Softball Adds Two Assistants
8/9/2019 12:01:00 PM | Softball
Former Chippewa Merchant and ex-Michigan standout Driesenga join Salmon's staff
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Two assistant coaches have joined coach McCall Salmon's Central Michigan softball staff.
Brittini Merchant, a two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection while playing at CMU from 2008-11, along with former Michigan standout Sara Driesenga will fill the assistants' roles for Salmon, who was named to head the program in June.
Driesenga will head the efforts with the pitching staff, while Merchant will handle the outfielders. Both will work with the hitters.
"Very excited to have both Brittini and Sara complete our coaching staff here at CMU," Salmon said. "Their knowledge of the game combined with their passion for developing student-athletes make both great additions to this program."
Merchant, a native of Wayland, served for the past three years as an assistant under Salmon at Davenport, where she helped lead the Panthers to second-place finishes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in both 2018 and 2019, the school's first two seasons as an NCAA Division II program.
She joined Salmon in leading Davenport to an historic 2017 season which included the program's first NAIA World Series berth and a fifth-place finish.
Merchant began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Minnesota in 2012 before moving on to Northwestern, where she served in the same capacity. She served as an assistant at Southern Illinois Edwardsville in 2016 before joining Salmon at Davenport.
Merchant was named to the All-MAC first team in 2011, her senior year, and was an all-conference second teamer and earned a spot on the league's all-freshman squad in 2008. She earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree with a major in family studies and a minor in athletic coaching from CMU in 2011.
Driesenga, a native of Hudsonville and the 2011 Michigan Miss Softball, pitched at Michigan from 2012-16, compiling a 71-26 record with 10 saves and helping the Wolverines to six Big Ten championships, five regular-season crowns and one tournament title, along with three Women's College World Series appearances including a national runner-up finish in 2015.
Driesenga played in 2016 for the Texas-based Scrap Yard Dawgs in the National Pro Fastpitch league.
She was a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selection and earned All-Big Ten honors three times. She was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and in 2016 was named to the Academic All-America squad.
Drisenga earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in psychology, and she earned her master's in social work. Previously she has served as a volunteer assistant coach at Eastern Michigan and has coached at various clubs and camps.
Brittini Merchant, a two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection while playing at CMU from 2008-11, along with former Michigan standout Sara Driesenga will fill the assistants' roles for Salmon, who was named to head the program in June.
Driesenga will head the efforts with the pitching staff, while Merchant will handle the outfielders. Both will work with the hitters.
"Very excited to have both Brittini and Sara complete our coaching staff here at CMU," Salmon said. "Their knowledge of the game combined with their passion for developing student-athletes make both great additions to this program."
Merchant, a native of Wayland, served for the past three years as an assistant under Salmon at Davenport, where she helped lead the Panthers to second-place finishes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in both 2018 and 2019, the school's first two seasons as an NCAA Division II program.
She joined Salmon in leading Davenport to an historic 2017 season which included the program's first NAIA World Series berth and a fifth-place finish.
Merchant began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Minnesota in 2012 before moving on to Northwestern, where she served in the same capacity. She served as an assistant at Southern Illinois Edwardsville in 2016 before joining Salmon at Davenport.
Merchant was named to the All-MAC first team in 2011, her senior year, and was an all-conference second teamer and earned a spot on the league's all-freshman squad in 2008. She earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree with a major in family studies and a minor in athletic coaching from CMU in 2011.
Driesenga, a native of Hudsonville and the 2011 Michigan Miss Softball, pitched at Michigan from 2012-16, compiling a 71-26 record with 10 saves and helping the Wolverines to six Big Ten championships, five regular-season crowns and one tournament title, along with three Women's College World Series appearances including a national runner-up finish in 2015.
Driesenga played in 2016 for the Texas-based Scrap Yard Dawgs in the National Pro Fastpitch league.
She was a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selection and earned All-Big Ten honors three times. She was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and in 2016 was named to the Academic All-America squad.
Drisenga earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in psychology, and she earned her master's in social work. Previously she has served as a volunteer assistant coach at Eastern Michigan and has coached at various clubs and camps.
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