Head Coach Janelle Breneman has announced the addition of Assistant Coach Brynne Dordel in July 2023.
Dordel joins the Spartans after one season as the pitching coach at Utah State. She has coached in five NCAA Regionals, two Super Regionals, and one Women’s College World Series, as well as won six conference regular season championships in 12 years with six different Division I programs.
“I'm excited that Brynne is joining the Spartan family,” said Coach Breneman. “Brynne has been a part of several successful programs and I am excited to have her championship mindset and postseason success add to our mission as a team. She is extremely loyal, a tireless worker, and an incredible role model for the young women she coaches. An impact pitcher herself, she will bring experience and expertise to our pitching staff. I can't wait for her to get to work in Greensboro.”
During her time with the Aggies, Dordel was an integral part where Utah State had pitchers named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week twice and Freshman of the Week three times. She also saw freshman Hailey McLean set a Utah State and UCLA Easton Stadium record for strikeouts in a game (20).
Prior to her time in Utah, Dordel served two seasons as the assistant coach at Rutgers working with the pitching staff. She helped the team to a 25-win season in 2022 and an appearance in the National Invitational Softball Championship, the Scarlet Knights’ first postseason appearance since 2019.
Before working with the Scarlett Knights, Dordel spent three seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Alabama. During that time, the Crimson Tide compiled a 110-38 record with two NCAA appearances, including playing in the College World Series in 2019 and a Seattle Super Regional in 2018. The Crimson Tide finished in the top-15 rankings in all three seasons with Dordel on the coaching staff and the Crimson Tide won the 2019 SEC Regular Season Championship. That year, the coaching staff was recognized as the NFCA Division I South Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Dordel was an assistant coach at Iowa State in 2017, where she worked with the Cyclones' pitching staff. She coached Brianna Weilbacher to 18th in the country in Division I in strikeouts per seven innings (162 strikeouts in 132 innings).
She spent three seasons as a pitching coach at North Dakota State (NDSU) prior to her time in Iowa. There, she was an integral part of the staff guiding the Bison to three Summit League Regular Season and Tournament titles, automatically qualifying them for three NCAA Tournament appearances, winning four postseason games. The NDSU coaching staff was named the NFCA Division I Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2015 and 2016 and earned Summit League Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2014 and 2015.
Dordel began her career as a graduate assistant working with the pitchers at Ball State. During the 2012 and 2013 seasons, she was instrumental when the team won back-to-back Mid-American Conference titles. During her time at Ball State, Dordel earned her Masters of Arts degree in physical education and sport with a focus in sport administration earning summa cum laude honors.
The native of Chaska, Minnesota, was a four-year starting pitcher at Drake University where she graduated with summa cum laude honors with a degree in accounting and finance in 2011. She was named CoSIDA Academic All-American second team as a senior. Dordel led the Bulldogs to the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Championship, earning tournament MVP honors, and guiding the team to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994.
