North Carolina State University Athletics
Gunther Named Assistant Softball Coach
7/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
RALEIGH, N.C. NC State softball head coach Lisa Navas announced the addition of Jeanine Gunther as an assistant coach on Wednesday, July 1. A 1997 graduate of North Carolina, Gunther holds 11 years of collegiate coaching experience, including seven seasons as a head coach. She joins the Wolfpack after spending the previous four years as head coach at Lafayette College.
“I am so excited to be back in the ACC,” said Gunther. “I am really happy about the opportunity to work with Coach Navas and Coach Ellis, and I look forward to helping with the continued success of the Wolfpack program.”
The 2006 Patriot League Coach of the Year, Gunther guided the Leopards to their second consecutive conference championship series appearance this past season. She left the school as the only coach in program history to guide Lafayette to a title game appearance. Her 2008 squad set a school record for wins in a single season with 28, and 15 players earned All-Patriot League accolades during her tenure.
“I am looking forward to having Jeanine join the NC State family,” said Navas. “She brings tremendous coaching experience to the table, and she genuinely wants to be a part of the Wolfpack program.”
Prior to her time at Lafayette, Gunther led Rochester to a 27-18 season as head coach in 2005, setting a program record for wins in a single season and steering the Yellowjackets to their first winning season in program history.
Gunther continued her education from 2002-04 at Penn State, working towards a master's degree in higher education with a concentration in college student personnel. She stood in as a volunteer assistant coach at Bloomsburg during 2004 after cutting her teeth as a head coach for two seasons at East Stroudsburg from 2001-02, following two years as an assistant on the same staff.
A native of Virginia Beach, Va., Gunther played softball at North Carolina from 1994-97, serving as a team captain during her final two campaigns. Earning All-ACC honors as a junior, she graduated from UNC with a degree in English in 1997 and began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant on the Tar Heel staff during the 1998 season. She played professionally with the Georgia Pride of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch League the following summer.
Gunther Coaching History
1997-98 North Carolina (volunteer assistant coach)
1998-2000 East Stroudsburg (assistant coach)
2000-02 East Stroudsburg (head coach)
2004 Bloomsburg (volunteer assistant coach)
2005 Rochester (head coach)
2006-09 Lafayette College (head coach)
2009-pres. NC State (assistant coach)
Gunther As Head Coach
2001 19-21 (East Stroudsburg)
2002 20-24 (East Stroudsburg)
2005 27-18 (Rochester)
2006 20-28 (Lafayette College)
2007 21-25 (Lafayette College)
2008 27-24 (Lafayette College)
2009 17-29 (Lafayette College)
Totals 151-169 (seven seasons)
