Coaches

Joe Abraham

Joe Abraham enters his third season as the head coach of the Toledo softball program after taking over at the Rockets' helm prior to the 2019 season. Toledo posted an 11-12 record in the 2020 season before it was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.


Abraham’s first year with the Rockets proved to be a success, as the team won its first MAC Tournament title in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1992. Toledo registered a 29-28 overall record, with 10 wins coming in conference play. The team saw five athletes selected to all-conference teams. Senior Kaitlyn Bergman earned first-team honors, while Megan Choate, Katie Cozy, and Erin Hunt earned second-team accolades. Aubrey Reed was named to the All-Freshman Team. Cozy was also named to the Great Lakes Region Second Team.


In addition to their success on the field, the Rockets saw 10 athletes named to the Academic All-MAC team, with seven earning 3.50 or higher. Kaitlyn Bergman was also named a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete after posting a 3.890 GPA in adolescent and young adult education.


Prior to Toledo, Abraham served as the head coach at Hillsdale College where he compiled a 158-136 record (86-71 GLIAC, 14-8 GMAC) from 2012-18. He was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading his team to a 26-12 (19-7 GLIAC) record. The Chargers experienced only one losing season during his seven years at the helm.


Abraham's tenure at Hillsdale was topped off in 2018 when the Chargers claimed their first Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional. Following the season, junior outfielder Katie Kish was named Second-Team All-America by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and First-Team All-Region by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.


Off the field, the Hillsdale softball program has maintained one of the highest grade-point averages of any varsity program over the past five years.


Before his tenure at Hillsdale, Abraham spent time at Division III Whitworth University where he was head coach from 2008-2011. His teams improved steadily throughout his tenure, finishing the 2011 campaign in third place in the Northwest Conference.


While at Whitworth, Abraham returned the program to a level of success it hadn't seen since the mid-2000s. Before the 2009 season, no player from Whitworth had ever earned all-region honors; Abraham's players racked up three such honors in 2010 and 2011. Two players also picked up Academic All-District awards following the 2011 season, and the team's conference won-loss record improved from 11-15 in 2009 to 17-11 in 2011.


Prior to his time at Whitworth, Abraham founded the Buckeye Heat travel softball team in in Columbus, Ohio in 1999. He spent 10 seasons coaching at various age levels and put together an overall record of 428-115, sending dozens of players to college teams around the country.


Abraham also served as coach for the United States softball team at the International Cup tournament, which competed in Holland from 2004-06. He coached Ohio's top players in the Ohio vs. West Virginia All-Star games from 2005-08 and conducted many clinics for players in the Central Ohio area. He spent seven seasons coaching Thomas Worthington High School in Ohio, where he rang up a record of 103-52. His prep teams won three league championships in a six-year span, and achieved a top-10 ranking in the state of Ohio for the first time in school history in 2005.


A native of Columbus, Ohio, Abraham graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in print journalism and political science. He went on to Capital University Law School, where he graduated cum laude in 1996, practicing law from 1996-2008.