Southern IL University Edwardsville

SIUE Athletics
Vadalabene Center Box 1129 Edwardsville, IL 62026

Division 1 Illinois Midwest

Public Medium National competitor

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Coaches

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Ben Sorden

After spending nearly the last decade as an assistant coach in the Big Ten Conference, Ben Sorden was tapped as the new leader of the SIUE softball program in August 2022.

Sorden comes to SIUE after holding positions at Michigan State and Indiana, helping the pitching staffs to national honors and top-notch results.

The Lone Tree, Iowa, native spent five seasons at Michigan State, where the Spartans sported a 2.38 earned run average and a 1.11 WHIP over 350 innings of play.

Over the five seasons, he helped guide one All-Region selection, two Academic All-Americans, 22 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars and 60 Academic All Big Ten award winners. He also served as the recruiting coordinator and scouting report coordinator.

Sorden previously served as a pitching coach at Indiana from 2014 to 2017. During that tenure, the Hoosiers had six All-Big Ten picks, 42 Academic All-Big Ten selections and four NFCA All-Region honorees.

Sorden made the jump to Division I softball after serving as an assistant coach at Coe College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) where he oversaw three All-American pitchers, seven NCAA All-Region pitchers and four Iowa Conference Pitchers of the Year.

Coe won three conference championships, made eight NCAA Regional appearances and two NCAA Division III Women's College World Series appearances (fifth place, 2006; second place, 2009). Coe finished in the NCAA Top 25 nine times.

He was the head coach for Solon High School (Solon, Iowa) in 2011 and 2012, where he earned back-to-back WaMaC East Coach of the Year honors after leading Solon to back-to-back WaMaC East Championships, consecutive Regional Championships and two state tournament appearances, including a runner-up finish in 2012. In two seasons, Sorden's teams recorded a 71-17 record and produced seven All-State players as well as a 3A Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in 2012. He was tabbed the 2012 Northeast Iowa District Coach of the Year.

His coaching experience includes serving as an assistant coach at South Mountain Community College (Phoenix, Arizona) in 2010 as well as three years as a student assistant at Buena Vista University (Storm Lake, Iowa). While on Buena Vista’s staff, the Beavers placed fifth at the NCAA Division III College World Series in 1994.

Sorden is a 1995 graduate of Buena Vista University, where he earned a bachelor’s in management and entrepreneurship. A member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, he has served as a clinician at numerous softball camps and clinics and has experience as an NCAA football referee, including the 2011 NCAA Division III semifinals.

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Courtney Gentile

Courtney Gentile joined the SIUE softball staff as an assistant coach in October 2022.

Gentile and Head Coach Ben Sorden have the Big Ten Conference in common. Gentile was a two-time All-Big Ten player at Ohio State in 2007 and 2010. Sorden previously has been an assistant coach at both Michigan State and Indiana.

Gentile has several years of Division I coaching experience as an assistant at both Eastern Michigan and Cleveland State.

She was a pitching and assistant hitting coach at Eastern Michigan from 2013 to 2017, designing a year-round program to include conditioning, mental training, fielding and pitching workouts. Gentile also served as a compliance liaison and the team travel coordinator. She served as the Cleveland State pitching coach from 2011 to 2013, leading the development of two All-Conference pitchers and two All-Freshman team picks. Along with serving as a compliance liaison, she helped with fundraising and alumni relations.

Most recently, Gentile has been a full-time softball instructor with more than 30 students learning all facets of the game. She has been a GameSense Softball Director in 2020 and 2021 as well as the head coach for St. Louis Chaos Elite Travel Program since 2020.

She received a bachelor’s of science and education degree from Ohio State in 2010.

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Caitlin Wnek

Caitlin Wnek joined the SIUE softball coaching staff in September 2023. She spent the previous five seasons at UW-La Crosse.

Wnek was named the 2023 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year at the NCAA Division III level after taking over as UW-La Crosse's head coach midway through the season when the Eagles' head coach was recovering from heart surgery. Wnek led the Eagles to the 2023 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament title with a 4-0 record, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.

In her five seasons at UWL, she also served as a facilities and events coordinator for the athletics department.

Part of the 2022 WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year, Wnek also helped lead UWL to its first-ever Super Regional appearance in 2019.

She previously served as the graduate assistant coach at Augustana (South Dakota), serving as the primary infield coach and the day-to-day operations for the Vikings. Augustana finished with 40 wins during the 2017 campaign while advancing to the NCAA Division II regional championship game.

A 2016 graduate of Northern Iowa in movement and exercise science with an emphasis in sport psychology, Wnek played four seasons as a shortstop for the Panthers. She left after setting the school record for doubles (56). She was selected as a first team All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree her senior season after earning second team honors as a sophomore and a junior.

A native of Amana, Iowa, Wnek also earned a master's degree from Augustana in 2018.