Shelley Whitaker named new softball head coach

WHITTIER, Calif. - Whittier College and Director of Athletics Rob Coleman announced the hiring of Shelley Whitaker as the new head softball coach and Senior Women's Administrator for the Athletics Department. Whitaker joins the Poets from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill.

"I am extremely excited about the addition of Shelley to our staff," said Coleman. "She comes with years of experience at the Division III level."

Whitaker earned her Bachelor's degree in Health and Business Management from the University of Rio Grande in Ohio and later received her Master's in Secondary Education in 2000 from Muskingum College.

With MacMurray she served as the head softball from 2005 to 2009 and was promoted to Athletic Director in March 2007. As a coach she saw 18 players earn NFCA Academic All-American honors, five named to the all-conference team, 21 garner academic all-conference honors and two named to the NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region team.

Before she joined MacMurray she was the head coach at LaGrange College where she had four players named USCAA All-Americans in 2002. She began her college softball coaching career at Muskingum where she was an assistant in 1998 and 1999.

Whitaker was also the head women's golf coach in 2009, head volleyball coach in 2006 and was the Senior Women's Administrator at MacMurray.

"I fully expect that Shelley will make a commitment to our student-athletes and provide tremendous efforts in recruiting which will help in developing the young women in our program," said Coleman. "I am certain that under her leadership the future of women's softball on our campus is extremely bright."