University of Louisville

University of Louisville Athletic Dept
2100 South Floyd St Louisville, KY 40292

Division 1 Kentucky Midwest

Public Large National competitor

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Holly Aprile

Holly Aprile just completed her second season at the helm of the University of Louisville softball program.

With the 2020 campaign suspended prior to conference play due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Aprile has compiled a 45-36 record and guided the Cardinals to an NCAA regional final appearance in 2019 during her time at the helm.

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 Wichita 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.

Aprile’s squad also turned in impressive results in the classroom as the team produced a combined 3.157 grade point average for the 2018-19 season. Five student-athletes were named to the All-ACC Academic Team, tied for the most among league schools. Additionally, Funke was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America team for the second straight year. Funke and Melton were also Google Cloud 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

Griffin Joiner recently completed her second season as an assistant coach for the University of Louisville softball team. After joining head coach Holly Aprile’s staff in August 2018, Griffin worked primarily with the pitching staff and catchers.

In her two seasons Joiner has helped the Cardinals to 45 wins and an NCAA regional final appearance in 2019.

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 Wichita 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.

In the face of a challenging slate, the Cards collected six wins against 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.

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. 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.

“A proven winner on and off the field, Griffin brings so much to the table,” said Aprile upon Joiner's hiring. “From her expertise working with the pitchers and catchers in the bullpen, to pitch calling, to the offensive side of the game as well, Griffin is both highly knowledgeable and passionate about her craft. She will be an excellent role model for our student-athletes and her years of experience as a highly competitive student-athlete as well as her experience in the professional ranks is invaluable.”

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 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (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.

“First, I would like to thank Holly for giving me the opportunity to be a part of her staff and compete for championships with her and with Ashley,” said Joiner. “Also, I would like to thank the administration for the opportunity to be a part of the athletic community and winning tradition that has been established in UofL Athletics and in the softball program.”

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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Ashley Lane

Ashley Lane recently completed her second season as an assistant coach for the University of Louisville softball team. After joining head coach Holly Aprile’s staff in August 2018, she works primarily with the defense.

In her two seasons at Louisville, Lane has helped the Cardinals to 45 wins and an NCAA regional final appearance in 2019.

In the shortened 2020 campaign, Louisville 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 Wichita 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

Lane’s first season at Louisville 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 mark the most victories in a season since 2016 when the Cards posted a 35-17 record.

In the face of a challenging schedule, the Cards collected six wins against 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.

“Ashley has an outstanding pedigree as an All-American student-athlete at Michigan and as a coach at both Middle Tennessee State and Kentucky,” said Aprile upon Lane’s hiring. “Her expertise in defensive fundamentals and strategies as well as her offensive mind are a unique combination that will bring a wealth of knowledge to our staff. She has a great rapport with student-athletes and does a terrific job of getting the very best out of everyone she coaches.”

Lane came to Louisville after three seasons at Middle Tennessee State where she served as an assistant coach working with primarily with the offense and infielders from 2016 through 2018.

In 2018, Lane helped guide the Blue Raiders to the Conference USA Tournament title and Middle Tennessee’s first NCAA tournament berth in 18 years. Along with their post season success, the 2018 Blue Raiders finished the season with 39 wins – standing second for the most victories in program history.

“I’m incredibly excited and appreciative for the opportunity Holly is giving me to join her staff and the UofL family,” said Lane. “I have so much respect for Holly and I look forward to coaching alongside her and contributing to this program’s success. I feel honored to join UofL and compete in the ACC. Louisville is a special place and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Under Lane’s guidance, the 2018 MTSU team sat atop Conference USA standings in batting average, hits, total bases and sacrifice bunts, wins, putouts and assists. The Blue Raiders set school records for single season team batting average and stood second on total bases, RBI, on-base percentage and singles.

During her time in Murfreesboro, Lane helped oversee three NFCA All-Mideast Region selections and seven All-Conference USA team members. Her players also set school records with 2018 senior Precious Birdsong owning the all-time marks for runs scored, hits, singles, triples and stolen bases and Morgan Harris finishing her career as MTSU’s all-time RBI leader.

Prior to her stint at Middle Tennessee, Lane spent the 2015 season as a volunteer assistant hitting coach at the University of Kentucky, and she helped the Wildcats advance to the Gainesville Super Regional.

Before entering the college coaching ranks, Lane served as an assistant coach at Brighton High School in Brighton, Mich.

Lane played for the University of Michigan from 2010-13 and helped the Wolverines to four-straight Big Ten titles and a Women's College World Series appearance in 2013. The two-time NFCA All-America selection (2011, 2013) posted a .316 career batting average, including a .363 mark during her senior season when she belted out a two-run double and game-winning home run to send the Wolverines to the 2013 WCWS. After leading her team in home runs in 2011 and 2012, Lane finished her career ranked fifth on on Michigan's all-time list with 47 career homers and stands third with five grand slams. She is currently ranked among the Wolverines' top 10 in career slugging percentage (.615) and RBI (171).

In addition to her all-America honors, the standout second baseman was a two-time NFCA Great Lakes All-Region (2011, 2013) and All-Big Ten selection (2012, 2013). She was also named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List in 2012 and attended the USA Softball Women's National Team selection camp in 2011.

A native of Escondido, Calif., Lane earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Michigan in 2013.