Softball On SI

Mike Ruechel Retires as Buffalo Softball Head Coach, New Leadership Announced

Buffalo Softball head coach Mike Ruechel retires, with new leadership already named to guide the program forward.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Buffalo softball names Chelsea Plimpton the 11th head coach in program history after the retirement of Mike Reuchel.
Buffalo softball names Chelsea Plimpton the 11th head coach in program history after the retirement of Mike Reuchel. | UB Athletics

University at Buffalo Athletics announced the retirement of softball head coach Mike Reuchel on Monday and the hiring of Chelsea Plimpton on Tuesday.

Reuchel spent the last seven season as UB's head coach and Plimpton spent last season as an assistant coach on his staff.

"I'm excited to announce that Chelsea Plimpton has been elevated to head coach of our softball program," Vice President and Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt said. "I, along with Senior Associate Athletic Director for Championship Resources Aaron Stang, personally recruited her back to Buffalo last year when we had an assistant position available.  Having the opportunity to see her coach, recruit and interact with our student-athletes this past year, I quickly realized that if an opportunity for her to become a head coach arose, she would be ready to assume the role. 

"She brings a wealth of coaching experience and is a fierce competitor, which will help propel our student-athletes to success both on and off the field.  I'm also pleased to bring back a Buffalo native who has tremendous softball ties to New York and the northeast.  I look forward to seeing Chelsea build this program into a consistent winner in the Mid-American Conference."    

Before arriving at UB, Plimpton was an assistant coach at Villanova from 2019-23. She spent three seasons at Massachusetts before that.

Plimpton has also held assistant coaching positions at St. Lawrence (2011), Marist (2012), Fordham (2013), and Towson (2014-16).

Plimpton is the 11th head coach in UB softball history.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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