Danielle Penner enters her third season as head softball coach at Barry University. She rejoined the Barry staff in 2006 for her first stint as a head coach in the college ranks after serving as an assistant coach from 2001-2004.

Last season, she guided the Bucs to a 44-19 overall record and a #16 final ranking in the NFCA Top-25 Division II post-season poll. Penner led the Bucs to their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a tie for third in the Sunshine State Conference with a 15-9 conference record. Barry also earned the NCAA Statistical Champion Award for lowest team ERA in Division II with a 0.92 team earned run average.

In her first season as head coach, she guided the Bucs back to national prominence with a 39-13 overall record. Barry started the season unranked in the NFCA Top-25 Division II preseason poll, but moved up to eighth in the first regular season poll after a 13-2 start. Behind Penner’s expertise, the Buccaneers finished second in the SSC with an 18-6 league record and made their 12th appearance in the NCAA South Regional tournament.

In just two seasons with the program, she has coached eight All-SSC and seven Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-South Region selections. She has also had one South Region All-Tournament Team player, Brittany Anderson and back-to-back SSC Freshmen of the Year, Shyla Rider and Amanda Goelz.

Her teams have also had success in the classroom. In her two seasons, Penner has had 13 NFCA Scholar All-Americans and ranked seventh and 17th in 2007 and 2006 respectively in NCAA Division II in team grade point average.

Penner served as an assistant coach for the Buccaneers from 2001-2004 under former head coach Shelly Lis. During her previous stint with the Bucs, she helped lead the team to a fifth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Division II Elite Eight tournament, a school record 52 wins in 2003 and two Sunshine State Conference titles. She was also the pitching coach to two-time NFCA All-American Geralyn Elam who led all of Division II with a 0.28 ERA and 406 strikeouts in 2002.

From 1998-2000, she worked as the assistant softball coach at her alma mater, California University of Pennsylvania. Her duties included recruiting, fundraising, budget control, team travel, practice and game management, and student-athlete academic monitoring and course advising.
Penner brings with her over 10 years of camp coaching experience in both the United States and Canada. In 1999, she established the Elite Softball Clinic in Ontario designed to teach the mechanics of fastpitch softball to females between the ages of eight and 18. In 1997 and 1998, she worked the Fastpitch Coaches Showcase with USA Olympic Gold Medalists Lisa Fernandez, Michele Smith, Dani Tyler and Dionne Harris teaching fundamentals and techniques of hitting, fielding and pitching.

Penner comes to Barry as one of the most accomplished and decorated pitchers in NCAA Division II softball history. And for that, she was voted to the NCAA Division II Silver Anniversary Softball team for her accomplishments and contributions as a player.

In four seasons at California, Pa., she won a Division II-record 144 games, losing only 15, for a .906 winning percentage. She was also a three-time NFCA All-American and earned national tournament MVP honors in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

A dominating force in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, she posted a perfect 80-0 conference record in four seasons, earning all-conference honors each season and MVP honors as a junior and senior.

In 1997, she had one of the best seasons ever for a pitcher. She won a Division II-record 50 games, losing just three times, for a .943 winning percentage. She also posted a national-best 0.51 ERA to lead the Vulcans to their first-ever NCAA Division II national title.
She led CUP back to the national title in 1998, defeating Barry 2-1 in the championship game. That year, she earned NCAA Division II National Softball Player of the Year distinction from the NFCA, which led to her selection as the Honda-Broderick Female Athlete of the Year for Division II. A two-time CUP Athlete of the Year selection in 1997 and 1998, Penner was also nominated to represent CUP as an NCAA Woman of the Year Candidate.

From 1994-97, she was a member of Team Ontario. In 1996, she led the team to the bronze medal at the Canadian national championships, earning MVP honors at the tournament. In 1997 and 1998, she was one of 17 athletes selected to the Canadian National Softball Program.

Penner has been featured in several national publications such as Sports Illustrated (1997 & 1998), People Magazine (1998) and Fitness Magazine (1998). She also authored “Fundamentals of Fastpitch Pitching” in the January 1999 issue of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association magazine.

She graduated from CUP in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management. She holds a master’s degree in sport management and an MBA from Barry University, both earned in 2004.