Michelle Venturella

Position: Associate Head Coach (6th season) Alma Mater, Year: Indiana University, 1996

Michelle Venturella will begin her fifth season with the Iowa softball program and her third season as Iowa's associate head coach.

During the summer of 2004, Venturella was promoted and became the first associate head coach in Iowa softball history. Venturella serves as the Hawkeye recruiting coordinator, hitting coach and also coaches Iowa's catchers.

In her first year with the Hawkeyes, Venturella helped the Hawkeyes to a 44-15 record and Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. As the primary hitting coach, she also helped the Hawkeyes set a team record for home runs in a season (41).

Along with Head Coach Gayle Blevins and former assistant Holly Van Vlymen, the Iowa staff was named the 2003 NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

In 2005, Venturella help guide the Hawkeyes to a 50-14 record while setting school records in team home runs (61) and total bases (36) along with individual records in home runs in a game (3), RBI in a game (8) and total bases in a game (12).

As a player, Venturella was one of the best catchers in the country and earned a spot on the United States National Team from 1995-2000.

Throughout her career with USA Softball, she earned four gold medals, including one at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She also helped the United States to Gold at the 1998 World Championships and was a member of the first-ever United States Olympic Softball Team in 1996.

Venturella came to Iowa after working as a private softball instructor in Indianapolis at Softball Ltd. She also worked for Louisville Slugger as a technical representative, designer and motivational speaker.

Prior to her work with Lousiville Slugger, Venturella served as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University during the 1996-97 season. She helped the Huskies to a runner-up finish in the Mid-Continent Conference in 1997. A 1996 graduate from Indiana University, Venturella is no stranger to Big Ten softball. She was a two-time NFCA All-American while with the Hoosiers and a recipient of the 1995 Big Ten Medal of Honor. Her junior year, Venturella was a unanimous selection as Big Ten Player of the Year. She still ranks in the top five of eight offensive categories at Indiana and is still its all-time leader in RBI and walks.