Minnesota Softball Parts Ways with Head Coach Piper Ritter

"I want to thank Piper for dedicating more than 20 years to the Gopher softball program as a player, assistant coach, and head coach,” Coyle said in the press release. “She coached and developed some of the best pitchers and players in program history. 

"However, the program has taken a step back in the last three years, and a new voice is needed. We wish Piper all the best in the future.”

A nationwide search will begin immediately to replace Piper. 

Named head coach in 2020, Ritter has been a witness to prior program success, as she spent 13 years as Minnesota’s pitching coach. 

The program took a trip to its first-ever Women’s College World Series (WCWS) 2019, thanks to Ritter’s development of the bullpen. Ace Amber Fiser was named the Nig Ten Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-American, Honda Award Finalist, and broke the school record and tied the conference record with six Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. 

In 2018, she coached the Gophers to the 14th lowest ERA in the NCAA and second lowest in the Big Ten with a 1.90 mark as a staff. 

But at the helm, the best Ritter led the Gophers to was a third-place Big Ten finish, and an appearance in the Big Ten Tournament semi-finals and NCAA Regionals with a No.2 seed in 2023.

Since then, the program has gone downhill. 

The Gophers finished the 2024 season fifth in the conference, and went on to have a 20-30 overall record in 2025 with a Big Ten record of 5-17. Jessica Oakland was the star of the lineup in 2024, being named the Big Ten Player of the Year and an NFCA Second Team All-American, but she fled to transfer to Duke. 

The icing on top of the cake was Minnesota unable to get out of the opening round of the 2026 Big Ten Tournament as they fell to Washington 4-2. The Gophers struck first, but the Huskies were able to take the lead, and later add an insurance run in the sixth while holding Minnesota scoreless for the final four innings of the matchup.