Heather Hupke, Head Coach

HupkeH@bvu.edu

Hupke will begin her fourth season as head coach at her alma mater in the spring of 2012.

Since making her way back to BVU, she helped lead the Beavers back into the Iowa Conference Tournament in 2010 for the first time in four years.  That same season saw the program honored with seven players on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Team, marking the program's largest total since 2005 (7).

In 2011, Hupke helped produce a pair of All-IIAC players, the first time since 2006 the team had multiple selections.

Prior to her return to BVU, she spent 10 seasons as head softball coach at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa.  During her tenure there, she led the Chargers to a runner-up finish in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in 2004 - its first year in the league. She also guided the team to four straight sectional and regional titles from 1999-2003, while being named the Sectional Coach of the Year in 2001.

A four-time All-American at BVU, Hupke made a name for herself as a star pitcher from 1992-95. In 1992, her first collegiate season, Hupke finished the year with the nation's lowest earned run average (0.47), as she helped lead the team to an NCAA runner-up finish. She compiled a 12-2 overall record that season en route to a career record of 72-20.

The rest of her career was much of the same as she became a four-time all-conference and all-region performer and was named the Iowa Conference MVP after posting a conference-record 14 wins during her senior campaign. She helped lead the Beavers to three Iowa Conference Championships (1992, 1994, and 1995), as well as another top-five national finish (fifth-place) in 1994. In the fall of 2005, Hupke was inducted into the Buena Vista Athletic Hall of Fame.

To this day, the three-time Buena Vista MVP holds the program's career marks in wins (72), appearances (97), complete games (79), shutouts (30), innings pitched (602.1), and strikeouts (525). Her name is also found atop the BVU single-season list for wins (24; 1995), appearances (35; 1995), complete games (29; 1995), shutouts (11; 1993), and innings pitched (217; 1995).

Prior to arriving at Briar Cliff, Hupke was a graduate assistant at South Dakota State University from September of 1996 thru May of 1998 where she graduated with a master's degree in HPER in 1998. In addition, she has also served as an assistant coach at Galva-Holstein High School (1996) as well as at Cherokee Washington High School (1998). While at BVU, she also served as a pitching clinic instructor.

Hupke and her husband, Dewey, have two children; Mackenzie and Korver.

Hupke's Accomplishments:

• Coached 10 seasons (1999-2008) at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa
• Led the Chargers to four straight sectional and regional titles from 1999-2003, earning Sectional Coach of the Year in 2001
• Was a four-time All-American pitcher for BVU from 1992-95
• Finished with the nation's lowest earned run average (0.47) in just her first collegiate season
  Tallied a career overall record of 72-20
• Helped lead BVU to three Iowa Conference Championships (1992, 1994, and 1995), including a national runner-up finish in 1992 and a fifth-place finish in 1995
• Was inducted into the Buena Vista Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005

Katie Kruse, Assistant Coach

KruseK@bvu.edu

Katie Kruse gets set to begin her fifth season as the top assistant for the Beavers following her playing days for BVU.

Kruse, who was a four-year starter for the Beavers, ranks in the top-10 in school history in games played. She was also a three-time academic all-conference selection and earned academic all-district honors her senior season.

Kruse is BVU's first full-time assistant softball coach. She previously served as an assistant coach at Carroll High School in Carroll, Iowa before returning to campus.

Kruse is married to Jered Kruse, an assistant football coach for BVU, and the two reside in Alta with son Madden.