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University of Louisville

University of Louisville Athletic Dept
2100 South Floyd St Louisville, KY 40292
Division 1 Kentucky Midwest
Public Large National competitor

Coaches

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Holly Aprile

Holly Aprile recently completed her sixth season as UofL’s head coach. During her time at Louisville, which includes the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, the Cardinals have amassed 156 wins and earned a pair of NCAA regional appearances with the 2023 Knoxville Regional and the 2019 NCAA Regional finals


Under Aprile’s tutelage, the Cardinals have produced nine National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Southeast Region selections, two NFCA All-Americans and 14 All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection honorees.


2024 Highlights

Most recently, the Cardinals finished the 2024 season with a 27-25 overall record and an 8-16 mark in ACC play, placing 11th in the final league standings.


In the midst of a challenging slate with a strength of schedule ranked No. 28 nationally, and despite a series of injuries, the Cardinals posted four wins against top-25 teams including ACC champion and Women's College World Series participant Duke. As a team, Louisville turned 21 double plays, standing third in the conference and seventh on the program's all-time list.


Riley Frizell was named to the NFCA All-Southeast Region first team and joined teammate Daisy Hess on the All-ACC third team.


2023 Highlights

Louisville finished the 2023 season with a 36-20, the most wins since 2014 - the Cardinals’ 16 ACC wins are tied for the most in program history since joining the league in 2015.


The 2023 squad also established a new school record with 64 home runs and stood 13th in the NCAA in home runs per game. The Cardinals also ranked among the top 20 nationally in multiple offensive categories at the conclusion of the season. In addition to leading the ACC and finishing 13th in the NCAA with a .319 team batting average, the Cardinals also ranked 10th in the nation in triples per game (.36), 12th with a .408 on-base percentage, 16th in slugging percentage (.518) and 20th in scoring (5.91).


The Cards also achieved several individual milestones, placing three student-athletes on the NFCA All-Southeast Region teams as Sarah Gordon and Roby were named to the second team and Korbe Otis was a third team selection It marked the most overall regional selections since 2012 when five Cardinals were named to the Great Lakes Region teams.


Louisville also placed a program-best six players on the all-conference teams. Gordon was named the ACC Freshman of the Year becoming Louisville’s first ACC Softball Freshman of the Year and the program’s first league freshman of the year since 2004. Gordon was also named to the 2023 TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 List becoming the third Louisville player to make the list and the first since 2016.


Upon the conclusion of the season, Roby was named to the NFCA All-America second team, marking the second Cardinal to earn all-America honors in as many seasons. The right-handed pitcher/designated player capped her impressive career tied for second in the nation with a school-record 23 home runs and took over the school's career mark with 63.


2022 Highlights

The 2022 campaign saw Carmyn Greenwood and Roby earn all-ACC and All-Region honors for the second straight year. The Cards finished the season with a 27-25 overall record. The Cardinals produced 27 wins in the midst of a challenging schedule, ranked 18th in the nation and despite season-ending injuries to three starters.


Three players earned ACC honors with Greenwood selected to the first team, Roby named to the third team and Korbe Otis tabbed as a member of the all-Freshman team. Greenwood led the ACC and was fifth in the nation with seven triples. She also stood second in the ACC with 70 hits and was third with 54 runs scored. and was second with 52 RBIs.


2021 Highlights

After the 2020 season was cut short due to the spread of COVID-19, UofL added two more all-region honorees in 2021 with Carmyn Greenwood named to first team and Taylor Roby selected to the second team. In 2021, the Cardinals amassed 21 wins, in the midst of a challenging slate. Among the season highlights were three wins and one tie against top-25 teams including a win and a tie against eventual Women’s College World Series runner-up Florida State. Celene Funke was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after the Cardinals' quarterfinal appearance in the conference tournament.


2020 - Season Interrupted

In the shortened 2020 season, the Cardinals registered a 10-13 overall record in the midst of a challenging schedule that featured 10 games against teams in the top 25 in the final rankings.


