for more than 10 years, preparing players at various positions and ages for the next level of competition.
The Ashburn, Va. native had an illustrious playing career that started at Broad Run High School, where she was a four-year starter (final three seasons as a pitcher) and compiled an overall record of 82-1, helping the Spartans to a No. 1 national ranking by USA Today. With de la Haba on the mound, the team registered 65 shutouts, 26 no-hitters, and 13 perfect games. In 2018, she was inducted into the Broad Run High School Hall of Fame.
After her high school performances earned her back-to-back Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2007 and 2008, de la Haba enrolled at Villanova, where she was the team leader in appearances during each of her four seasons. She finished her Villanova career as the all-time leader with 75 complete games, third all-time in strikeouts (660), and fifth in career victories after winning 55 games with the Wildcats.
Exceptional in the classroom as well as on the field, de la Haba earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Villanova in 2012 and regularly earned a spot on the Dean's List. The former Communication Honor Society member earned a plethora of academic recognition such as Big East Honor Roll and Academic All-Star honors, as well as being named as an All-American Scholar Athlete by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. During her coaching tenure at Lehigh, de la Haba continued her education and earned a Master's degree in Educational Leadership in January 2014.
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