She certainly has proven herself the past 16 seasons at the College of St. Scholastica and now Jen Walter will get the chance to continue that high level of success right down the road at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Today, UMD athletic director Josh Berlo announced the hiring of Walter as the new Bulldog softball head coach – just the school's third since the 1981-82 season.

"We are honored to have Jen Walter join the Bulldogs," said Berlo. "Coach Walter has a long-standing record of success and we look forward to her furthering the excellence of Bulldog softball in the classroom, competition and community."



Since taking over the head coaching responsibilities at St. Scholastica in 2000, Walter directed the Saints to a 447-233 overall record (a .657 winning percentage), five NCAA Division III Tournament appearances (2006, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015), 15 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular season championships, 13 UMAC Tournament titles, and one trip to the NAIA National Tournament (2004).  CSS also eclipsed the 30-victory plateau on seven occasions and failed to reach the .500 mark only three times (including in two of her initial three seasons).   

In addition, Walter helped produce three CSS All-Americans -- Laura Heise (2004 and 2006), Erica Kozacek (2006) and Rilee Dawson (2007) – 11 UMAC Player of the Year award recipients, 43 All-Region selections, 71 All-UMAC picks and 81 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Scholar-Athletes.  

In 2004, the Saints received their first-ever national ranking, peaking at No. 13 in the NAIA poll. The program aligned with the NCAA the following spring and CSS just missed out on a NCAA III Tournament invitation (despite going 34-7 overall), but  did receive the school's first bid to that event in 2006.

"This is a new and exciting challenge for me to coach at the next level," said Walter. "I am thrilled to have this opportunity to coach at such a great university and work in an athletic department that has a clear vision."

A native of Wadena, Minn., Walter played two years of softball at Golden Valley Lutheran College in Minneapolis, where she was a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American catcher, and continued her collegiate career at Augustana College (S.D.), attaining All-North Central Conference as a senior in 1985. She went on to serve as the head softball coach at Perham High School (1989-91) and the assistant softball coach at both the Breck School (1991-97) and Robbinsdale Armstrong  High School (1997-99).

Inducted as player into the 2010 Minnesota High School Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Walter received a B.A. degree in health, physical education and recreation from Augustana in 1986.

Nine years ago, Walter earned Master Coach status from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and she continue to evolve as an educator and a coach by participating in the Women Coaches Academy (co-sponsored by the Winstar Foundation and the NCAA).

Additional Walter info.

THE NUMBERS ON WALTER

Year	School	Overall	Conference
2000	St. Scholastica	20-19	6-0*(UMAC)
2001	St. Scholastica	21-23	7-1* (UMAC)
2002	St. Scholastica	18-22	8-0* (UMAC)
2003	St. Scholastica	30-14	10-0* (UMAC)
2004	St. Scholastica	40-8	11-1* (UMAC)
2005	St. Scholastica	34-7	14-0* (UMAC)
2006	St. Scholastica	37-9	14-0* (UMAC)
2007	St. Scholastica	25-16	13-1* (UMAC)
2008	St. Scholastica	19-21	16-5 (UMAC)
2009	St. Scholastica	31-12	21-0* (UMAC)
2010	St. Scholastica	29-13	19-1* (UMAC)
2011	St. Scholastica	29-15	19-2*(UMAC)
2012	St. Scholastica	32-12	20-1* (UMAC
2013	St. Scholastica	24-14	17-4* (UMAC)
2014	St. Scholastica	27-12	21-0* (UMAC)
2015	St. Scholastica	31-16	18-0* (UMAC)
Totals		447-233	234-16

*Regular Season Champions