The team spent the month of February on the road and emerged with some impressive milestones, including a season-opening upset against No. 21/25 Ole Miss, a no-hitter from junior Chardonnay Harris against Penn State and handing then-10th-ranked Oregon its first loss of the season.


After posting a 3-1 record in its home-opening Red & Black Challenge, Louisville looked to carry the home stand momentum into its ACC-opening series against Boston College when the spring season was canceled.


Impressive Start

Aprile’s Cardinals enjoyed a successful in the 2019 campaign which was highlighted by an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and a regional final appearance. The team amassed a 35-23 overall record and a 12-12 mark in ACC play for a third place finish in the league’s Atlantic Division and fifth in the overall conference standings. Louisville's 35 wins marked the most victories in a season since 2016 when the Cards posted a 35-17 record.


Facing a tough schedule, the Cards collected six wins over teams ranked in the top 25 including a pair of contests against then-No. 3/3 Florida State. With the series win, Louisville became the first ACC team to claim a series against the Seminoles since 2012. Other ranked wins included No. 15/17 Michigan, No. 24/19 Virginia Tech, No. 24/23 Kentucky and No. 18/17 Northwestern.


In addition to Louisville’s quality wins on the field, junior Celene Funke belted out an NCAA-best 13 in the season, also setting a school record in the single-season category. She paced the Cardinals who led the nation in triples per game with 31 in 58 games (1.87) and tied UofL’s single-season team mark.


The 2019 squad also set a school record with 106 stolen bases, surpassing the previous record of 68. Redshirt senior Sidney Melton also established a new school mark with 35 on the season, Funke was right behind her with 29.


Several players also picked up individual honors at the end of the season. Melton earned her second straight all-ACC nod while Charley Butler and Rebecca Chung were selected to the all-freshmen team. Senior Megan Hensley was named to the NFCA All-Southeast Region first team, becoming the first player in program history to be named to the first team since the Cardinals moved into the region.


In the classroom

Aprile’s Louisville teams have also been impressive in the classroom, placing seven players on the All-ACC Academic Teams in the two seasons in which the award was given.

• UofL posted a 3.381 team GPA during the 2020-21 academic year with 14 players named NFCA Scholar Athletes.

• In total, 19 student-athletes earning a GPA of 3.0 or better with seniors Celene Funke and Carmyn Greenwood garnering All-ACC Academic Team honors in 2021.

• With the spring season in 2020, Louisville softball continued to excel in the classroom with a 3.557 team GPA. Funke went on to earn her fourth consecutive CoSIDA Academic All-America nod.

• The 2019 squad also turned in impressive results in the classroom as the team produced a combined 3.157 grade point average for the academic year and earning NFCA Academic Team honors with five All-America Scholar Athletes.

• In addition, Louisville placed five on the 2019 All-ACC Academic Team, tied for the most among league schools. Funke was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team for the second straight year. Funke and Melton were also CoSIDA Academic All-District selections.


A New Chapter

On July 16, 2018, Aprile was named the head softball coach at the University of Louisville. She became just the second head coach in the history of UofL softball following the retirement of Sandy Pearsall who started the program in 2000.


“We are excited to welcome Holly Aprile to the Louisville family as our new softball coach,” said UofL Vice President/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra upon her hiring. “Over the last 19 years, our program has grown and achieved great success and I am confident that Holly will take us to the next level. She is well-respected in the softball community as a talented coach with tremendous integrity and a strong work ethic. She has a passion for developing student-athletes on and off the field and we look forward to having her lead our program.”


Aprile came to Louisville from the University of Pittsburgh, where she spent 10 seasons (2009-18) as the Panthers’ head coach and five years (2004-08) as an assistant. This past season, she earned ACC Coach of the Year honors after leading Pitt to the 2018 ACC Coastal Division title and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament where it fell in the championship game to eventual national champion Florida State.


Pittsburgh finished the 2018 campaign with a 33-18-1 overall record, marking the program’s third 30-win season in four years. The Coastal Division champions notched a program-best 16-6 mark in ACC play while winning seven of their eight conference series. During the regular season, the Panthers defeated then-No. 9/13 Florida State 1-0 in Tallahassee, halting the Seminoles’ 36-game ACC win streak and marking Pitt’s first victory over the perennial conference power.


