Press Release:
The Arcadia University Department of Athletics and Recreation has announced the hiring of Mary Murray `20 as the next Head Softball Coach. Murray will begin her duties at Arcadia on July 1.
“I’m so honored and excited to serve as the next Head Softball Coach at Arcadia,” Murray said. “I’d like to thank President (Ajay) Nair, (Associate Vice President of Athletics) Brian Granata, (Associate Athletic Director) Brett Mariani, and the entire hiring committee for their confidence and trust in me to lead this program.”
Murray returns to Glenside after spending the last six seasons as an assistant at Division III powerhouse Rowan University. While with the Profs, Murray helped the program to four Division III College World Series, four Super Regional Championships, four Regional Championships, five NCAA Tournament appearances, and four New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament Championships.
In Glassboro, Murray served as the pitching coach, where she mentored three NJAC Pitchers of the Year and the lowest team ERA in all of Division III in 2025, and served as the recruiting coordinator for a program that during her tenure produced seven NFCA All-Americans, three College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans, one NFCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winner, one NJAC Player of the Year, and one PhillySIDA Performer of the Year.
“Mary was a decorated scholar-athlete at Arcadia and a central figure in leading the Knights during their most successful run in program history,” Granata said. “She is someone who fully embraces the ideals of Division III athletics and will serve as a tremendous role model for current and future Knights. While at Rowan, Coach Murray has gained invaluable experience leading student-athletes at the highest level for Division III. I can’t think of a better person to return our program to the level of success that we expect of Arcadia Softball.”
While at Rowan, Murray gained additional experience as the 16u National Head Coach of Stars National, and as an instructor at EL1 Sports.
“I’m so excited to be back home at Arcadia and to be able to give back to the program that gave me so much as a student-athlete,” Murray continued. “My time at Arcadia and in the softball program played a pivotal role in shaping who I am today, and I hope to mentor and guide our student-athletes as they grow on and off the field. I’m looking forward to helping Arcadia softball compete for a MAC Freedom Championship with the goal of getting back to the NCAA Tournament.”
Murray graduated from Arcadia in 2020 with a degree in Global Media and earned her Master’s in Communications from Johns Hopkins in 2021. With the Knights, Murray was a three-time All-MAC Commonwealth selection, including being named NFCA First Team All-Region and the MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Year in 2019 when she went 14-4 with a 0.86 ERA, one save, and five shutouts across 22 appearances spanning 122.2 innings, helping lead the Knights to their first championship and regional appearance since joining the MAC. In the 2017 MAC Commonwealth tournament, Murray pitched in one of the longest games in Division III history, when both Murray and top-seeded Messiah’s Madelyn Yannetti set new Division III records for innings pitched. Across 18.2 innings, Murray allowed just one unearned run to score on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the 19th inning.
Murray also excelled in the classroom, culminating in being named the 2020 MAC Softball Senior Scholar-Athlete. Murray was also twice named CSC First Team Academic All-District, Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area, Academic All-MAC, and was named Arcadia’s Female Senior Athlete Award winner in 2020.
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Photo: AU