Entering her seventh season as Shepherd head softball coach is Marissa Leslie.
The Rams recorded a 28-22 mark in 2023 with an 11-19 record in conference action. Nicole Purtell and Caitlin Donnelly each gained first team All-PSAC East and first team All-Region accolades. Purtell also gained a pair of All-American honors and was named an Academic All-American for the third consecutive season.
Shepherd posted a 19-20 overall record with a 9-7 mark in conference play in 2022. Purtell and Cameron Davis gained first team All-PSAC honors. The pair also gained second team NFCA All-Region accolades.
The Rams posted a 26-14 overall record with a 14-5 mark in PSAC action in 2021. Shepherd made its sixth overall NCAA II regional appearance. Shepherd had six All-PSAC selections with Purtell and Davis each earning first team honors. Purtell (Second Team NFCA and Honorable Mention D2CCA) and Davis (Third Team D2CCA) also gained All-American accolades.
Shepherd posted a 4-6 overall mark in 2020 in a season shorted due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Leslie led the Rams to a record-setting 42-18 mark with a 23-9 record in conference play in 2019. The 42 wins are the most in a season by any Shepherd team. The Rams made their third consecutive and fifth overall NCAA II postseason appearance. Shepherd won the Atlantic 1 Regional title and advanced to Super Regional competition. Four Rams gained first team All-MEC honors, while seniors Lori Sturgill and Connor Gilligan and junior Taylor Stocks garnered All-Region accolades. Stocks also garnered honorable mention DII FPN All-American honors. Shepherd was ranked 19th in the final NFCA Poll. Leslie garnered All-J.A.Y. Coach of the Year honors from The Journal.
Leslie led the Rams to a 34-20 overall mark with a 22-10 record in conference play in her first season at the helm in 2018. Shepherd made its fourth NCAA II postseason appearance as the fifth seed in the Atlantic Region. Four Rams earned All-MEC honors and juniors Kaitlyn Konopka and Lori Sturgill each garnered All-Region accolades.
Leslie came to Shepherd after spending three years as an assistant softball coach at West Virginia Wesleyan. She helped lead the Bobcats to a 143-31 (.822) mark with three consecutive MEC championships over that period. The team made three regional and super-regional appearances and qualified for the NCAA II College World Series in 2017. The Bobcats finished the 2017 season ranked third in the final NFCA NCAA II Poll with a 51-10 record. Leslie was a member of the NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.
Prior to coaching at Wesleyan, Leslie worked at Barry University as an assistant coach for two years where she specialized in fundamentals and conditioning.
Leslie is a 2012 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. She was a four-year letterwinner at shortstop for the Crimson Hawks. IUP won a pair of PSAC championships over her career and qualified for the NCAA II College World Series in 2011. Leslie was PSAC Freshman of the Year and was named PSAC Tournament MVP as a senior.
Leslie earned a master’s degree in performance enhancement and injury prevention from California University of Pennsylvania in 2015.