Under Aprile’s direction, Pitt achieved several milestones while making the transition from the BIG EAST Conference to the ACC. In 2015, she guided her team to the championship game of the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history. The Panthers went on to earn their first NCAA bid and advanced to the regional finals. After finishing the season with a program-best 37 wins, Aprile and her assistants garnered National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors.


While at the helm, Aprile guided Pittsburgh to 271 wins and oversaw 12 NFCA All-Region selections and 13 All-ACC selections, with eight players earning ACC All-Tournament nods. Her teams and players have put up impressive numbers, leading the ACC in fielding percentage (.975) in 2017 and home runs (75), slugging percentage (.552) and doubles (82) in 2016. In the past four seasons, her teams have continually set school records in wins, hits, batting average, RBI, home runs, runs scored and shutouts.


Aprile’s student-athletes have also been successful in the classroom with 19 NFCA Scholar-Athlete selections and 10 ACC All-Academic honorees. Additionally, her teams achieved perfect scores in the NCAA Public Recognition Awards for Academic Progress Rates in 2017 and 2018.


Before being named the Panthers’ head coach in July 2008, she served as an assistant coach at Pitt for five years, helping the program produce its first winning season in school history and earn its first BIG EAST Conference tournament berth.


Prior to her arrival in Pittsburgh, Aprile was an assistant coach at South Carolina, where she was the recruiting coordinator and assisted in the development of the team’s offense while working specifically with the pitchers and outfielders. During her nine-year stint in Columbia, she helped direct the Gamecocks to five Southeastern Conference titles, five NCAA Regional appearances and a Women’s College World Series appearance in 1997.


Aprile began her coaching career at Eastern Illinois, where she served as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons working primarily with the pitchers and the outfielders.


As a player, Aprile built an impressive resume at the University of Massachusetts, where she was a four-year all-Atlantic 10 selection. As a senior, she was the Most Valuable Player for the Minutewomen softball team that finished third in the 1992 Women’s College World Series and was selected to the WCWS All-Tournament team. That same year, she earned third-team All-America honors. Aprile produced stellar results both as a pitcher and an outfielder, earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year (1989), Player of Year (1990 and 1991) and Pitcher of the Year (1992).


Aprile was a participant on USA Softball’s national team for seven years (1993-99). During that time, she helped Team USA to gold medals in the Pan-American Qualifiers in 1994 and 1997 and the South Pacific Classic in 1998.


The Afton, N.Y., native earned her bachelor’s in sports management from UMass in 1992 and received her master’s degree in political science from Eastern Illinois in 1995.

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Griffin Joiner

After joining head coach Holly Aprile’s staff in August 2018, Joiner has worked primarily with the pitching staff and catchers.


In her six seasons at Louisville, Joiner has helped the Cardinals to two NCAA regional appearances, including the Evanston Regional final in 2019 and the 2023 Knoxville Regional. During her tenure, the Cardinals have also produced a pair of NFCA All-Americans with pitcher/designated player Taylor Roby earning second team honors in 2023.


Additionally, with Louisville has tallied nine All-Southeast Region selections including Roby, a three-time honoree and Megan Hensley who was named to the first team in 2019, becoming the first player in program history to do so since the Cardinals moved into the region. The Cards have also placed 14 student-athletes on the all-ACC teams in the last six seasons with catcher Sarah Gordon becoming Louisville’s first ACC Freshman of the Year in 2023.


Most recently, the Cardinals finished the 2024 season with a 27-25 overall record and an 8-16 mark in ACC play, placing 11th in the final league standings.In the midst of a challenging slate with a strength of schedule ranked No. 28 nationally, and despite a series of injuries, the Cardinals posted four wins against top-25 teams including ACC champion and Women's College World Series participant Duke. As a team, Louisville turned 21 double plays, standing third in the conference and seventh on the program's all-time list.


Riley Frizell was named to the 2024 NFCA All-Southeast Region first team and joined teammate Daisy Hess on the All-ACC third team.


