University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh Dept of Athletics
Petersen Events Center - 3719 Terrace Street Pittsburgh, PA 152130436

Division 1 Pennsylvania Northeast

Public Very Large National competitor

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Coaches

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Jenny Allard

Jenny Allard enters her second season as the head coach of the Pitt softball team and her 30th season overall as a head coach in 2025.

Allard was announced as the fourth head coach in Pitt softball history on June 19, 2023. Allard, who was named to the NFCA Hall of Fame Class of 2022, owns a 705-552-4 overall record.

In 2024, Pitt entered the final two weeks of the regular season ranked 10th overall in the ACC team standings and were one of five teams on the bubble to make the ACC Tournament. Allard reached 700 career wins as Pitt defeated Akron, 10-2, April 9 at the Lee R. Jackson Field. Coach Allard became one of 43 active division I head softball coaches to reach the 700-career win milestone.

Prior to Pitt, Allard spent 28 seasons at the helm of the Harvard softball program where she was the Ivy League's longest tenured and winningest softball coach. Allard finished her career at Harvard with a 688-520-4 overall record, including a 342-130-1 Ivy League mark.

During her tenure, Allard led Harvard to nine Ivy League titles, six 30-win seasons and all eight of its NCAA Championship appearances. She coached seven Ivy League Players of the Year, eight Ivy League Pitchers of the Year, seven Ivy League Rookies of the Year, and three All-Americans, as well as 78 first team, 75 second team and 51 honorable mention All-Ivy League selections.

In 2023, Allard led the Crimson to a 29-17-1 overall record and claimed the Ivy League Tournament title to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Regional. Riley Flynn earned Ivy League Pitcher of the Year honors, and 10 players were named to the All-Ivy League teams under her direction.

The Crimson consistently won at a high rate under the direction of Allard, posting winning records in every full season since 2015, while also finishing first or second in the Ivy League. She was twice named The Ragatz Family Harvard Women's Coach of Excellence (2018-19, 2019-20), an honor awarded to a coach of any Crimson women's team and takes into account one's overall contribution to the athletics department, team performance, student-athlete experience and development, leadership within their sport or at Harvard, and other criteria related to excellence in coaching at Harvard.

The California native started her coaching career at Iowa as an assistant coach under Gayle Blevins. In two seasons in Iowa City, Allard helped the Hawkeyes to a pair of 30-win seasons and an NCAA Championship invitation in 1993. After her second season at Iowa, Harvard tabbed Allard in the fall of 1994 to serve as its fourth head coach in program history.

Allard had a prolific collegiate career at Michigan, playing third base before stepping into the circle to fill a pitching vacancy during her junior season in 1989. She was a four-time All-Big Ten selection (first team – 1987, 1989, 1990; second team – 1988), a two-time First Team Mideast Region pick and an Academic All-Big Ten honoree as a senior.

During the 1989 campaign, Allard was one of the top players in the country, leading the Wolverines in batting average (.351), hits (65) and RBI (29). When she stepped into the pitching circle, Allard was just as dominant, posting a 19-9 record with a 0.75 ERA and 64 strikeouts. Following her performance, Allard was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and to the All-America first team, while being nominated for the Honda Broderick Award. She was also the recipient of the Big Ten's Medal of Honor, an award given to the highest-achieving female student-athlete. Allard finished her time in Ann Arbor ranked in the top four all-time in 15 hitting and pitching categories and graduated from the school in 1990. Two years later, she was named to the Big Ten All-Decade Team.

Allard has been a member of the NFCA for 30 years, serving as an Assistant Coach Representative on the Board during her time at Iowa and holding different positions while at Harvard (Education and Publications Committee Chair, Head Coaches Caucus member). She also served on the NCAA Division I Softball Committee from 2017-20, helping to decide the NCAA Tournament field.

Allard has also earned a master's degree from the Harvard School of Education in 1999 and a master's in psychology from the Harvard Extension School in 2003.

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Lacy Schurr

Lacy Schurr enters her second season as the associate head coach after joining the staff in July 2023. Schurr primarily works with the hitters and infielders.

In 2024, Schurr guided the Panthers to hit four grand slams during the season, tying the 2019 Panther team for the most grand slams in a season in program history. Schurr also helped Ana Hernandez and Kylie Griggs improve in almost every offensive category. Hernandez improved from a .105 season batting average in 2023 to a .238 batting average in 2024. Griggs batted .167 in 2023 and finished batting .256 in 2024. Griggs also became the first Panther to record multiple grand slams in a single season.

Schurr also saw Cami Compson finish the season ranked ninth in the ACC and 53rd in the NCAA with 13 home runs. Compson finished her career at Pitt with 34 career home runs and tied with Holly Stevens (2010-13) for third all-time in program history.

Prior to Pittsburgh, Schurr was the head coach at Ball State from 2021-23. Schurr led the team to an 86-75 record, including a 63-34 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Schurr led the Cardinals to a program record 31 MAC wins (31-8) in her first year as a collegiate head coach, including the longest single-season MAC winning streak in program history at 16 games.

Over three seasons, Schurr has seen seven players earn NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honors, including two first-team honors, four second-team accolades, and one third team honors. On the conference awards list, she mentored the 2022 MAC Player of the Year and the 2022 MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Overall, her players have earned 14 All-MAC honors, including seven first team and six second team. She has also coached three MAC All-Freshman Team selections and a MAC All-Defensive Team honoree.

In the classroom, the Cardinals have earned a total of 32 Academic All-MAC honors and seven CSC Academic All-District Honors. Schurr saw Faith Hensley go on to become just the eighth player in program history to be named an Academic All-American when she was named to the 2022 Softball Academic All-America Second Team.

