Northwestern University Athletics
Courtnay Foster Chosen as Bucknell Head Coach
7/13/2015 5:47:00 PM | Softball
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- After 10 seasons in Evanston as a student-athlete and coach, Northwestern assistant and former Wildcats All-American Courtnay Foster has been named the next head coach for Bucknell softball, Bisons' director of athletics and recreation John Hardt announced today.
Foster had an All-America career as a pitcher at Northwestern from 2003-06, returned as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2008 season and has been the Wildcats' full-time pitching coach for the past five seasons.
"It is with great excitement that I join the Bison community," said Foster. "I am honored and eager to have the opportunity to join a department that is as committed and passionate about the student-athlete experience as Bucknell. I am truly grateful to Northwestern athletics, in particular my mentor, Kate Drohan, and department leader Dr. Jim Phillips for allowing me to develop as a coach and colleague as I prepare for my next endeavor as a head coach. I would also like to express my appreciation for John Hardt and the hiring committee at Bucknell for their generosity in this process. I couldn't be more proud to be joining the Bison family and sharing the experience of the bright young women at Bucknell."
"We are thrilled for Courtnay to begin her head coaching career at Bucknell," Northwestern head coach Kate Drohan said. "She is a terrific fit for their University and greatly deserves this opportunity to lead her own program. Courtnay was the first student-athlete my sister Caryl and I recruited to Northwestern, and she has become a cornerstone of our softball family during her time as both a student-athlete and as a coach. We will miss the infectious winning attitude and work ethic she brought to every practice and every game, but we could not be more proud of her for taking this next step in her career."
Foster built a coaching pedigree on developing aces and hitting the recruiting trail hard. In 2012, she mentored then-freshman Amy Letourneau into an ace-caliber pitcher who picked up All-Region accolades prior to shutting out No. 6 overall seed Texas in the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Letourneau went on to win the Big Ten strikeout crown in 2013, but when injuries derailed her next two seasons in the circle, Foster coached then-sophomore Kristen Wood to a pair of All-Region campaigns of her own in 2014 and 2015. Her most impressive coaching performance came at the end of 2015 when injuries depleted the Wildcats staff to the point that senior left-fielder Olivia Duehr re-entered the circle after not having pitched since high school. She ate up 29 innings and picked up a victory, performing a crucial role in NU's NCAA Tournament appearance last year.
As a student-athlete, Foster pitched Northwestern to four straight NCAA Tournament berths, two Regional championships and the 2006 Women's College World Series, where she picked up a victory in relief during a 10-inning opening round game against Alabama in which she recorded 13 of her 14 outs via the whiff. The 2006 graduate paired with 2007 alum Eileen Canney to form one of the most potent 1-2 punches in the circle in the entire nation.
Follow @katedrohan
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After 10 seasons in Evanston as a student-athlete and coach, Northwestern assistant and former Wildcats All-American Courtnay Foster has been named the next head coach for Bucknell softball, Bisons' director of athletics and recreation John Hardt announced today.
Foster had an All-America career as a pitcher at Northwestern from 2003-06, returned as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2008 season and has been the Wildcats' full-time pitching coach for the past five seasons.
"It is with great excitement that I join the Bison community," said Foster. "I am honored and eager to have the opportunity to join a department that is as committed and passionate about the student-athlete experience as Bucknell. I am truly grateful to Northwestern athletics, in particular my mentor, Kate Drohan, and department leader Dr. Jim Phillips for allowing me to develop as a coach and colleague as I prepare for my next endeavor as a head coach. I would also like to express my appreciation for John Hardt and the hiring committee at Bucknell for their generosity in this process. I couldn't be more proud to be joining the Bison family and sharing the experience of the bright young women at Bucknell."
"We are thrilled for Courtnay to begin her head coaching career at Bucknell," Northwestern head coach Kate Drohan said. "She is a terrific fit for their University and greatly deserves this opportunity to lead her own program. Courtnay was the first student-athlete my sister Caryl and I recruited to Northwestern, and she has become a cornerstone of our softball family during her time as both a student-athlete and as a coach. We will miss the infectious winning attitude and work ethic she brought to every practice and every game, but we could not be more proud of her for taking this next step in her career."
Foster built a coaching pedigree on developing aces and hitting the recruiting trail hard. In 2012, she mentored then-freshman Amy Letourneau into an ace-caliber pitcher who picked up All-Region accolades prior to shutting out No. 6 overall seed Texas in the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Letourneau went on to win the Big Ten strikeout crown in 2013, but when injuries derailed her next two seasons in the circle, Foster coached then-sophomore Kristen Wood to a pair of All-Region campaigns of her own in 2014 and 2015. Her most impressive coaching performance came at the end of 2015 when injuries depleted the Wildcats staff to the point that senior left-fielder Olivia Duehr re-entered the circle after not having pitched since high school. She ate up 29 innings and picked up a victory, performing a crucial role in NU's NCAA Tournament appearance last year.
As a student-athlete, Foster pitched Northwestern to four straight NCAA Tournament berths, two Regional championships and the 2006 Women's College World Series, where she picked up a victory in relief during a 10-inning opening round game against Alabama in which she recorded 13 of her 14 outs via the whiff. The 2006 graduate paired with 2007 alum Eileen Canney to form one of the most potent 1-2 punches in the circle in the entire nation.
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