Softball
Meuchel, Melanie
Melanie Meuchel
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Phone:
- 243-4338
The 2024 season is Melanie Meuchel’s seventh year as the head softball coach at Montana. She was hired in October 2017 after serving the previous three seasons as the program’s first assistant coach.
She has 20 years of college coaching experience, 19 of which have been at the NCAA Division I level.
Meuchel joined the Grizzlies in the fall of 2013, hired by the program’s first head coach, Jamie Pinkerton, 17 months before Montana would make its on-field debut in February 2015.
The two coaches went about building a program from nothing to a team that made the NCAA tournament in 2017, after just three seasons of competition.
After Pinkerton departed for Iowa State in the summer of 2017, Meuchel took over as head coach. She has been in the Montana dugout for all 443 games in program history.
Montana has qualified for the last seven Big Sky Conference tournaments, with a championship in 2017 and a third-place finish in 2021.
Meuchel has a record as Montana’s head coach of 111-167.
The Grizzlies, in their nine-year history, have had two players earn three NFCA All-Pacific Region selections. Shortstop Delene Colburn earned third-team honors in 2017, shortstop Maygen McGrath received third-team honors in 2021 and ’22.
Montana has had nine first-team All-Big Sky selections in its history, with Lexie Brenneis (2015) and Sydney Stites (2016) earning Freshman of the Year honors, Cami Sellers (2019) Top Newcomer accolades.
McGrath became the first Grizzly to earn Big Sky Player of the Year honors when she was honored in 2022.
In six seasons under Meuchel, Montana has had four first-team All-Big Sky selections and seven second-team selections.
The Grizzlies have collected 12 Big Sky Player of the Week honors with Meuchel as head coach, seven Pitcher of the Week awards.
Montana knocked off No. 23 Arkansas 5-0 on the Razorbacks’ home field in 2020 for its first win over a ranked opponent in program history and later that season added a 6-0 shutout of Michigan State.
Meuchel’s 2021 team won three games at the Big Sky tournament on its way to a third-place finish.
Meuchel, a 1997 graduate of Missoula’s Big Sky High, has worked as Montana’s pitching coach since Day 1. Her pitchers have thrown three no-hitters, and Tristin Achenbach set a Big Sky record with 16 strikeouts in a game in 2019.
The Grizzlies have three times posted a sub-4.00 team ERA: 2.55 in 2020, 3.08 in 2018 and 3.09 in 2017.
Michaela Hood ranks third in Big Sky history with a career ERA of 2.93. Achenbach ranks fifth in strikeouts (396) and is tied for fifth in wins (35). Her 186 strikeouts in 2021 set a new program record.
Meuchel (pronounced Michael) was an All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference pitcher at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) and helped lead the Mavericks to the 2000 NCAA Division II Women’s College World Series.
She began her coaching career as a student assistant at Mesa State in 2002. She earned her degree in 2002 in human performance and wellness.
After two years as an assistant coach at McNeese State (2003-04), Meuchel spent the 2005 season as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma. The Sooners won 50 games and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round. It would be the first of five trips to the NCAA tournament for Meuchel.
Meuchel joined the staff at Nevada in 2006 and coached the Wolf Pack for seven years. She worked under Michelle Gardner from 2006-08, then remained on staff when Matt Meuchel, her brother, took over the program.
Meuchel worked as the Wolf Pack’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator as Nevada went to three NCAA tournaments and twice won 40 games. Meuchel coached Katie Holverson to Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year honors in 2009.
She has 20 years of college coaching experience, 19 of which have been at the NCAA Division I level.
Meuchel joined the Grizzlies in the fall of 2013, hired by the program’s first head coach, Jamie Pinkerton, 17 months before Montana would make its on-field debut in February 2015.
The two coaches went about building a program from nothing to a team that made the NCAA tournament in 2017, after just three seasons of competition.
After Pinkerton departed for Iowa State in the summer of 2017, Meuchel took over as head coach. She has been in the Montana dugout for all 443 games in program history.
Montana has qualified for the last seven Big Sky Conference tournaments, with a championship in 2017 and a third-place finish in 2021.
Meuchel has a record as Montana’s head coach of 111-167.
The Grizzlies, in their nine-year history, have had two players earn three NFCA All-Pacific Region selections. Shortstop Delene Colburn earned third-team honors in 2017, shortstop Maygen McGrath received third-team honors in 2021 and ’22.
Montana has had nine first-team All-Big Sky selections in its history, with Lexie Brenneis (2015) and Sydney Stites (2016) earning Freshman of the Year honors, Cami Sellers (2019) Top Newcomer accolades.
