Katie Reiff - Softball Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Katie Reiff

Title:
Assistant Softball Coach
Email:
kreiff@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7066

Katie Reiff recently completed her third year on the softball staff at Bowling Green State University in the spring of 2019. Falcon head coach Sarah Willis announced Reiff's hiring on Oct. 7, 2016.

"I want to thank Coach Willis, the hiring committee, and the athletic department for the opportunity to be a part of the Bowling Green family as a member of the softball staff," said Reiff at the time of her hiring. "The core values and philosophies Coach Willis has established within the program closely align with those of my own. The opportunity for growth with the current players and the program as a whole is both encouraging and exciting."

In 2017, Reiff's first year with the Falcons, the team was picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the preseason coaches' poll. But, BG was in the race for a MAC Tournament berth until the final day of the regular season.

BGSU won six more games in 2017 than in '16, and the team's MAC win total was four victories higher than the previous year. BG went 24-32 overall and 10-14 in league action, and the Falcons finished as close to first place as to last place in the East Division.

BGSU nearly tripled the home win total from the previous year, despite playing fewer games at Meserve Field. The Brown and Orange went 8-3 at Meserve in 2017 after posting a 3-11 home mark in '16.

BGSU's 2017 victories included a 3-2, neutral-site win over Oklahoma State, a team that won 38 games, advanced to an NCAA Regional and finished the year ranked 25th in the nation.

Then, in 2018, the Falcons went 26-26 overall, posting the program's highest win total in five years. BG finished with a .500 record for the first time in five seasons as well.

The '18 club threatened the school single-season records in multiple hitting categories. BGSU hit .286 on the year, the second-best average in program history and just three percentage points shy of the school record (.289 in 2002). The 2018 team also posted the second-best totals/averages in total bases (582), slugging percentage (.424) and runs batted in (196 - tied for second), and Falcon sluggers hit 37 home runs, the third-highest total in program history.

For only the second time in school history, six different Falcons hit at least four homers apiece in 2018. Last year's club also put up numbers that ranked sixth or better in runs, hits, runs per game, doubles and on-base percentage.

In 2019, the Falcons batted .270 as a team. BG has hit .270 or better in each of the last two seasons after doing so just five times in the previous 39 years.

The 2019 club scored a total of 225 runs, just five shy of the school record. BGSU's 4.41 runs per game was the third-highest average in program history and the highest since 2007. And, the team's total of 201 RBI fell just one shy of that school record.

Reiff joined the Falcons after a brief stint as assistant coach at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill. Prior to that, she spent two years on the staff at the University of Tennessee at Martin, her alma mater.

At UT Martin, Reiff worked with the infielders and outfielders, including All-Ohio Valley Conference performer Katie Warrick. Warrick led the conference with 10 homers and 49 runs batted in during the 2016 season. In 2015, Reiff mentored a pair of all-conference honorees including Kenzi Tate, who paced the squad in homers, RBI and batting average en route to All-OVC First-Team honors.

Reiff served as a student assistant during the 2014 season while completing her undergraduate degree at UT Martin.

"I am thrilled to add Coach Reiff to our staff," said Willis at the time of Reiff's hiring. "Her passion for the game and approach to student athletes will help to enhance the growing culture of our program. She is a great addition to our coaching staff and I am excited to see her contributions to the Falcon infield and offense."

As a student-athlete for the Skyhawks, Reiff appeared in 76 games, making a total of 57 starts between second base and shortstop. She started every game in 2013 before suffering a season-ending injury, tallying 10 hits and three RBI. Reiff helped the program earn the OVC regular-season and tournament titles in 2012, as the Skyhawks participated in the NCAA Regionals in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Reiff also was a member of Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society.

Reiff played her final two seasons at UT Martin after spending two years at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill. While with the Lakers, Reiff was a two-time Region 24 All-Tournament Team selection, and batted .367 with 13 doubles, four homers and 35 RBI. She captained the team, helping Lake Land to a fifth-place finish in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in 2011.

Reiff, the daughter of Bill and Amy Reiff of Monticello, Ind., earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health and human performance from UT Martin in May of 2014. She earned a Master of Science degree in education curriculum and instruction at UT Martin in December of 2016.