Mary Karen Wheat ’06 was hired in the Summer of 2023 as the Golden Eagles' first full-time head softball coach. Wheat will be primarily responsible for managing all functions and oversight of Brockport’s softball program. Her duties also include coaching, recruiting, game and practice preparation, scheduling, student-athlete evaluations, and team travel. She will be responsible for on-field instruction during practices and contests as well as the creation of practice plans. She will also monitor student-athletes' academics, the softball budget, fundraising, and she will supervise assistant coaches, volunteers, and practicum students.
Moving Forward
In her first two seasons at the helm, Wheat has led the Golden Eagles to an increase in wins from 2023 to 2024 (5 to 8) and 2024 to 2025 (8 to 14), marking strong improvement within the program. Brockport's 14 wins in 2025 marked the most in a single season since 2019, including a 6-4 start to the season in Florida. Wheat would mentor 2025 All-Conference selections Teresa Cotty and Olivia Simone, with Simone earning NFCA All-Region honors.
Wheat spent the majority of the 2022-23 academic year as an assistant coach at Bryant University, where she assisted the head coach in all facets of the softball program with a primary emphasis on working with the pitchers. She also mapped out a yearlong outlook for the pitching staff to identify goals and time frames for the season. She constructed weekly practice schedules for both pitchers and catchers and utilized daily bullpen trackers to follow statistical improvements of each pitcher. She also coordinated with the strength and conditioning staff regarding programming and executed video analysis to assist in creating scouting reports for future opponents.
She has spent two years working with the Great Britain 18U softball program and traveled to Prague in the Summer of 2023, where they placed fifth out of 22 teams at the European Softball Championships.
Before her time at Bryant, she spent three years as an assistant coach with the University of Rochester softball program, where she was the primary coach for the infielders, hitters, and pitchers. In 2021, she was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Assistant Coach of the Year. She helped guide the Yellowjackets to two straight Liberty League Conference championships and the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championships.
In 2021, UR won the NCAA Division III Regional Championship and finished the year tied for seventh place nationally. She helped the Yellowjackets earn two consecutive Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors. She helped lead a Liberty League Co-Pitcher of the Year, one Liberty League Co-Performer of the Year, two Liberty League Rookie’s of the Year, nine all-conference first team picks, seven second team all-conference selections, and 23 Liberty League All-Academic selections.
Before joining the UR staff, Wheat served as the assistant coach at RIT, primarily working with the hitters and pitchers. In addition, she was the head coach at Brockport High School in 2015 and 2016, leading the Blue Devils to the 2015 Section V Championship game. Wheat was also the head coach at Red Jacket Central School, where she led the team to the 2010 Section V Championship and two Section V Semifinal appearances (2009 and 2011). Wheat has also been a private pitching instructor in the Rochester area for over a decade.
A former standout pitcher at Brockport High School (1995-1998) and Binghamton University (1998-2003). Wheat competed her first two years at Binghamton at the Division II level and the last two at the Division I level. At Binghamton, she pitched 416 innings with a 1.81 ERA.
Wheat graduated from Binghamton University in 2003 with a BA in Human Development. She also holds a BS in History and is certified in Adolescent Education from SUNY Brockport. Originally from Brockport, NY, she currently resides in Chili, NY.
