Chelsey Mulligan served as UMSL’s interim softball coach last season. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)

The University of Missouri-St. Louis athletics department announced on Thursday that Chelsey Mulligan has been named the official head coach of the Triton softball program. Mulligan is the 16th full-time UMSL softball coach and will take over the role immediately.

“I would like to thank the University and Athletic Administration for the opportunity to build on the historical success of UMSL Softball,” Mulligan said. “I am looking forward to continuing to create opportunities for our student athletes to fully engage in their athletic and academic experiences as a Triton as we strive to lead both a competitive and supportive culture to allow our student athletes to thrive in their respective fields and communities beyond their four years at UMSL.”

“The UMSL Department of Athletics is extremely excited to have Coach Mulligan continue leading our program as the head coach,” retiring UMSL athletics director Lori Flanagan said. “Removing the interim tag was very easy after her dedication and commitment to the program during our last season. Chelsey has a vast amount of successful softball experience whether it be as a player or coach. This will create strong recruiting connections, technical and player development which will allow our softball program and student athletes to continue with its strong, competitive conference, regional and national success.”

This past season as the interim head coach, she guided the Tritons a 28-27 overall record including 14-12 in the GLVC and a spot in the GLVC Tournament. Mulligan mentored four All-GLVC selections this past season with Ashley Borowitz earning second team All-GLVC honors while Megan Russell, Irene Travis and Katie Schaake landed on the All-GLVC third team.

Mulligan served as an assistant coach for the Tritons in 2023 and helped guide the team to a 34-22 record including 16-8 in the GLVC which was good for second place, advanced to the semifinal round of the GLVC Tournament and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. She helped mentor six All-GLVC selections as Travis, Corinne Daley, McKenzie Lamos, Courtney Settles, Jenna Towle and Anna VanGundy were named to the team.

Prior to joining UMSL, Mulligan was the associate head coach for one season at Emory University in Atlanta. In her one season with the Eagles she coached three players that were recognized as University Athletic Association Players of the Week and four players that earned UAA All-Conference honors. Eight student-athletes were also named to the UAA All-Academic Team.

Prior to Emory, Mulligan spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Louis University. She helped the Billikens to three campaigns of 20 or more victories including a 28-win season in 2018. She mentored 19 players to all-conference acclaim and four to all-region recognition.

Mulligan coached 2018 Schutt/NCAA Top-25 Freshman of the Year Finalist Sadie Wise, who would eventually be the Atlantic 10 Conference nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Under her guidance, SLU regularly featured high-powered offenses with the 2019 squad posting the program’s second-highest season batting average while the 2021 unit claimed the No. 3 spot on that list.

Academically, SLU softball players shined during her tenure with 51 capturing NFCA All-America Scholar berths while three teams (2016, 2017, 2019) ranked among the top seven in all of NCAA Division I softball in grade-point average.

Prior to SLU, Mulligan spent three years as a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, the University of Iowa. While in the Iowa dugout, she saw eight Hawkeyes bring home All-Big 10 accolades while 19 were recognized for academic honors.

She enjoyed a fine playing career as a second baseman and shortstop at Iowa with her career hitting mark of .339 ranking 12th all-time in school history. She ranked among the program’s top seven career performers in both at-bats and hits and stood 13th in doubles. As a senior she was the recipient of the Big Ten Conference’s Sportsmanship Award.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography with an emphasis in environmental science. She obtained her master’s degree in Leadership and Organizational Development from SLU.