Prior to Ball State, Schurr was a member of Jenny Allard's coaching staff at Harvard from 2016-19. Schurr joined as an assistant coach in 2016 and served as the associate head coach for the next three seasons. The Crimson amassed a 101-81 record during that time, including a 59-23 mark in Ivy League play.

Schurr was responsible for the development of the Harvard hitters who regularly ranked near the top of the Ivy League in batting average and runs scored, including leading the league with a .311 average in 2016. She also served as the Crimson recruiting coordinator for the past three years. Overall, she helped Harvard athletes earn 20 All-Ivy League selections, five National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors, three Ivy League Pitcher of the Year accolades, and one Ivy League Rookie of the Year award.

In her first year as an assistant at Harvard in 2016, the program finished at the top of the Ivy League standings with a 16-4 conference record to earn its first of four straight appearances in the Ivy League Championship Series. The Crimson would go on to capture the Ivy League crown in both 2018 and 2019 to earn back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances.

Before arriving at Harvard, Schurr spent three seasons (2013-15) as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University, where she mentored the pitching staff and defense. Under her guidance, the team lowered its ERA from 3.40 to a 2.40 mark during the 2014 campaign. In addition, her tutelage shaped EKU's fielders into the nation's 43rd-ranked defense with a .968 fielding percentage the same year.

Nine Eastern Kentucky players earned All-Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) honors over her three-year stint with the Colonels, with two players also garnering NFCA All-Region accolades.

Schurr's first coaching stop came at her alma mater, the University of Louisville, as a volunteer for the Cardinals during the 2012 season. Louisville finished the season with a program-record 55 wins, captured the Big East regular season and tournament titles, advanced to the NCAA Louisville Regional finals, and ranked 18th nationally at the end of the year.

Schurr (formerly Wood) was just as impressive as a player for the Cardinals, becoming the first softball All-American in Louisville history when she was named to the 2006 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Third Team. A 2019 inductee into the Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame, Schurr led the Cardinals to three NCAA Regional appearances, including the first in program history in 2004. The program also reached the NCAA Regional finals for the first time in program history in 2006.

A catcher and two-time team captain for the Cardinals, Schurr led the team with a .382 batting average, nine home runs, and 51 RBIs as a senior in 2006. She still owns the program's career record for grand slams and continues to rank among Louisville's top 10 in several career offensive categories including batting average, hits, slugging percentage, doubles, home runs, and RBIs.

Schurr's play also sparked the Cardinals to the 2005 Conference USA and 2006 Big East regular season championships. After graduating from Louisville in 2006 with a degree in sociology, Schurr played professionally for two seasons in Australia and Italy.

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Jordan Dail

Jordan Dail enters her second season as an assistant coach after joining the staff in July 2023.

In 2024, Dail helped Olivia Stefanoni emerge as the ace for the Panthers after transferring from Akron prior to the start of the season. Stefanoni pitched 104.1 innings in 39 appearances after pitching just 22.2 innings with 12 appearances the season before. Dail also helped guide Adriana Romano to an outstanding performance against No. 7/8 Oklahoma State. Romano held the Cowgirls to one earned run on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts, over 5.2 innings.

Prior to Pittsburgh, Dail served as a volunteer assistant coach under Donna J. Papa at North Carolina for the 2022 season.

Dail had a successful pitching career at Oregon from 2019-2022 after playing her freshman season at Virginia Tech in 2018. In four seasons with the Ducks, Dail pitched over 368 innings in 85 appearances, tallying 32 wins, 28 complete games, three saves, 354 strikeouts, with two NCAA Tournament appearances and finished her career ranked 11th all-time in program history for strikeouts.

As a sophomore, Dail was a Second Team All-PAC-12 selection, throwing two no-hitters and becoming just the fourth Duck ever to throw multiple seven-inning no-hitters in one season. During the season, she led the Pac-12 by more than 70.0 innings pitched and ranked second in the nation during the regular season with a total of 248 innings of work, with wins over #1 UCLA and #8 LSU, and earning multiple PAC-12 Pitcher of the Week honors.

Dail currently plays professionally with the Texas Smoke of the Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). Dail was a member of the Texas Smoke team that won the inaugural WPF Championship in 2023.

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Giorgiana Zeremenko

Giorgiana Zeremenko enters her second season as an assistant coach after joining the staff in August 2023. Zeremenko returns to her alma mater after playing for the Panthers from 2015-2018. Zeremenko primarily works with the hitters and infielders.

In 2024, Zeremenko helped guided the Panthers to hit four grand slams during the season, tying the 2019 Panther team for the most grand slams in a season in program history. Zeremenko also saw Cami Compson finish the season ranked ninth in the ACC and 53rd in the NCAA with 13 home runs this season. Compson finished her career at Pitt with 34 career home runs and tied with Holly Stevens (2010-13) for third all-time in program history.

Prior to joining the Pitt coaching staff, Zeremenko had coaching stints at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), Saint Francis, and Louisville. During her tenure at Louisville, Zeremenko helped the Cardinals to the regional finals of the NCAA tournament. Zeremenko primarily worked with batters, catchers, and infielders, which enabled the Cardinals' offense to one of the nation's finest in 2019.

As a player, Zeremenko was a part of the first Pitt softball team to reach the ACC Championship Game and NCAA Regional Final in 2015 and also helped lead the Panthers to their first ACC Coastal Division title in 2018.

The Canonsburg, Pa., native is a two-time NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection (2018 – first team, 2016 - second team) and was named to the All-ACC First Team in 2018. Zeremenko is the program's all-time career home run leader (46) and ranks second in program history in career RBI (127). In 2016, she set single-season program records in home runs (17), on-base percentage (.487), and slugging percentage (.888).

Zeremenko earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018 and became the program's first player to be selected in a professional draft after being picked 19th overall by the E1 Pro Ballers in the American Softball Association (ASBA) draft.