The fall of 2012 marks the beginning of the third year for Ashford head softball coach Kevin Jannusch, having taken over the program in the fall of 2010.  With his arrival came a track record of proven success from various levels to the Saints.

Jannusch's 2012 squad made a 19 game improvement in the win column and the young Saints improved on a sixth-place finish in 2011 to three-way tie for fourth-place in the Midwest Collegiate Conference regular season standings, finishing 29-26 overall and 11-13 in the MCC.  Those 29 wins were a school record.  The Saints' offense also rewrote the team record book setting over 20 new standards in AU softball history. The team ranked nationally in the top 25 in 19 categories, including third in at bats per game and tenth in home runs per game.

Along the record-breaking season came many individual honors. Freshman designated player Emily Whetstone and junior outfielder Hailey Hall became the first Saints in AU history to be named NFCA All-Region. Whetstone was tabbed first-team and Hall was named to the second-team.

All-MCC honors were handed out to six players led by Hall on the 1^st-team and freshmen Whetstone, Rachel Hong (utility), Britnee Dobbs (1B), Shelby Hobleman (catcher) and Kalyn Ohlemeyer (2B), who were all named Honorable Mention.  During the season four different Saints were named MCC Player or Pitcher of the Week for a total of six times: Whetstone (3/26; 4/23), Hong (2/20, 2/27); Freshman Christine Ho (2/27 and sophomore Stephanie Hebison (2/20).

Ten, or over half of Jannusch's Saints squad were named to the Academic All-MCC Team in 2012.

In 2011, Jannusch saw three of his student-athletes earn a spot on the All-MCC Team while 100 percent of his roster sported a high enough grade point average to land on the Academic All-MCC Team.

Jannusch and the Saints' softball squad also earned the honor by carrying the highest cumulative GPA among all Ashford teams in the 2010-11 campaign while receiving NAIA Scholar-Team Award status.

Jannusch came to Ashford by way of San Antonio, Texas, where he was an accomplished head coach at University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio for a five-year span. He compiled a career record of 144-132, leading the Cardinals to their first-ever Heartland Conference championship, NCAA regional appearance and NFCA National Ranking.

Most recently at the collegiate level, Jannusch served as an assistant coach and pitching specialist at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., and provided a two-year stint as an assistant coach for the softball program at Mesa State College (Colo.).

Other coaching stops for Jannusch prior to Ashford include St. Edward's University (Texas), Evansville University (Ind.), Texas State University and the Goodwill Softball Tour (Kan.). He founded the Hearts of Texas Girls Fastpitch Club in Austin, Texas.

For 11 years, the Hearts were among the best softball clubs in Central/South Texas, making 15 appearances in the Amateur Softball Association's national tournaments in several age groups. Jannusch has also guided several other successful club teams, including the Decatur (Ill.) Lady Pride Fastpitch Club and the 16U Houston Power Fastpitch Club.

Jannusch, a graduate from Mesa State in Grand Junction, obtained his degree in Sports Management. He currently resides in Clinton.
 

The Jannusch File

• Pitching Coach - Texas State University (1995-96)
• Founder/Head Softball Coach - Hearts of Texas Fastpitch Club (1996-07)
• Assistant Softball Coach - Evansville (Ind.) University (1997)
• Assistant Softball Coach - St. Edward's (Texas) University (2000-02)
• Sports Information Director - St. Edward's (Texas) University (2000-02)
• Head Softball Coach - University of the Incarnate Word (Texas) (2002-07)
• Assistant Softball Coach - Evansville (Ind.) University (2007)
• Assistant Softball Coach - Mesa State (Colo.) College (2007-08)
• Assistant Softball Coach - Lincoln (Mo.) University (2009)
• Head Softball Coach - 16U Houston Power Fastpitch Club (2009-10)
• Head Softball Coach - Ashford University (2010-Present)

Deters is a successful high school coach on the local scene and is a valuable asset who brings wealth of experience to the Ashford University softball program. He enters his sixth season as an assistant coach to contribute to the Saints' program.

A 34-year veteran of high school coaching, Deters most recently served as head coach of Camanche High School for the previous 30 seasons. Before that he served as three seasons as head coach of Manning High School and one year at Mormon Trail High School.

Deters has a daughter, Nicole, and a son, Nate. He currently resides in Camanche, Iowa.

A childhood resident of nearby McCausland, Iowa, Steiger joined the Ashford family as assistant softball coach in August, 2012.

Missy spent the past year as the pitching coach for Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss, coaching two members of her pitching staff to all conference honors. Prior to that, she was the head coach at Texas Lutheran University for 11 seasons, compiling a 200-224-1 record. In 2004, Steiger was named the American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to a first place finish in the West Division with a 29-11-1 record.

Prior to TLU, she spent two years as at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., serving as the softball head coach for two seasons and the volleyball coach for one.

Missy is also a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, where she is a 1-Star Master Coach.

Steiger received her bachelor's degree in physical education in 1996 from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, as well as a Master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1998.

Coming to Ashford by way of New Braunfels, Texas, Monroe enters her second season as a member of the Saints' softball coaching staff.

A former infielder at St. Mary's University, Monroe brings a wealth of experience from her playing career to help Head Coach Kevin Jannusch and the day-to-day operations of the program.

Monroe was a former understudy to Jannusch when she played for the Hearts of Texas organization. She then followed his path in coaching by serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the same Hearts of Texas squad from 2004-08.

Monroe was a four-year letterwinner while splitting time at third base and shortstop at the collegiate level and she earned Academic All-American honors in her junior and senior years.

Monroe graduated from St. Mary's with her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science in the spring of 2010. She currently resides in Clinton and will obtain her Master's in Education with a focus on Child Development.

The Monroe File

• Volunteer Softball Coach - Hearts of Texas Softball Club (2004-08)
• Graduate Assistant Softball Coach - Ashford University (2011-Present)