St. John’s Softball named Michelle DePolo as the 11th head coach of the St. John’s Red Storm Softball team in August 2023. Replacing Bob Guerriero, DePolo is determined to take this program back to the top of the Big East. 

DePolo heads north after serving as the assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast University and head coach at Tennessee Tech. Her Division 1 coaching record is 341-277-1 (.522), and she was ranked ninth in best hires by a D1 university. 

The New Jersey native is used to how softball is coached and played in the region. When this opportunity to come back to the northeast and coach for the Johnnies was presented, it was a no-brainer for her.

“I am just very familiar with northeast Big East softball,” DePolo said in an interview with The Torch. “An opportunity to get back home and be a head coach of a program that was in need and to really contribute to bringing a team back up to the top that I know can be there.”

For any head coach, whether the team will acclimate to their coaching style and respect their new role is always a worry. DePolo has been fortunate with a team that has welcomed her in with respect and care. 

“As a new coach, you don’t know what to expect or how you’re going to be received or how the change is going to be received,” she continued. “But the athletes have really been a highlight.”

Reflecting on the fall practices, DePolo is already seeing a change in her new team.  

“I saw major differences in the flow of our defense, and just how we really had a nice group or pace on the offensive side as well.” 

The team has not had a winning record since 2019 and saw some light at the end of last season. The Johnnies finished fifth in the conference last season by beating UConn in the first round of the tournament. DePolo wants to keep that momentum going into this season.

“St. John’s had a surge to the end of last year and really pick off, pick up where that left off and keep moving forward,” she said.

The team has not had a winning season since the pandemic hit back in 2020. Even though many would love to see DePolo come in and win every game, she is not as concerned about that right now. Her expectations for this season are not focused on just winning but on bringing back a winning softball program to St. John’s.

“Our goal is definitely to beam, you know, making strides in the Big East Conference for sure.”

DePolo had her first wins this past weekend in the CSU Blue and Gold Classic. The team finished overall winning four out of the five games against UMass Lowell and Charleston Southern. 

The team is now getting ready for their next game this weekend against Northern Colorado on Sunday.