Louisville finished the 2023 season with a 36-20, the most wins since 2014. The Cardinals’ 16 ACC wins are tied for the most in program history since joining the league in 2015. A program-best six players earned all-ACC distinction with Roby and Gordon taking home first team honors and pitcher Alyssa Zabala named to the All-Freshmen team.


The 2022 campaign saw Greenwood and Taylor Roby earn all-ACC and All-Region honors for the second straight year. The Cards finished the season with a 27-25 overall record. The Cardinals produced 27 wins in the midst of a schedule that was rated 18th in the nation and despite season-ending injuries to three starters. Three players earned ACC honors with Greenwood selected to the first team, Roby named to the third team and Korbe Otis tabbed as a member of the All-Freshman team. Greenwood led the ACC and was fifth in the nation with seven triples. She also stood second in the ACC with 70 hits and was third with 54 runs scored. and was second with 52 RBIs.


After the 2020 season was cut short due to the spread of COVID-19, UofL added two more all-region honorees in 2021 with Greenwood named to first team and Roby selected to the second team. Both players also earned all-ACC accolades.


In 2021, the Cardinals amassed 21 wins, in the midst of a challenging slate. Among the season highlights were three wins and one tie against top-25 teams including a win and a tie against eventual Women’s College World Series runner-up Florida State.


In the shortened 2020 campaign, the Cardinals registered a 10-13 overall record in the midst of a tough schedule which featured 10 games against teams in the top 25 in the final rankings.


The team spent the month of February on the road and emerged with some impressive milestones, including a season-opening upset against No. 21/25 Ole Miss, a no-hitter from junior Chardonnay Harris against Penn State and handing then-10th-ranked Oregon its first loss of the season.


After posting a 3-1 record in its home-opening Red & Black Challenge, Louisville looked to carry the home stand momentum into its ACC-opening series against Boston College when the spring season was canceled due to the outbreak of COVID-19


Joiner’s first season at Louisville was highlighted by an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and a regional final appearance. The 2019 Cardinals amassed a 35-23 overall record and a 12-12 mark in ACC play for a third place finish in the league’s Atlantic Division and fifth in the overall conference standings. Louisville's 35 wins mark the most victories in a season since 2016 when the Cards posted a 35-17 record.


That year, the Cards collected six wins against teams ranked in the top 25 including a pair of contests against third-ranked Florida State. With the series win, Louisville became the first ACC team to claim a series against the Seminoles since 2012. Other ranked wins included No. 15/17 Michigan, No. 24/19 Virginia Tech, No. 24/23 Kentucky and No. 18/17 Northwestern.


Under Joiner’s guidance, the Cardinals’ pitching staff was ranked among the top five in the conference in saves, shutouts, ERA and batters struck out in 2019. Individually, the pitchers were also among the leaders in the conference as Danielle Watson stood tied for fifth in the league in strikeouts, Taylor Roby was second in saves and Megan Hensley was tied for fifth in shutouts.


Joiner came to Louisville after spending the 2018 season as an assistant coach under Aprile at Pittsburgh. While there, she helped direct the Panthers to the program’s first ACC Coastal Division title and advance to the finals of the ACC Championship where they fell to eventual Women’s College World Series Champion Florida State.


Joiner helped the Panthers achieve immediate results while working primarily with the pitchers and catchers. Under her guidance, catcher Giorgiana Zeremenko earned NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region first team honors while pitcher Kayla Harris was a second team all-region selection. Harris and fellow pitcher Sarah Dawson were named to the ACC All-Tournament team following Pitt’s runner-up finished in the ACC Championship. Additionally, Harris posted 16 wins to go along with six shutouts, placing her third on Pitt’s single season list. Dawson followed closely with 15 victories.


Prior to her stint at Pittsburgh, Joiner spent two seasons (2016 and 2017) as a graduate manager at her alma mater, the University of Kentucky. With Joiner on the staff, the Wildcats advanced to an NCAA Super Regional in 2017 and finished the season with a 39-19 overall record and ranked No. 17 in the national rankings. In her first season at UK, the team reached the NCAA regional finals and finished the season ranked No. 11/13 nationally after posting a 46-14 overall record and finished second in the SEC with a 17-7 mark in league play.


