Coaches
Kelly Swanson
Head Coach
Now in her third season, Kelly Swanson led the Coyotes to a 35-23 overall record in 2005 and a third place finish at the Region 14 tournament. This season, she’s aiming to get the team to its first World Series appear- ance in Clermont, Florida. Swanson must deal with the loss of two record-setting offensive performers from 2005, but has stacked the pitching staff with as many as four capable starters. The team is also solid defensively and will only need to deliver in clutch situations at the plate to have a breakout season.
Swanson has done a terrific job of recruiting talent from the Houston area, known as one of the softball hotbeds of the country. In fact, all 16 players on the 2006 roster have Houston connections.
“I have definitely developed a feel for what type of student athletes we want here at San Jacinto College South,” Swanson said. “In recruiting sometimes you hear a lot of things but you have to stay focused on getting the players that fit what we’re all about at San Jacinto - both on and off the field.” It remains to be seen what will happen for the Coyotes in 2006, but Swanson is excited. The team will rely primarily on small ball tactics, using singles, doubles and plenty of speed to generate runs. In the circle, the Coyotes could be as deep as any team in the region after adding a pair of freshmen to go with two proven sophomores.
“I saw the cohesiveness we need in the fall,” Swanson said. “No matter how talented you are as a team, you have to play together and be there to provide a lift for each other. We have that this season.” Prior to coming to San Jacinto College South, Swanson was the head coach at Frank Phillips College in 2003. She was a graduate assistant at the University of South Dakota prior to that while finishing her masters degree.
Swanson was born and raised in Inwood Manitoba, Canada and developed an early love for softball. A 1995 graduate of Teulon Collegiate, she attended Eastern Kentucky on an athletic scholarship and had a solid playing career. In 1998, Swanson was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and set several team records along the way.
Dionna Lopez
Assistant Coach
Dionna enjoyed a record-setting career at San Jacinto College South during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. She posted 16 wins in 1997 and still sits among the team’s all-time leaders in such categories as lowest earned run average (1.24 in 1997) and shutouts in a single season (9 in 1998).
Having coached as an assistant at the University of the Incarnate Word, she is now a teacher in the Pasadena Independent School District and is in her second season working primarily with the Coyote pitchers.