UPDATE 06/23/20: On Tuesday, Western Illinois officially announced Goler’s hiring in a press release.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Alisa Goler will be named the new head coach at Western Illinois, sources confirmed to JWOS.
Goler spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State, serving as the Nittany Lions’ hitting coach. Under her guidance, the Penn State offense set a program record for home runs during the 2019 season. Prior to the abrupt cancellation of the 2020 season, the Nittany Lions owned a .326 team slugging percentage and had hit eleven home runs.
Prior to her tenure at PSU, Goler spent three seasons on staff at Syracuse, where she worked with the team’s infielders & offense and was the program’s recruiting coordinator. Her coaching resume also includes a stint on staff at Roosevelt University.
During her playing career, Goler was a 3-time All-American at Georgia. She also earned a quartet of All-Region nominations, and set program single-season records for batting average; slugging percentage; on-base percentage; and home runs, among seven total categories. She spent seven seasons playing in the National Pro Fastpitch League, and was twice named an all-league honoree.
Western Illinois finished the abbreviated 2020 season with a 6-13 overall record, and had not yet begun conference play when the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended the campaign. Former longtime head coach Holly Van Vlymen served as interim head coach for the season.
