MSSU names interim softball coach

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Missouri Southern Athletics Director Jared Bruggeman announced today that assistant softball coach Melissa Chmielewski has been promoted to interim head coach for the 2016 season.

"We are happy to bring in someone with a familiarity to the student athletes and Missouri Southern," Bruggeman said. "Melissa is an excellent coach and her knowledge and experience with our athletics program will be a great asset. We are excited to see her begin her collegiate head coaching career. Her willingness to step into this interim role is greatly appreciated as we look to return Missouri Southern softball to the top tier of the MIAA."

Chmielewski just completed her first season as an assistant coach with the Lions having come to Joplin after two years as the head coach at Eagan (Minn.) High School where she took a 1-19 program and complied a two-year record of 18-23 in the South Suburban Conference, which has produced the last two Minnesota high school state champions. While in charge of the EHS program Chmielewski coached two all-section player, four all-conference selections, and had nine scholar athletes. One of her ESH players is now currently playing at University of Wisconsin at Green Bay and one is at NCAA D3 St. Cate's in St. Paul.

Chmielewski was also an assistant coach for the Minnesota Sting Gold where she coached five players that continued their softball careers at the NCAA D1 level at North Dakota State, Minnesota, and Indiana State and seven players currently in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Prior to EHS Chmielewski was a graduate assistant at Minnesota State University at Moorhead, where she attained her master's degree in education leadership. While at MSU-M the Dragons finished 14-24, 5-18 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

"I would like to thank Jared Bruggeman for the opportunity to be the interim head coach. There are a lot of exciting things happening here at Southern right now and I'm honored to being a part of it all. I am looking forward to the girls getting back to campus and getting the season started, and couldn't be more proud to restablish the tradition of Missouri Southern softball," said Chmielewski.

Chmielewski played collegiately at NCAA D-I North Dakota State University where she played first base from 2007-10. Chmielewski was a two-time Summit League Player of the Year (2010 and 2008), a 2010 CoSIDA College Division first-team Academic All-American, a 2010 Summit League All-Tournament Team selection, a 2010 and 09 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Midwest Region first-team selection, a three time All-Summit League first-team selection, a 2008 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Midwest Region second-team selection, a three time NFCA Scholar Athlete, a 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team, a two-time Summit League Winter/Spring All-Academic selection, a two-time Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence selection, a 2007 Division I Independent Newcomer of the Year, and a 2007 All-Independent first-team selection.

Helping the Bison transition from D-II to D-I, Chmielewski, was a part of the four year period that saw NDSU go 142-85 overall and 47-14 in their first three years in the Summit League. Winning two Summit League titles, in 2009 and 10, Chmielewski and the Bison made two NCAA Regional appearances. In 2009, NDSU knocked off perennial power Oklahoma in the opening game of the Norman Regional and went on to advance to the Tempe, Ariz. Super Regional before falling to the defending WCWS champions, Arizona State, two games to none. In 2010 the Bison put up a 33-25 overall record, a 14-8 Summit League mark, while advancing to the Seattle Regional.

Chmielewski can be found all over the NDSU record books. She holds the records for most hits in a game, five, most RBIs in a game, eight, and most walks in a game, four. She also holds records in most home runs in a game with two and total bases in a game with 11. On the defensive side she holds the career record for most fielding chances with 1,415. She is in the top 10 in eight different offensive career categories for the Bison, including second in career home runs with 38. She also holds the career record in put outs with 1,310 to go along with her career mark in fielding chances.

A 2006 graduate of Centennial High School in Circle Pines, Minn., she also played hockey and was a hockey assistant coach for three years; two at Fargo (N.D.) North HS and one at Eagan HS. At Fargo North she helped the Spartans to a state championship and a third place finish.

Chmielewski graduated in 2010 from North Dakota State University with degrees in both physical education and health.