Deanna Gumpf Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Nebraska '92

Awards and Honors
2002, 2004 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
2002, 2004 NFCA Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year

Through only seven seasons as the head softball coach at Notre Dame, Deanna Gumpf has already established herself as one of the premiere college coaches in the nation.

Under her tutelage, the Irish have claimed three BIG EAST Tournament titles and seven trips to the NCAA Tournament. Even more, Notre Dame staked the BIG EAST's regular-season championship during her first four seasons on the bench to extend its dominance over league opponents.

In fact, Gumpf enters her eighth season as the Irish head coach with the 17th-best winning percentage among active coaches.With a seven-year mark of 289-136-1 (.680), her victory average is the highest of any BIG EAST skipper.

When assuming control of the Irish program in July of 2001 from her mentor and close friend, Liz Miller, Gumpf inherited a team that was fresh off a school-best 54-7 record one season prior. Without missing a beat, the Irish once again advanced to the final day of competition at the NCAA Regional Tournament and in the process smashed the school record for home runs in a season. Notre Dame also came through with a dramatic run in the 2002 BIG EAST Championship, rallying from a first-day loss to hand Virginia Tech a pair of defeats on the final day to claim the league title.

The second year of the Gumpf era began with a 10-11 start to the season before Notre Dame ripped off a 20-game win streak from April 1-26 to assume control of the BIG EAST Conference standings. The team then swept through the BIG EAST Championship by scoring 21 runs in three games and won the title on a walk-off home run from conference player of the year Andrea Loman in the bottom of the ninth inning against Villanova.

The Irish rode their momentum into the start of the 2004 slate, upsetting No. 8 Nebraska during the first weekend of the season to claim the program's first-ever bracket championship at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic.The team also won the Hoosier Invitational title and the BIG EAST regular-season crown while taking part in a record 69 contests. Notre Dame was victorious in 49 of those games - the second-best win total in school history - aided by an 18-2 mark in conference play.

By claiming her 100th victory at Notre Dame in record time in 2004, Gumpf was able to reach the 100-win plateau faster than any previous Irish head coach. She reached the 200-win plateau, again in record time, with a victory in the second game of an April 9 doubleheader against Pittsburgh in 2006.The Irish ensured the victory would be a memorable one, as they pounded out 21 hits to tie the school record. Two Irish players - Stephanie Brown and Meagan Ruthrauff - both finished with four hits apiece, as Ruthrauff would also set school records with three home runs and seven RBI.

Yet another landmark season came about in 2005 as the Irish hosted their first NCAA Championship competition at Ivy Field. Bolstered by a 20-game win streak - the second 20-game run of the Gumpf era which included tournament titles at the GRU Classic and Hawaii's Spring Fling - the Irish won the BIG EAST Conference regular-season title and advanced to the BIG EAST Championship final game.

Over the next two seasons, the Irish posted a 74-45 mark including 22 contests against 16 different top-25 opponents.The early stage of the 2006 slate was highlighted by a 3-2 comeback victory over No. 10 Arizona State, which came at the hands of Stephanie Brown's two-run gamewinning homer. After dropping a pair of games to No. 4 Texas and No. 7 Alabama, the Irish proceeded to post a nine-game winning streak including four wins in conference play.Notre Dame kept themselves among the top teams in BIG EAST play with the only five conference losses heading into the league tournament.The Irish entered the post-season showdown as the third-seeded squad and rolled through the competition with wins over Providence, Pittsburgh, and No. 18 Louisville to claim Gumpf's third conference crown in only five seasons.

Notre Dame then headed to Evanston (Ill.) for the NCAA Tournament and defeated UC Santa Barbara and Southern Illinois before falling to Northwestern - who would go on to earn a seat in that season's World Series - to finish the year with over 40 wins for the third consecutive season.

Gumpf and the Irish rallied to a runner-up finish in the 2007 edition of the BIG EAST Tournament upon entering the event as the fourth-seeded team. Behind the solid play and leadership of senior Stephanie Brown, Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season before bowing out to Illinois State in regional action. Brown would later be named a second-team academic All-American, finishing her career ranked among the program's all-time leaders in eight career offensive categories (including hits, runs, stolen bases, home runs and batting average).

As an assistant coach at Notre Dame (1998- 2001), Gumpf worked primarily with the Irish pitchers and hitters. In each of those four seasons, Notre Dame lowered its team earned run average and eventually posted a spectacular 0.89 ERA in 2001, which ranked seventh-best in the nation. And as the team ERA dropped, its batting average steadily rose as the team set single-season program records for home runs, batting average, runs scored and strikeouts thrown with Gumpf on the staff.

Irish players have mirrored their coach's competitive fire over the past six seasons and continue to show a flair for the ability to make clutch plays at key times. This became apparent in Gumpf's first season, when she led the team to face No. 4 Nebraska for the dedication game of the Cornhusker's Bowlin Stadium. Facing her alma mater for the first time as a head coach, Gumpf and the Irish left Lincoln with a 3-2 win after Liz Hartmann drilled a three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning for the upset victory.

The La Palma, Calif., native played at Nebraska from 1989-92 while earning a degree in business management. Gumpf was an all-Big Eight Conference second-team selection in 1991 and an honorable mention pick in both 1989 and 1990.

Prior to her collegiate success in Lincoln, Gumpf enjoyed an outstanding prep career with Gordon's Panthers, one of the most dominating Amateur Softball Association teams in Southern California.

Gumpf pursued a professional position with Delta Airlines after graduating from Nebraska but did not stay too detached from softball. She started to give private pitching lessons in the Southern California area and what began as a small side job turned into a major venture. After earning her master's degree from Azusa Pacific University in physical education and coaching in 1997, Gumpf entertained countless offers from college coaches hoping to entice her with the opportunity to get back into the college game. Perhaps not too surprisingly, one of the first coaches to call Gumpf was Liz Miller.

Miller discussed the possibility of having Gumpf join the Irish staff, but a position was never established and Gumpf would opt to become the pitching coach at Long Beach State.

Two years later, Miller phoned Gumpf again to offer a position and the future Irish head coach jumped at the chance.

After winning her third BIG EAST Tournament championship in 2006, Gumpf soon inked a multiyear contract extension with Notre Dame.

Gumpf and her husband, John, reside in South Bend with son, Brady and daughter,Tatum. John coached high school baseball in Southern California before serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Irish from 1999-2001, and is currently the head coach and assistant athletics director at St. Joseph High School in South Bend. He spent four years as a professional baseball player in the Minnesota Twins' minor league ranks from 1989-94.