Morrissey Selected as Softball Head Coach at Emmanuel

BOSTON, Mass. - Following a national search, the Emmanuel College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the hire of Brenna Morrissey as Head Softball Coach.  Morrissey becomes the 14th head coach since the program began competitive play at the NCAA level in 1993 and takes over the role from Olivia Berry who stepped away from her coaching role after the 2023 campaign to focus on her new administrative duties as Director of Athletics at Emmanuel. 

 

"I am incredibly excited for Coach Morrissey to take the helm of our softball program," said AD Berry. "Not only will she continue to develop our student-athletes, but she will also be an integral member of our athletic department as we continue to grow. I look forward to watching the program under new leadership as the number one fan!"

 

Morrissey brings a strong softball pedigree to Emmanuel as both a coach and a former student-athlete.  Her coaching stops at the collegiate level include stints at Boston University, MIT and Harvard University. She also served as a hitting instructor at Extra Innings and was a high school varsity Head Coach at the Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School for one season.

 

"I am excited to be the next head coach of the Emmanuel College softball program," said Morrissey. "I want to thank Olivia Berry and Dan Roberts for the opportunity. Emmanuel softball has been on a strong uptick under Coach Berry and I cannot wait to continue that growth and bring my own energy and enthusiasm to the program." 

 

As a collegiate player, Morrissey played at Division I Georgia State University for three seasons following one year at Division II Assumption College (now University). At Georgia State, Morrissey posted a .302 career batting average with 33 doubles, four triples and 11 home runs. She was voted a team captain for both her junior and senior campaigns and helped lead the Panthers to the 2011 CAA Conference Championship and an appearance in the Athens Regional in the NCAA tournament. She earned Second Team All-CAA honors as a designated player in 2011 and also recorded a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage during her final season of collegiate softball in 2013.

 

At Assumption, Morrissey earned NE-10 First Team All-Conference honors at shortstop, playing in and starting all 46 games for the Greyhounds while registering an impressive .436 batting average with 16 doubles, two triples, two homers, 19 RBI and a .620 slugging percentage while leading the NE-10 in walks with 26 BB's. In addition to her First Team honors, she was also named to the NE-10 Freshman Team, NE-10 All-Tournament Team and NE-10 All-Academic First Team.

 

Morrissey graduated from Georgia State in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts and also holds a Masters of Education from the School of Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2019 with a focus in Positive Coaching. 

 

Morrissey is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and served on the Events Committee from 2019-2021. She was also accepted to the 2020 NCAA Women Coaches Academy (WCA) cohort as part of the WeCOACH program. 

 

"I am thrilled to jump right into recruiting and cannot wait to look for future Saints," said Morrissey. "Being right in the heart of Fenway/Longwood neighborhood, Emmanuel is a great place to be and I'm looking forward to meeting the team and can't wait to get out on Clemente Field this fall."

 

Prior to Emmanuel, Morrissey was working in the Middlesex School district as the Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities where she also coached the varsity soccer and field hockey teams. 

 

Morrissey and the Saints open the 2024 season next March and will look to make a run at the program's second GNAC championship.