Gophers Fire Softball Coach Piper Ritter: 'The Program Has Taken a Step Back'

Just over six years after she was hired, the University of Minnesota announced Friday that Piper Ritter has been fired as the head coach of the softball team.

"I want to thank Piper for dedicating more than 20 years to the Gopher softball program as a player, assistant coach and head coach. She coached and developed some of the best pitchers and players in program history," Minnesota athletics director Mark Coyle said in a statement.

"However, the program has taken a step back in the last three years and a new voice is needed. We wish Piper all the best in the future. We will immediately begin a nationwide search for our next head coach."

Ritter was hired on May 3, 2020, with Coyle at the time saying Ritter was "the right person for the job."

The immediate results were promising as the 2021 Gophers finished 31-13, including 29-11 in the Big Ten. They reached the NCAA Tournament in 2021, 2022, and 2023, but missed the tournament each of the past three seasons.

The 2024 team went 28-25, with a regression to 20-30 in 2025 and 16-36 this season.

Ritter was an assistant coach for the Gophers from 2008 to 2020, having previously worked as a head coach at Northern Colorado and at North St. Paul High School.

She played for the Gophers from 2001 to 2004, earning All-Big Ten First Team honors in 2003, and All-Big Ten Third Team honors in 2001, 2002, and 2004.

Before Ritter, Jamie Trachsel was the head coach for three seasons, and her teams had tremendous success. They went 41-17 in her first season and won the Big Ten Tournament. In her second season, Minnesota finished 46-14 and 20-2 in the Big Ten, reaching the NCAA Women's College World Series for the first time in program history.

COVID shortened the 2020 season, and Trachsel declined a one-year contract extension to instead take the head coach job at Ole Miss. She's led Ole Miss to the NCAA Tournament in every season, including a trip to the College World Series in 2025. Her Rebels now await Sunday's NCAA Tournament selection show to learn their placement in this year's tournament.

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