Kentucky softball coach Eileen Schimdt has announced the addition of assistant coach Brooke Monroe to her staff. Monroe comes to UK after spending last season at Portland State.
With the Vikings, Monroe served as the team?s recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, while also working with the catchers and infielders. PSU finished the 2006 campaign with a 38-20 overall record, won a share of the school?s first-ever Pacific Coast Softball Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
?We?re excited to have someone with Brooke?s experience and background to join us at Kentucky,? said Schmidt. ?She has been in the Big 10 and on the west coast. We feel like she can bring a lot of knowledge to our program and solidify our coaching staff.?
Prior to her position at PSU, Monroe spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Purdue University. Before breaking into the coaching ranks, Monroe had a standout career at Indiana University. She was a three-time All-Big 10 selection as a catcher and utility player. She earned first team honors as a catcher during her junior season, and was a third team selection as a catcher and utility player during her sophomore and senior seasons.
Monroe started in 201 career games for the Hoosiers and finished her career in the top 10 in several school offensive categories. She finished her career ranked fourth in home runs (24) and doubles (40), fifth in RBI (94), and seventh in at bats (607).
Monroe also ranked among the IU single-season top 10 leaders for home runs. She hit eight as a junior in 2001 to tie for sixth on the Indiana single-season list, and hit seven as a senior in 2002 to tie for eighth. She ranks among Indiana?s single-season top 10 in slugging percentage, recording a .582 mark in 2002 to rank eighth and a .567 mark to rank 10th in 2001.
As a freshman, Monroe led the Hoosiers in hits (53), doubles (11), home runs (5), total bases (81) and RBI (29). She followed a successful rookie campaign by once again leading Indiana in hits as a sophomore with 33. She also recorded nine doubles and 19 RBI that season.
During her first-team All-Big 10 season as a junior, Monroe started all 52 games, hitting .338 with eight home runs and 26 RBI. She finished her career by hitting .321 with a team-high 12 doubles and tied for the team lead with seven home runs as a senior.
?I think what Coach Schmidt has done so far at Kentucky has definitely built the foundation for a program that is headed in the right direction and towards national prominence,? said Monroe. ?The entire staff has a great vision for this program and it?s an exciting time to be at the University of Kentucky. I?m excited to be here and be a part of this coaching staff.?
A native of Morton, Ill., Monroe graduated from Indiana in 2002 with a degree in Sports Management. She later went on to earn a master?s degree in Sports Administration from Purdue in 2004.
