Michelle DePolo - Head Softball Coach - Softball Coaches

Michelle DePolo

Title:
Head Softball Coach
Email:
michelle.depolo@usma.edu
Phone:
4112

Michelle DePolo heads into her 10th season as Army’s head coach and 11th as a member of the coaching staff.

DePolo helped lead the Black Knights to their fourth consecutive Patriot League Tournament appearance in 2018 after the squad finished the season with double-digit league victories for the third straight year.

She had an incredible 2016 season where the team competed for the runner-up position in the Patriot League Championships. The team closed-out the season with a 39-20 record to post the winningest season in program history. The most wins prior to the 2016 season was 37 in 2012 when the team went 37-21 also under DePolo.

She mentored 2016 graduate Kasey McCravey who made her mark in virtually every category of the Black Knights’ record books. McCravey gained national attention this season when she leapt over the Lehigh catcher to score the go-ahead run in the league semi-finals. It was the top play on Sports Center and was up for the “Best Play” ESPY.

The Cadets took away three of five major awards from the Patriot League as McCravey garnered Player of the Year disctinction, freshman Renee Poirier earned Rookie of the Year honors and DePolo was named the Coach of the Year for the second time in her career.

DePolo, who also serves as the pitching coach, mentored Poirier in 2016 as the nation’s leader in saves. Poirier finished the season with 11 to break the Academy and Patriot League single-season saves record. DePolo clinched her 200th career win when the team defeated Yale this spring and is the second winningest coach in program history.

Her first season at the helm, she led the Black Knights to the 2010 Patriot League regular-season title, its third in school history and first since 1992.

DePolo's success on the diamond earned her Patriot League Coach of the Year honors her first year after leading Army (picked fifth preseason) to the regular-season title and tournament host. The Black Knights tied the school mark for conference victories (15) and overall wins (33), and closed out the season ranked No. 25 nationally in doubles per game and 58th in batting average.

In her first season, DePolo brought Army into the forefront of the league after being picked next to last in the preseason poll following her promotion to head coach on April 1, 2009, by former athletic director Kevin Anderson. The eighth head coach in Army softball history, DePolo assumed her new role that July when she took over the program from 19-year head coach Jim Flowers, who retired at the conclusion of the 2009 season. DePolo is the program's first female head coach at Division I and third overall.

In her second season at the helm, DePolo led her team to 28 wins and qualified for the league tournament for the second straight year. Three of her players combined to set five single-season records.

Army shattered the school mark with 37 wins posting its fourth 30-win season in school history in DePolo's third year The Black Knights closed out the regular season 14-6 (one win shy of tying the school conference mark set in 2010 and 2004) with the No. 2 seed in hand heading to the tournament where they reached the championship finals for the first time since 2006.

Army garnered two of the league's four major awards with freshman Morgan Lashley setting conference history with her selection as Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year. DePolo's team claimed seven of 11 player of the week citations as six went on to earn all-league honors with four named to the first team and two receiving second-team honors.

Twelve of her players have combined to earn 18 Patriot League all-star honors with seven claiming 11 first-team accolades. Army ranked first in pitching and fielding under DePolo in 2010 and listed second in the latter in 2011. Army was runnerup in batting, pitching and fielding in 2012.

In her final season as an assistant, she cut Army's ERA in half and continues to mentor the pitching staff.

DePolo had ties to West Point prior to joining the Black Knights in 2008. She was the head softball coach at the U.S. Military Academy Prep School in 2004. She led the squad to its best record in program history, including a pair of shutout victories over the defending junior college national champion.

A nine-year coaching veteran, DePolo also worked on the coaching staffs at Georgian Court University (2004-05), Smith College (2005-06) and Amherst College (2006-07) working with pitchers and catchers.

During her playing days at Georgian Court, DePolo was a versatile performer, pitching and playing various positions in the infield and outfield. A two-year team captain, she led her team to four Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference titles, three Region X championships, three national tournament appearances and an ECAC crown. An All-CACC Tournament pick, DePolo compiled a 0.50 ERA in 2001, allowing just one base runner per inning along with a 4-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

A three-sport athlete, who also earned three letters in basketball and one in soccer, DePolo graduated magna cum laude from Georgian Court in 2003 with a degree in English. DePolo was inducted into her alma mater's Hall of Fame in 2012.

A Dean's List student every semester, she was named a Presidential Scholar and a National Dean's List recipient. DePolo also garnered the Division II Tribute Team award as a student-athlete. She went on to earn a master's degree in Exercise and Sport Studies from Smith College in 2007.

The Little Silver, N.J., native lettered in softball, basketball and soccer at Red Bank Regional High School, and was named the school's Female Athlete of the Year following her senior year.

DePolo and her brother Steven are members of the coaching fraternity. He is a baseball coach at Red Bank Catholic H.S. in New Jersey. Her father, Rudolph DePolo, is a retired U.S. Naval Commander.