IOWA CITY, Iowa – Mandy Gardner has been named an assistant coach with the Iowa Softball program, head coach Renee Gillispie announced on Tuesday.
Gardner joins the Hawkeyes after a stint as an assistant coach at UC San Diego. In the 2022 season, she helped the Tritons’ pitching staff lead the Big West Conference in strikeouts and was second in ERA. Gardner coached two pitchers to Big West All-Conference team honors in her one year at UCSD. One of those pitchers being Jada Cecil, who was named the conference’s Pitcher of the Year and was a Top 10 Finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year after winning 20 games and posting a 1.88 ERA in her rookie season.
“I want to thank head coach Renee Gillespie and the athletic administration hiring committee for this opportunity, and belief in me to help achieve the vision they have for Iowa Softball. I am truly honored to be joining an institution with such rich and profound history for college athletics and women’s sports, and I am ready to continue that long and storied history on the diamond. I am humbled to be a part of the Hawkeye family. I am excited to get to work and start building relationships with these incredible young ladies.”
Gardner joined the UCSD staff after spending six years at Grand Canyon University (GCU) as both a graduate assistant and a full-time assistant.
In her three years as assistant coach, she served as the pitching coach for the Lopes. In her first season as an assistant, Gardner led the GCU pitching staff to a 1.85 ERA during conference play, which led the WAC. During her tenure as the GCU pitching coach, Gardner had four pitchers named to all-WAC teams.
During her GCU tenure, Gardner coached a pitching staff with a nationally ranked staff ERA for multiple years and coached pitchers who had top 5 career and season statistics in earned run average, batting average against, shutouts, career wins, and strikeouts. She also coached the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year in 2020 and 2021.
Prior to being named assistant coach in June 2018 at GCU, Gardner served as a graduate assistant for three seasons (2016-18), assisting the coaching staff in off-field operations as well as practices and game day operations.
Gardner joined the Lopes after a Division I playing career that included a two-year stay at Michigan, where she was a two-time Big Ten Champion, and three years at Maryland in the ACC/Big Ten. She was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a volunteer for the Special Olympics while pursuing her undergraduate degree.
Gardner earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Maryland in 2015 and she received her master’s in special education from Grand Canyon in 2018.
Gardner also has familial history at Iowa – her grandfather, former college basketball coach Joedy Gardner, was on the Iowa men’s basketball staff in the ‘80s. He spent two seasons as an assistant under head coach George Raveling (84-85).