Kate Drohan Position: Head Coach Experience: Ninth Season Alma Mater: Providence, 1995

"I believe strongly in the philosophy of Northwestern University and the vision of our softball program. Northwestern softball offers an environment which challenges you to excel as a student, as an athlete, as a teammate and as an individual. At Northwestern, you are surrounded by people who understand what it means to be truly committed. There are no limits to how far the student-athlete can go. The unique experience of Northwestern University is second to none."

Kate Drohan is entering her ninth season at Northwestern's helm after building the program into one of the nation's best and leading the Wildcats to back-to-back Women's College World Series semifinal appearances in 2006-07. Drohan took over the 'Cats after serving as an assistant under legendary head coach Sharon Drysdale for four seasons.

After eight seasons, Drohan's career record of 309-134-1 gives her a .697 winning percentage -- ranking her among the active leaders in winning percentage for Division I head coaches with a minimum of five years at the DI level. In the past five seasons, NU has compiled a combined record of 215-77, reaching the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament four times and becoming the first private school in NCAA history to advance to the WCWS semifinals in consecutive years.

Drohan already has cemented her status as one of the best coaches in Big Ten history, joining three other conference coaches (including Drysdale) as the only coaches to ever take Big Ten schools to the WCWS. Drohan is one of two coaches to make the final pairing in Oklahoma City.

Drohan took over a squad that finished 20-25 in 2001, and led it to a 24-18-1 record in her first season in 2002. Building on its above .500 mark, Northwestern qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2003, and has not missed the postseason since.

Postseason success has become a trademark of Drohan's teams. Northwestern is 25-17 in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, including a 5-4 mark at the Women's College World Series. Since the advent of Super Regional play in 2005, the Wildcats have won their Regional and advanced to the final 16 in the nation four times.

Northwestern has earned national respect from the pollsters as well. The Wildcats have been ranked in 73-consecutive NFCA coaches polls and 75-straight USA Softball polls dating to March of 2005. NU has spent 27 of those weeks in the top 10 of the NFCA rankings, and earned the program's first No. 1 vote in 2008 after defeating then-No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 3 Texas A&M to begin the year.

Big Ten dominance also has become one of Drohan's hallmarks. Since finishing tied for fifth in the conference in her first year, the 'Cats have improved to top-three finishes in each of the last five seasons, including capturing Big Ten titles in 2006 and 2008. Northwestern also won the Big Ten Tournament title in 2008 after advancing to the championship game of the event in four of the last six years it existed before being discontinued in 2009. Drohan's career conference record is 111-40 with a 78-16 mark in the last five years. NU has led the Big Ten in total league wins in four of the last five years.

In 2006, Northwestern's Big Ten title was its first since 1987, and the Wildcats qualified for the Women's College World Series for the first time in 20 years. In Oklahoma City, the Wildcats made an exciting and perfect 3-0 run through bracket play to the championship series. NU's finish at the WCWS and in the polls -- No. 2 -- both marked program bests. The 'Cats also reached the 50-win plateau for the first time in school history.

Drohan and her staff earned NFCA/Speedline National Coaching Staff of the Year honors following the 2006 season.

Drohan and the 'Cats then repeated their run to the WCWS semifinals in 2007, again breaking the school record with 52 victories. Northwestern played the nation's No. 4-rated schedule, and earned a program-best No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In 2008, Northwestern performed a Big Ten double dip, winning both the regular season championship and the tournament championship in the same season for the first time in school history. NU's 18-2 record in conference play marked its most wins in the league since going 19-9 in 1995 during an era when teams played four-game sets against each other.

In the last five years (2005-09), six different Wildcats have earned a total of 12 All-America honors -- including a trio of freshmen. Also, NU has earned the last five Big Ten Player of the Year (Garland Cooper in 2005-07, Tammy Williams in 2008-09), three of the last four Big Ten Pitcher of the Year (Eileen Canney in 2006-07, Lauren Delaney in 2008) and four of the last six Big Ten Freshman of the Year awards.

Since joining the Northwestern staff in 1998, Drohan has coached 27 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selections, five NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes, six CoSIDA Academic All-District selections and 37 All-Big Ten honorees. Five Wildcats have been selected in the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) senior draft in the last six years.

Drohan coached NU to its third-straight NCAA appearance in 2005, advancing to Super Regional play after winning the Ninth Regional hosted in South Bend. Four Wildcats landed first-team All-Big Ten honors, at the time tied for the most in NU history. The Wildcats won 42 games in 2005, one shy of the then-school record, and rose to a ranking of 15th in both national polls--the highest rankings for NU at the time.

After the record-setting season, Drohan and her staff were named the NFCA's Mideast Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.

One season after taking over the program in 2002 following a 20-25 campaign in '01, Drohan led the Wildcats to a 36-19 record and Northwestern's sixth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2000. The 36 wins in 2003 were the program's most since 1995. NU won 12 of its final 17 regular season games and advanced to the Big Ten championship game as the sixth seed in the conference tournament.

Drohan guided the 'Cats to an at-large bid in the 2003 NCAA Tournament and a No. 2 seed in the Regional hosted in Austin, Texas. NU finished the season with the 14th-ranked RPI in the country.

The 2004 season saw even more impressive play from Northwestern. For the second-consecutive season, Drohan led the 'Cats into the NCAA Tournament with a 34-20 record and a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten. Northwestern entered the 2004 NCAA Regional as a No. 3 seed in the toughest Region in the entire tournament.

Drohan has proven to be one of the top recruiters in the country, bringing the best and the brightest to Evanston. In addition to all of NU's Big Ten superlative winners and 10 All-America awards, then-NU senior Carri Leto was one of 45 players and the only Big Ten student-athlete to earn a tryout with the U.S. National Team in 2003. Since then, Cooper, Canney and Williams all have earned invites to the U.S. National Team selection camp -- most recently Williams in 2009.

During Drohan's time as an assistant coach in Evanston, the Wildcats put together three 30-plus win seasons, highlighted by an NCAA Regional appearance in 2000.

After the 2000 season, Drohan was promoted to associate head coach and took on further responsibilities within the program. In early 2001, Drysdale informed the administration that she would step down as head coach at the end of the spring. Shortly after that announcement, Athletic Director Rick Taylor announced that Drohan would become NU's head softball coach.

Drohan came to Evanston from Boston College, where she had served as an assistant coach for the Eagles for two seasons. There she served as assistant softball coach and assistant athletic director for facilities from 1995-97. In addition to her duties with the softball team, Drohan worked game operations and administration with the Eagles.

A much respected and sought-after clinician, Drohan has delivered lectures to players, coaches and students of the game across the country. Beyond the softball arena, the business community has shown a strong interest in the leadership tools Drohan has developed within the program, leading to speaking engagements in the management world as well.

Drohan earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Providence in May of 1995. As a member of the Providence softball team, she was named to the All-Big East team in 1992, 1994 and 1995.

Drohan resides in Chicago.