UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball head coach Clarisa Crowell announced the addition of former Division III head coach and previous Big Ten assistant Adrianna Baggetta to the Nittany Lion coaching staff on Tuesday afternoon.
"It is with great pleasure that I welcome Adrianna Baggetta to our Penn State Family," Crowell said. "Her highly decorated resume and wealth of experience made her a premier candidate for our position. I have known Coach Baggetta for several years, and I have always respected her tireless work ethic, passion for our sport, knowledge of the game and her commitment to teach and develop student-athletes. She will also be a great asset to our program because of her familiarity with the Big Ten Conference and her national recruiting connections. Coach Baggetta is an individual with immense character, and I am confident that she will have a significant impact on our program. Welcome to Happy Valley, Coach B!"
Baggetta joins the Blue & White as an assistant after spending the last five seasons as the head coach at Division III Emory University. While at the helm in Atlanta, Baggetta compiled 91 overall victories and led Emory to the championship series of the 2019 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. Emory's landmark 2019 campaign included a University Athletic Association conference championship, while the program's national runner-up finish proved to be the most dominant single season in school history. The Eagles garnered the No. 2 final ranking in the NFCA Coaches Poll and landed a trio of student-athletes on the NCAA All-Championship team.
In her five seasons with Emory, the Eagles mustered 20 All-UAA selections, five NCAA All-Regional Team honorees, two UAA Position Players of the Year and one UAA Freshman of the Year. Baggetta's program excelled as much off the field of play as it did on the diamond, with 31 student-athletes landing Easton/NFCA Scholar Athlete status while representing Emory. Her program produced a trio of College Sports Communicators Academic All-District representatives, while the squad boasted a 100% graduation rate coupled with a 3.61 cumulative GPA during her tenure in Atlanta.
"Words cannot express the excitement I have for the opportunity to work with the phenomenal student-athletes at Penn State," Baggetta said. "I deeply appreciate the trust and confidence that Coach Crowell, (Senior Associate AD for Communications and Content) Kristina Petersen, and the entire staff are showing by allowing me to join the Penn State community. I have always had the utmost respect for Coach Crowell. Not only is she highly regarded in our profession, her work ethic and passion to achieve greatness while maintaining the focus on her student-athletes is unmatched. I am extremely humbled to join her and the staff, and I look forward to helping continue building this incredible program."
In addition to her wealth of head coaching experience, Baggetta also boasts nearly a decade of prior assistant coaching experience in the Big Ten Conference. Before arriving at Emory, she worked as an assistant coach, and ultimately as an associate head coach with the Iowa Hawkeyes. While in Iowa City, she was tasked with directing the hitters and defensive personnel while simultaneously managing the team's travel budget and recruiting operations. During her time with the Hawkeyes, Iowa saw 17 student-athletes garner All-Big Ten accolades, nine earn placements on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team and six more appear as NFCA All-Region representatives. Iowa boasted a 100% graduation rate during Baggetta's tenure and saw 51 student-athletes land Academic All-Big Ten laurels.
Before joining the Hawkeyes, Baggetta spent the first eight seasons of her coaching career at the University of South Carolina as an associate head Coach, assistant coach and volunteer assistant. As a coach with her alma mater, she helped mentor 12 All-SEC selections and assisted the program to the Super Regionals of the 2007 NCAA Tournament in addition to five NCAA Regional berths overall. In the classroom, two Gamecock student-athletes were named Academic All-Americans while 42 more appeared on the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll.
Baggetta is an NCAA Certified Recruiter and is an active member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, serving as a member of the Division III Top-25 Committee while at Emory. She is also a member of Women Leaders in College Sports, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing female professionals at every level of intercollegiate athletics.
As a student-athlete with the Gamecocks from 1999 to 2002, she helped lead Carolina to four consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, three SEC East Division championships and the 2000 SEC Tournament title. She was a Second Team All-SEC selection in 2002, also garnering a spot on the SEC All-Tournament Team. Baggetta graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sport and Entertainment Management with a minor in business administration.
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