Benedictine College Athletic Director Charlie Gartenmayer has announced the hiring of Dana Goss as the new Raven head softball coach.
Coach Goss previously served as the assistant softball coach at Rockhurst University and prior to that, she was the head softball coach at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, Mo.
“We are thrilled to have someone like Coach Goss join our staff at Benedictine,” Gartenmayer said. “We are confident that she will lead our softball program in a positive direction and accomplish the goals we wish for all of our programs – produce student-athletes who graduate and win championships along the way.”
As the assistant at Rockhurst, Coach Goss helped the program to its first appearance in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament in program history during the 2008 season.
“I’m really excited for the chance to lead my own program again,” Coach Goss said. “I’ve had the chance to see how much the campus has changed and grown and I’m really excited about the commitment that the school is showing to the students and to its athletic programs.”
While at Maple Woods, Coach Goss was named the 2005 NJCAA Region XVI Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the NFCA Midwest Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006. She recruited and coached two NJCAA All-America selections and nine All-Region XVI players.
Her Maple Woods program was twice recognized for academic achievement in 2004 and 2005 by the NFCA as they earned NFCA Academic Top 10 Team GPA honors.
It was during her time at Maple Woods when she first became familiar with Benedictine.
“I was very surprised at how much the campus had changed since I was last here in 2006,” Coach Goss said. “Things look very different and I’m excited to get to campus and be a part of Benedictine.”
When it comes to expectations on the field for this season, Coach Goss is optimistic.
“I hope to make an immediate impact on the players, through their work ethic and the passion they have for softball,” Coach Goss said. “How quickly that translates to conference championships we’ll see.
“We’re going to go out and get great players who are also great students and great people. Those are criteria that won’t change as we look to move to the top of the conference.”
Coach Goss takes over a Raven softball program that went 21-20 in 2012 and qualified for the HAAC Postseason Tournament where they lost in the opening round. She will begin her duties as head coach immediately.
— BC Sports Information —