Duke Hires First Assistant Softball Coach

Duke Hires First Assistant Softball Coach

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke softball head coach Marissa Young announced Thursday the addition of assistant coach Kate Kantor to the Blue Devil coaching staff.Kantor

Feb 4, 2016 by Chez Sievers
Duke Hires First Assistant Softball Coach
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke softball head coach Marissa Young announced Thursday the addition of assistant coach Kate Kantor to the Blue Devil coaching staff.
Kantor will join the Blue Devils after completing her Master’s degree in sports administration from the University of North Carolina.

“Having worked with Kate, I know she is the right person and shares our vision of creating a championship Duke softball culture,” said Young. “She has played in the ACC, has coached in the league and has worked in a leadership role in the conference office. Kate has a strong understanding of what it takes to be successful at this level. She has a knack for engaging and connecting with players to help them reach their full potential. She is passionate about coaching and I am so excited to have her on our staff.”

In 2015, Kantor served as a graduate assistant with the Tar Heel softball program, helping UNC to its 12th NCAA Tournament bid in the past 15 seasons. North Carolina finished with a 37-16 record, including a second-place finish in the ACC with a 16-5 league ledger.

A former collegiate student-athlete, Kantor was a four-year letter winner and two-time team captain for the Georgia Tech softball team from 2009-12. Kantor helped the Yellow Jackets to three ACC championships (2009, 2010 and 2012), four NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2009 NCAA Super Regionals. During Tech’s 2012 ACC Championship run, Kantor .700 with one double, one home run, three runs scored and four RBI to earn all-tournament team accolades. For her career, Kantor twice earned All-ACC second team honors. She was awarded an ACC Postgraduate Scholarship and received her bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2012.

Kantor served as a brand marketing intern with the ACC from 2013-14 after spending a year as the Freshman Relations and Marketing Intern with the Georgia Tech Christian Campus Fellowship.

“This is an incredible opportunity,” Kantor said. “I’m extremely blessed. Not many assistant coaches get the chance to help build a program from the ground up. Coach Young and I had a strong connection when we worked together at North Carolina. We share the same vision and philosophies for the type of team we will create here at Duke. I’m extremely excited that she invited me to be a part of this program.”

Duke announced its plan to add softball in 2013 and hired Young as the program’s first head coach in July 2015. Plans for a new softball stadium are in progress as Duke will begin varsity competition in the spring of 2018. The program is scheduled to allot the NCAA maximum 12 scholarships within the first four years of competition.


Related:
10 Questions: Duke Commit Hannah Pridemore
Friday Focus: Peyton St. George… Duke’s 1st commit