As a student-athlete, Joiner helped lead the Wildcats to the 2014 Women’s College World Series, setting a school record with 69 games played. The catcher was a two-time NFCA All-Region third team selection and was named to the All-SEC Defensive Team three times (2013, 2014, 2015). Joiner garnered All-SEC second team honors in 2013 after she paced the Wildcats with a .578 slugging percentage and stood second in hits (58), home runs (10) and RBI (41).


She finished her career tied for second on the school’s all-time list with 35 home runs and ranked among the program’s top 10 in career games played, hits, home runs, RBI, batting average, walks, at-bats, slugging percentage, total bases, fielding percentage and putouts.


Joiner continued her playing career professionally when she was selected by the Akron Racers as the 19th overall pick in the fourth round of 2015 National Pro Fastpitch College Draft. She was selected to the 2016 All-NPF team as a catcher after throwing out a league-best 13 baserunners. In 2017, she was one of eight catchers selected to try out for the USA Softball Women's National Team.


The Hopkinsville, Ky., native graduated from Kentucky in 2015 with bachelor’s degree in exercise science and earned a master’s degree in sport leadership from UK in 2017.

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Bryan Sabatella

Bryan Sabatella is entering his second season as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville.


In Sabatella’s first year as a member of head coach Holly Aprile’s staff, the Cardinals finished the 2024 season with a 27-25 overall record and an 8-16 mark in ACC play, placing 11th in the final league standings. In the midst of a challenging slate with a strength of schedule ranked No. 28 nationally, and despite a series of injuries, the Cardinals posted four wins against top-25 teams including ACC champion and Women's College World Series participant Duke. As a team, Louisville turned 21 double plays, standing third in the conference and seventh on the program's all-time list.


Riley Frizell was named to the 2024 NFCA All-Southeast Region first team and joined teammate Daisy Hess on the All-ACC third team.


Sabatella came to Louisville after two seasons at Utah Tech, where he served as the program’s hitting and infield coach. While there, he helped guide the Trailblazers to a 35-18 overall record and the 2023 Western Athletic Conference regular season title with a 19-5 mark in league play. The championship marked the first for Utah Tech which was in the third season of its NCAA Division I transition. The squad produced impressive offensive numbers in 2023, registering a .342 team batting average, standing second in the nation, and belted out 114 doubles with an NCAA-best 2.15 doubles per game.


In his first season with the Trailblazers, the team posted a .313 batting average, ranking 19th in the national standings. Defensively, the infielders led the WAC in double plays turned.


During Sabatella’s time in St. George, seven student-athletes earned all-conference honors including 2023 WAC Player of the Year Shea Clements and Freshman of Year Tanya Windle. Additionally, Utah Tech placed four on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-West Region Team.


Before his stint at Utah Tech, Sabatella was a ninth-round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners in 2005 and went on to play 11 years professionally with several different teams. He finished his playing career with a .299 batting average, 549 RBI and 354 stolen bases while winning two championships and being named to five all-star teams.


During the off season, Sabatella was a hitting and fielding instructor working with individual athletes as well as training entire teams in preparation for their seasons. He also spent some time working with the baseball team at his alma mater, Quinnipiac University, served as the hitting/defensive coach for Marin Catholic in 2020-21 along with being a head coach for the Bombers Baseball Organization.


In addition to more than 20 years of coaching experience, Sabatella also spent four years as a leadership and team building instructor where he traveled the country working with 30-40 collegiate and high school athletic teams annually.


As a collegiate athlete, Sabatella played baseball at Quinnipiac University from 2003-05. Over the course of his three-year career, he earned a .358 batting average, recorded 18 home runs and 88 RBIs. He was named to two all-conference teams, tabbed the 2005 Northeastern Conference Player of the Year and became the second Triple Crown Winner in conference history. He also helped the Bobcats win the 2005 NEC championship and earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.


The Wading River, N.Y., native earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Quinnipiac in 2012.

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