McGrath became the first Grizzly to earn Big Sky Player of the Year honors when she was honored in 2022.
In six seasons under Meuchel, Montana has had four first-team All-Big Sky selections and seven second-team selections.
The Grizzlies have collected 12 Big Sky Player of the Week honors with Meuchel as head coach, seven Pitcher of the Week awards.
Montana knocked off No. 23 Arkansas 5-0 on the Razorbacks’ home field in 2020 for its first win over a ranked opponent in program history and later that season added a 6-0 shutout of Michigan State.
Meuchel’s 2021 team won three games at the Big Sky tournament on its way to a third-place finish.
Meuchel, a 1997 graduate of Missoula’s Big Sky High, has worked as Montana’s pitching coach since Day 1. Her pitchers have thrown three no-hitters, and Tristin Achenbach set a Big Sky record with 16 strikeouts in a game in 2019.
The Grizzlies have three times posted a sub-4.00 team ERA: 2.55 in 2020, 3.08 in 2018 and 3.09 in 2017.
Michaela Hood ranks third in Big Sky history with a career ERA of 2.93. Achenbach ranks fifth in strikeouts (396) and is tied for fifth in wins (35). Her 186 strikeouts in 2021 set a new program record.
Meuchel (pronounced Michael) was an All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference pitcher at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) and helped lead the Mavericks to the 2000 NCAA Division II Women’s College World Series.
She began her coaching career as a student assistant at Mesa State in 2002. She earned her degree in 2002 in human performance and wellness.
After two years as an assistant coach at McNeese State (2003-04), Meuchel spent the 2005 season as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma. The Sooners won 50 games and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round. It would be the first of five trips to the NCAA tournament for Meuchel.
Meuchel joined the staff at Nevada in 2006 and coached the Wolf Pack for seven years. She worked under Michelle Gardner from 2006-08, then remained on staff when Matt Meuchel, her brother, took over the program.
Meuchel worked as the Wolf Pack’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator as Nevada went to three NCAA tournaments and twice won 40 games. Meuchel coached Katie Holverson to Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year honors in 2009.
| MELANIE MEUCHEL AT A GLANCE | ||||||
| PERSONAL | ||||||
| Hometown | Missoula, Mont. | |||||
| Education | Mesa State, 2002 | |||||
| COACHING RESUME | ||||||
| Years | School, Position | |||||
| 2002 | Mesa State, Student Assistant Coach | |||||
| 2003-04 | McNeese State, Assistant Coach | |||||
| 2005 | Oklahoma, Graduate Assistant Coach | |||||
| 2006-12 | Nevada, Assistant Coach | |||||
| 2015-17 | Montana, Assistant Coach | |||||
| 2018-present | Montana, Head Coach | |||||
| COACHING HISTORY | ||||||
| Year | School | Record | Conf. Record | Conf. Finish | Postseason | |
| 2002 | Mesa State | 49-13 | 30-4 | 1st | NCAA II Tournament | |
| 2003 | McNeese State | 24-27-1 | 15-11-1 | 3rd | SLC Tournament | |
| 2004 | McNeese State | 19-41 | 8-17 | 9th | ||
| 2005 | Oklahoma | 50-17 | 12-6 | 2nd | NCAA Tournament | |
| 2006 | Nevada | 33-33 | 9-9 | 4th | NCAA Tournament | |
| 2007 | Nevada | 28-31 | 9-9 | t-3rd | WAC Tournament | |
| 2008 | Nevada | 44-18 | 16-2 | 1st | NCAA Tournament | |
| 2009 | Nevada | 40-19 | 15-5 | t-1st | NCAA Tournament | |
| 2010 | Nevada | 17-28 | 4-16 | 8th | ||
| 2011 | Nevada | 13-34 | 4-17 | 8th | ||
| 2012 | Nevada | 21-36 | 9-12 | 5th | WAC Tournament | |
| 2015 | Montana | 16-34 | 8-13 | t-6th | ||
| 2016 | Montana | 29-27 | 14-7 | 4th | BSC Tournament | |
| 2017 | Montana | 35-24 | 15-6 | 2nd | NCAA Tournament | |
| 2018 | Montana | 25-30 | 10-11 | 5th | BSC Tournament | |
| 2019 | Montana | 25-31 | 10-8 | 3rd | BSC Tournament | |
| 2020 | Montana | 12-12 | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| 2021 | Montana | 19-30 | 8-10 | t-3rd | BSC Tournament | |
| 2022 | Montana | 20-27 | 6-11 | 6th | BSC Tournament | |
| 2023 | Montana | 10-37 | 4-11 | 6th | BSC Tournament | |
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