There will be a new boss in the dugout for a second straight season.
Former NCAA and Canadian national team pitcher Tina Andreana has been named head coach of the Simon Fraser University softball program, senior director of athletics and recreation Theresa Hanson announced on Thursday.
Andreana brings four seasons of NCAA coaching experience to the post, most recently with University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
She has been an assistant coach with three different NCAA programs since finishing her playing career with Oregon State in 2013. In 2018 she served as the pitching coach at UNLV, where the Rebels went 33-20 and finished runner-up in the National Invitational Softball Regional championships.
At the University of North Dakota, Andreana was the pitching coach during the 2017 season, helping lead the team to its first Big Sky Conference tournament appearance in program history. Her debut as a coach was as a graduate assistant and pitching coach for Black Hills State for two seasons (2015-2016), which saw the Yellow Jackets earn their highest win total since moving up from NAIA to NCAA Division 2.
Andreana is returning to Canada for the opportunity to lead the SFU softball program.
"I am very happy to welcome (Andreana) to the SFU community and Canada's NCAA team,” said Hanson. “As a former NCAA Division 1 student-athlete and Canadian national team member, combined with her NCAA coaching experience, Tina brings considerable knowledge and expertise to the softball program. The future of SFU softball is bright, and we are excited for this new era under Coach Andreana.”
Under Michelle Peters, Simon Fraser finished the 2019 season with a 9-30 overall record, 4-24 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Peters had succeeded longtime SFU coach Mike Renney, who retired in 2018 after 24 years as the team’s head coach.
For Andreana, SFU is a great opportunity to help rebuild a program in her native country.
“I would like to thank Theresa Hanson and the athletic department at SFU for the honour and opportunity to lead the softball program,” said Andreana. “I’m excited to make a positive impact on a program with such a long-standing history. I look forward to building a culture of excellence on and off the field with our talented group of student-athletes.”
A native of Oakville, Ontario, Andreana was a member of the Canadian senior national team that earned a bronze medal at the 2010 world championships.
As a student-athlete, Andreana was a three-year starting pitcher for Oregon State from 2011-13, where she helped the Beavers to back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances in 2012 and 2013 in addition to earning a PAC-10 Honorable Mention selection in 2011.
Andreana earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from Oregon State in 2013 and she added her Master of Business Administration from Black Hills State in 2016.
SFU earlier announced a group of new recruits, including Douglas College transfers Kimberley Anderson, Madi Heggie and Rachel Warburton, Hanna Finkelstein, of Long Island University-Post, Mel Groenewegen, from the College of Southern Idaho, and Delta’s Jessie Weststrate.
