Illinois native and former collegiate softball standout Alexa McClaughry has been named Monmouth College softball head coach. McClaughry succeeds John Goddard, who retired this season after leading the Scots for the last 13 years.
“We are pleased to have Alexa McClaughry lead our softball program into the future as our head coach,” said Monmouth Director of Athletics Roger Haynes. “Our committee was impressed with her statistical analysis of the program and certainly in her ability to teach the game. I believe her personality and approach to the game will be a great fit for the women and the culture coach John Goddard has worked so hard to develop.”
McClaughry, who has been head coach at MacMurray College and Robert Morris University-Springfield, inherits a Monmouth program that appeared in seven Midwest Conference Tournaments under Goddard, finishing second in 2016.
“I’m very excited to join Monmouth College,” said McClaughry. “Monmouth was very appealing. They have an environment which not only develops student-athletes to be better, they also foster all members of the student body to be better people. Coach Goddard has built a solid foundation, and I’m excited to continue that tradition.”
McClaughry said “it’s a great opportunity to come into an established program and continue to build.”
“In the short term, we want to continue to consistently qualify for the Midwest Conference Tournament,” she said. “In the bigger picture, our goal is to make the regional rankings and the NCAA tournament.”
Just six games into the pandemic-shortened 2020 season – her first at MacMurray – McClaughry guided the Highlanders to within one win of the previous year’s entire win total. The team was rewriting the program’s record books and had two players hitting .500.
“I like to build relationships with the players and empower them to be even greater than they imagined,” said McClaughry. “My role is to be their mentor as well as their coach. I place an emphasis on communication and building relationships.
McClaughry embraces an aggressive style of softball.
“We’ll take advantage of whatever opportunities we’re given on the diamond,” she said. “Whether it’s stretching a single into a double or taking an extra base on a misplay, we’ll be opportunistic. I can’t wait to meet the team and begin fall practice.”
A four-year member of the University of Illinois-Springfield softball team and a four-time All-Academic Great Lakes Valley Conference honoree, McClaughry graduated cum laude from Illinois-Springfield with a degree in mathematical sciences. She earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
***Report Courtesy of Monmouth College***
