LaPorte was promoted to head coach following Mickey Dean’s departure after the 2017 season, and has since led the Dukes to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. In 2019, the Dukes upset Michigan in the Ann Arbor regional and advanced to the Super Regional round, where they took on eventual national champions UCLA.
Under LaPorte’s tutelage, the Dukes posted a 51-10 overall record during the 2019 season, following a 43-14 campaign in 2018. She was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year both years, and led her staff to the NFCA’s Northeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year award following the ’19 season.
The Dukes own just three conference losses during LaPorte’s tenure as head coach, finishing the 2019 season with a 20-1 record against CAA opponents. The Dukes hit .333 as a team during the ’19 season, with 102 home runs. The program’s pitching staff posted a 1.66 cumulative team ERA, with 417 strikeouts and an opponent’s batting average of .177.
Prior to taking the program’s helm at JMU, LaPorte spent several years as an assistant coach on the Dukes’ staff. Her coaching resume also includes three years as an assistant coach at Radford, as well as a single season on staff at her alma mater, Roanoke College.
