University of West Alabama

Colleen Powers begins her 12th season as Head Softball Coach at St. Catherine University in 2024-25. Since taking over, the Wildcats have had a dramatic turnaround and become both a contender in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and the nation.

Powers led St. Kate's to back-to-back appearances in both the MIAC Playoff Tournament and NCAA Tournaments in 2016 and 2017, marking the most successful seasons in program history. She was named MIAC Coach-of-the-Year both seasons and earned NFCA Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2017 after leading the Wildcats to their first ever appearance at the Championship Round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The 2017 season marked the most successful season in program history for St. Kate's. Powers led St. Kate's to its first ever MIAC Playoff, Regional and Super Regional Titles as the team advanced to the Championship round of the NCAA Softball Tournament. The team also set the record for single season (38) and MIAC wins (17), while individuals broke or tied 13 school records.

Powers also helped several student-athletes find success on the field in 2017, as Jenna George and Krista Flugstad became the first All-Americans in program history. Both players earned All-MIAC and All-Region honors, and George became the second student-athlete to be named the MIAC Player-of-the-Year (Robyn Rohr, 2016).  Three other Wildcats, Anna Hinderaker, Kylie Macziewski, and Amber Montero, earned All-MIAC honors as well, while Macziewski earned All-Region and CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. 

Powers joined the Wildcat staff after two successful seasons as Head Softball Coach at Lakeville South High School where she led the 2013 squad to a second-place finish in the 3AA Section Tournament.
 
Powers is no stranger to the collegiate softball world, though, and has had success as both a player and a coach. During her time in a Gophers uniform, Powers was a team captain, earned the team's Most Valuable Player award and twice received the Severson Coaches Award for showing outstanding dedication to the program.
 
During her senior season in 2008, Powers helped lead Minnesota to a Big Ten Tournament appearance and finished her career with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and 122 career appearances.
 
Following her playing career at Minnesota, Powers helped coach the West Texas A & M University softball team to its first national ranking in program history as a graduate assistant from 2008-2009.
 
She then moved on to a graduate assistant position at Central Michigan University from 2009-2011 where she had multiple coaching responsibilities.  Powers also taught in the physical education department and played a critical role in the administration and recruiting for the competitive Division I program.
 
In addition to her coaching role at Lakeville, Powers has worked as an instructor with the Minnesota Fastpitch Academy since 2011 where she manages clinics, lessons and tournaments.
 
Powers has been a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) since 2008 and graduated from the NCAA Women's Coaching Academy in 2009 and again in 2011 for Dimension 2 of the competitive coaching program.
 
Powers graduated from Minnesota with a bachelor's in psychology with a minor in youth studies. She earned her master's in sport administration from Central Michigan in 2011. She also completed the IronMan Wisconsin Triathlon in September 2015.