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Carol Bruggeman Last College: Iowa ;87 Position: Associate Head Coach Experience: Second year

Associate head coach Carol Bruggeman is entering her third year at the University of Louisville. In 2007, she helped guide the Cardinals to the BIG EAST Conference tournament title marking the first time in program history that Louisville earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in its fourth overall appearance.

In her first year at Louisville, she was an integral member of the 2006 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, helping guide the Cardinals to a program-best 45-11 record and the BIG EAST regular season title. In 2006, the Cardinals also achieved their first national ranking and finished the season at No. 17 in the NFCA Coaches poll and 18 in the USA Softball rankings after advancing to the NCAA regional final for the first time in school history.

As the program's first associate head coach Bruggeman is responsible for recruiting and works primarily with the defense, and also assists with offense as well as game preparation. In 2006, the Cardinal defense was ranked 23rd nationally with a program-best team defensive fielding percentage of .971. Also in 2006, Bruggeman achieved an important milestone - her 400th career win - and was honored at the NFCA Coaches Convention. She now has a 462--340-2 all-time record.

"Carol Bruggeman brings a great deal of experience and knowledge of the game and we are fortunate to have a coach of her caliber joining our staff," said U of L head coach Sandy Pearsall. "Carol will help our program continue to progress toward our goal of reaching the Women's College World Series."

Bruggeman came to Louisville from Purdue, where she started the Boilermaker softball program and was the head coach from 1994 to 2005. She guided the team to a 21-17-1 inaugural season in 1994 posting the best first-year record in Big Ten history. Her teams posted 30 or more wins in nine of her last 10 seasons at Purdue. With Bruggeman at the helm, Purdue had 23 All Big Ten Selections, 24 All-Mideast Region Selections and one National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American.

"I was presented with an incredible professional opportunity at the University of Louisville," said Bruggeman. "I am very excited about working with Sandy Pearsall and Karen Marr, two driven and well-respected coaches. They have developed a nationally competitive program and I am honored to join them in continuing their quest in winning championships. The administration at Louisville has made an unbelievable commitment to creating an environment for Louisville softball, where student-athletes can thrive and succeed at the highest level."

Prior to working at Purdue, Bruggeman was an assistant coach at Michigan from 1989 to 1993. During that time, the Wolverines won back-to-back Big Ten championships in 1992 and 1993. Michigan earned NCAA tournament bids both years, marking the first postseason trips in program history.

Bruggeman began her coaching career as graduate assistant at her alma mater Iowa. As a player for the Hawkeyes, she earned All-Big Ten and All-Mideast Region honors as an infielder. She was also an Academic All-American, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and received Iowa's Athletic Academic Medal of Honor. In 1997, Bruggeman was inducted into the Iowa Softball Association Hall of Fame.

Bruggeman's expertise has also been recognized by her peers. Om 2007, she was selected to be a clinician to teach softball curriculum for the National Fastpitch Coach College. In 2006, she was elected president of the NFCA. Bruggeman recently co-wrote a chapter entitled `Warm-up Drills for Softball' to be included in "The Softball Drill Book" which will be published in 2007.

In 2002, Bruggeman wrote a chapter entitled "Competing with Class" for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Book, "The Softball Coaches Bible." She also served as the color analyst for Fox Sports Chicago's television coverage of the 2002 Big Ten Softball Tournament. In conjunction with her coaching duties, Bruggeman is featured at national softball clinics and was also the national Division I representative for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association from 1996-2000.

"Carol did a tremendous job in starting the program at Purdue and helped the program become a strong presence in the Big Ten," said Pearsall. "She was an assistant under Michigan's Carol Hutchins and worked and played for Iowa's Gayle Blevins, two of the premier programs in the country."

A native of Charter Oak, Iowa, Bruggeman received her bachelor's degree in accounting from Iowa in 1987 and continued her education at Iowa, earning a master's in athletic administration and coaching in 1990.