Softball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- stdefeo@bsu.edu
- Phone:
- (765) 285-3703
Resigned her position at Ball State in summer of 2012 to become an assistant coach at Purude.
Ball State Career Notes:
• Helped lead Ball State to a 204-145 (.585) record over her career, including an 82-44 (.651) MAC mark
• Assisted the Cardinals in earning the program's first three MAC Regular Season Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2012
• Aided in guiding BSU to the 2010 MAC Tournament Championship and a berth into the NCAA Tournament
• Helped mentor Elizabeth Milian (2010) and Alicia Barkley (2011) to Academic All-America Third Team honors
• Helped coach Alicia Barkley (2009), Jessie Ware (2010) and Jennifer Gilbert (2012) to MAC Player of the Year honors
• Helped BSU's players earn recognition on the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region teams a total of eight times, with four first team honors and four second team accolades
• Helped BSU's student-athletes earn 31 All-MAC honors, including 13 first team, 11 second team and seven all-freshman honors
Stephanie DeFeo enters her first season as the associate head coach for the Ball State softball program in 2013, after spending the previous six seasons as the program's assistant coach. DeFeo has helped guide the Cardinals to unprecedented heights during her time on staff, including three Mid-American Conference regular season titles over the past four years.
DeFeo's primary duties including working with Ball State's hitters and infielders.
With her assistance, the program won its first-ever Mid-American Conference regular season championship in 2009 with the best league record in program history (18-3) and repeated the feat in 2010 and 2012. The 2010 squad, which set program records for wins in a season (43) and winning percentage in a season (.729), also captured just the second MAC Tournament title in program history to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
A former collegiate slugger herself, DeFeo has helped the Ball State offense develop into one of the fiercest in the nation. The 2012 squad finished the season as the only NCAA Division I program in the nation to rank in the top 11 nationally in batting average (.318 / 8th), slugging percentage (.543 / 6th) runs scored (6.69 per game / 5th), doubles (1.82 per game / 2nd), triples (0.29 per game / 11th) and home runs (1.27 per game / 10th).
Ball State's hitters also belted a school and MAC-record 70 home runs in 2012, including a BSU single season record 18 long balls from sophomore Jennifer Gilbert.
Ball State also finished the 2012 campaign with program records for runs scored (368), slugging percentage (.543), doubles (100), RBI (337) and total bases (826). During the 2011 season, BSU's batters posted team records for hits (517) and batting average (.320), while the 2010 squad set school standards for triples (35) and the 2008 squad drew a program-best 238 walks.
In all, Cardinals' hitters have broken school records in 20 of the 24 offensive categories in the program's record book during DeFeo's time on staff.
Ball State's fielding has also improved dramatically during DeFeo's time on staff, as the team has posted the top five fielding marks in program history, including a school-record .974 fielding percentage in 2010. In 55 games last season, the Cardinals committed just 49 errors and posted a .970 fielding percentage which ranks third on BSU's team charts. In addition, the 2012 squad led the nation by turning a NCAA-leading and program record 33 double plays.
Thanks in part to her guidance, a pair of BSU infielders have claimed MAC Player of the Year accolades in Jessie Ware (2010) and Alicia Barkley (2009). Ware went on to earn recognition on the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team in 2010, while Barkley was named to the 2009 NFCA All-Mideast Region First Team.
She also helped outfielder Jennifer Gilbert earn the 2012 MAC Player of the Year award, as well as a spot on the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team. In addition, senior shortstop Alison Mercado was named to the all-region first team, while senior catcher Amanda Montalto and sophomore third baseman Audrey Bickel were named to the all-region second team.
Over the last four seasons (2009-12), the Cardinals have placed more players on the All-MAC First Team than any other school in the league. BSU has 13 honorees during that span, with Northern Illinois ranking second at seven. Overall, DeFeo has helped her student-athlete be honored on All-MAC team's 31 times, including 13 first team, 11 second team and seven all-freshman selections.
A three-time academic all-American herself, DeFeo's dedication to her studies has rubbed off on BSU's players with both Barkley (2011) and Elizabeth Milian (2010) being named to the Capital One Academic All-America University Division Softball Third Team as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America. She has helped BSU's players earn a total of five CoSIDA Academic All-District V honors.
Prior to joining the Ball State staff, DeFeo spent the 2005-06 seasons as the manager of All-American Softball Clinics, where she provided private lessons for hitting, pitching, catching and fielding. In addition, she conducted private clinics for middle school and high school programs, as well as summer teams. She also helped prepare parents for the collegiate recruitment process.
DeFeo was the head softball coach at North Carolina-Greensboro for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, guiding the Spartans to a 68-48 overall record. In her first season, UNC-Greensboro set a school and Southern Conference record with 57 home runs. In her two years as the head coach, DeFeo tutored the 2003 Southern Conference Player of the Year and six all-conference student-athletes.
In her first stint as a head coach, DeFeo directed a fledgling softball program at East Tennessee State where she was the head coach for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. In the program's inaugural campaign in 2001, the team posted a 14-35 (9-11 Southern Conference) record with the nine conference wins being the most by a first-year team in conference history. The 2002 squad earned a 25-32 (9-12 SoCon) record and placed fifth in the regular season and fourth in the conference tournament.
Prior to heading up ETSU, DeFeo was an assistant coach at Buffalo (1999-2000), Texas San Antonio (1998-99) and Southeastern Louisiana (1997).
As a collegiate student-athlete, DeFeo earned a bachelor's degree from Louisiana Lafayette in 1997 where she was a three-time National Fast Pitch Coaches Association All-American and a three-time College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-American.
She set school records for home runs in a single season (15), home runs in a career (43), slugging percentage in a career (.676) and runs-batted-in in a career (187). After completing her collegiate playing career, DeFeo played for the Orlando Wahoos in the Women's Professional Softball League in the summer of 1997, and played for the Durham Dragons in the summers of 1998 and 1999.
