Softball

After coming into Cookeville and meeting the Tennessee Tech softball players, Danielle Penner knew she wanted to be the next coach for the Golden Eagles. Now, she’s set to hit the ground running, hired as the sixth head coach in the program’s 38-year history.

“I’m thankful to (Tech Director of Athletics) Mark Wilson and the Tennessee Tech athletic department for the opportunity to lead the Golden Eagle softball team,” Penner said. “The moment I arrived in Cookeville, I met with the staff, the players and even some of our dedicated fans, I knew it was a special place. I’m excited about the future and the direction of the program and the athletic department.”

The young women on the team and their commitment to the Purple and Gold made the decision an easy one.

“After meeting with the student-athletes, I just felt a sense of dedication to the program, to Tennessee Tech, even to future Golden Eagles,” Penner said. “That excites me the most. I see a roster full of dedicated, devoted leaders.”

Penner takes over the reins after five seasons at Coastal Carolina, serving as the Chanticleers’ associate head coach. Coastal reached the Sun Belt Conference semifinals last season as the team finished 25-29 in a very competitive league and strong non-conference slate.

She comes to Tech with 20 years of coaching experience, including 12 as a head coach.

Those 12 seasons came at Division II Barry University. While leading the Buccaneers, Penner guided the teams to six NCAA Division II tournaments and, in 2008, was a step away from a possible Division II national championship as the Bucs reached the D-II World Series.

While the head coach in Miami Shores, Penner compiled a 403-209 record, collecting 11 winning seasons out of 12 and three 40-win campaigns.

She was also an assistant coach with the Buccaneers for the 2002 to 2004 seasons before being promoted to the head job. Barry had two NCAA South Regional appearances in that tenure, as well as Sunshine State Conference titles in 2002 and 2003 to go along with the one the team earned in 2008 when Penner was the head coach. The team also had a Division II World Series appearance in 2002.

The number of honored student-athletes under her watch is impressive – 65 all-conference picks, 50 all-region, 74 Academic All-Americans and 16 All-Americans.

Those numbers are impressive, especially coming into a Tennessee Tech program that has had a historically rich softball tradition and has been making swings upward back to prominence.

“It all starts with the recruiting process,” Penner said. “I love people who like to compete. When people ask me the type of student I like to recruit, I like to recruit students who hate to lose. Everybody likes to win, but there’s an innate trait about people who hate to lose that keeps them driving. Moving forward to that championship mindset, they find ways to win. They battle. It could be something as simple as who gets to the water cooler first, it’s the competitive nature of the student-athlete. I sensed that from the start when I talked to them. I have this sense that they’re dedicated and they have a drive to compete.”

She has also helped guide the game through her participation in several committees for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (recruiting, rules, diversity, all-region/all-American, Top 25) and the NCAA. Penner served as the South Region Chair from 2011 to 2014 for the NCAA’s National Softball Championship Committee.

Community service and outreach has played a major role in her career. While at Barry, Penner took part in activities with Camillus House, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Make a Wish, America’s Moms for Soldiers and the Miami Dolphins among many others. That continued at Coastal Carolina with Habitat for Humanity and Miracle League, as well as an Adopt A Senior initiative and Thanksgiving food drives. Penner was honored with the Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin Community Service Award in 2011 and 2017, as well as the Barry University Community Service Impact Award in 2016.

A 1998 graduate from California University of Pennsylvania (now referred to as PennWest California), Penner was a two-time NCAA national champion with the Vulcans, a three-time NFCA All-American and is tied for the second-most victories in a season (50 in 1997, the first Division II pitcher to reach 50 wins) and holds the Division II career record in winning percentage (.904). She ranks 16^th in single-season starts (50 in 1998), 15^th in single-season complete games (45 in 1998), seventh in single-season winning percentage (.943 in 1997) and 10^th in single-season shutouts (23 in 1998).

Penner also ranks tied for ninth in career starts (151), seventh in complete games (134), 19^th in innings pitched (987 2/3), third in victories (141), 11^th in earned run average (0.58) and fourth in shutouts (77).

She was also named the Division II Female Athlete of the Year in 1998 and also took part in the Canadian National Softball Program in 1997 and 1998. Penner was inducted into the university’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Penner earned her bachelor’s degree in Administration in 1998, then earned master’s degrees in Sports Management and Business Administration from Barry, both in 2004.

With her gained experience from Barry and Coastal, as well as her own experience as a student-athlete, Penner sees the Golden Eagle roster ready to take that step forward.

“A really important lesson I’ve learned over the years is that we’re all in this together – staff and student-athletes alike,” Penner said. “I’ve always felt that excellence isn’t a destination, but a path. We’re all on the same path. We just have to keep moving forward. We may get bumps in those roads, but it’s up to us – not the student-athletes, not the coaches, but us – to make those bumps just speed bumps rather than road blocks. It’s a true team effort. I believe that starts with a strong culture.

“When I first started coaching, it just wasn’t something I thought about. You have to get people on the same page and it really starts with the type of student-athlete you bring into the program. After talking with the student-athletes, I sense we have a lot that want to be on that path and they want to move along that path together.”