ROCHESTER, NY – Veteran softball coach Margaret Yerdon-Grange has been named the Softball head coach at Nazareth University. The full-time head coach replaces part-time coach Jack Carpenter who resigned after 17 seasons at the helm.
Yergon-Grange comes to Nazareth after 19 seasons at the University of Rochester where she was the head coach for 14 years. She led the Yellowjackets to 345 wins and seven trips to the NCAA Tournament including a pair of trips to the NCAA Finals (2014 and 2021) as well as 12 appearances in the Liberty League playoffs.
In 2023, she led the squad to a school-record 38 wins for a 38-9 overall record and a third consecutive Liberty League title. The Rochester coaching staff was named the National Fast-Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.
In 2014, Yerdon-Grange led the Yellowjackets to their first ever trip to the NCAA Division III Finals after earning a Liberty League title, a Regional Championship and a comeback win the in the Super Regional. In the consolation bracket of the Super Regional against Rowan, Rochester posted back-to-back shutouts to earn the trip to the Finals in Tyler, Texas.
In 2021, Rochester made a second trip to the NCAA Finals with another Liberty League title and a 4-0 mark in the Erie Regional to advance to Salem, Virginia for the Finals. The Yellowjackets lost a pair of heartbreaking single-run games and finished 7th in the final NCAA Division III rankings.
Yerdon-Grange and her staff earned Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in both 2014 and 2021. In addition, she coached the team to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012, 2015 and 2016.
Prior to Rochester, Yerdon-Grange was an assistant coach at Binghamton while pursuing her master's degree in social sciences with a concentration in Public Administration. She earned a BA degree in English and Sociology from Binghamton in 2001.
While a player at Binghamton, she helped the team transition from NCAA Division III to the Division I level. She was a Division II All-Region selection in 1999 and a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) All-Conference pitcher in 1999 and 2000.
In 2002, she was named the America East All-Conference Designated Player and was voted the team MVP for a second time (also in 1999). She graduated with several school records and is still the Binghamton record holder for season ERA (0.90 in 1998), Division I era season ERA (1.58 in 2002) and career ERA (1.40).
The veteran head coach takes over a Nazareth program that has produced double-digit win totals in eight of the last nine seasons including a school-record 20 victories in 2016.
