University of Minnesota softball head coach Piper Ritter announced the hiring of Roya St. Clair as the squad’s new assistant coach on Monday.
“I want to welcome Roya to Minnesota,” said head coach Piper Ritter. “I’m really excited to have someone with with her kind of experience. She brings a wealth of knowledge from many types of institutions. She’s a leader with a passion and enthusiasm to help young student-athletes that is contagious. I’m excited for our student-athletes to get the opportunity to work with such a passionate coach.”
St. Clair spent the 2024 season at Texas Tech, where her infield was top 20 in the nation for double plays per game after recording 25, including a game against Baylor (Apr. 6) where they had three double plays in one game – setting a program record.
The Red Raiders broke the program’s single-season home run record after hitting 74 long balls. Texas Tech also set the single-season program record in doubles with 93 and the single-season slugging percentage with a .543 slugging percentage. All three of these program records were standing for at least a decade.
Prior to her time in Lubbock, St. Clair spent three years with WashU, including an NCAA DII Regional appearance in 2022. The Bears finished with a 32-12 record with a pair of wins in the St. Paul Regional and earned five all-conference selections. She was also a member of WashU’s staff that was named UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.
Before WashU, the Livonia, Mich., native helped lead Miami (OH) to the 2019 MAC Regular Season Championship. That same year, the RedHawks tied for the most league wins in a single season (16) and posted a 35-16 overall record.
She also spent two years in the Big Ten as an assistant coach at Rutgers (2017-18) and a season at Illinois-Chicago, where she helped lead the Flames to a 2016 Horizon League Regular Season Championship. St. Clair’s coaching career began at Memphis as a volunteer assistant before being promoted to a full-time assistant role.
St. Clair spent her playing days at Michigan (2007-10), where she led the Wolverines to a trio of Big Ten titles and a 2009 Women’s College World Series appearance. The Big Ten standout earned All-Big Ten honors in both 2009 and 2010.
During her storied career, St. Clair appeared in 224 games, recording a .251 batting average with 18 home runs and 111 RBIs. Behind the plate, the catcher caught a pair of perfect games and three no-hitters during her senior season.
St. Clair went on to play with the Akron Racers in the National Pro Fastpitch League and Unione Fermana in the A1 Italian League.
(info courtesy of Gopher Sports)
