Saint Mary’s alum John Tschida returns to lead softball program

John Tschida is returning to his alma mater Saint Mary’s to become head coach of the softball program, per the university’s official release.

This will be Tschida’s second stint with the Cardinals. He coached the program from 1995-2000, winning a national title in that last year. He then joined the University of St. Thomas and has coached the Tommies the last two decades. Under his guidance, St. Thomas reached seven national championship games and won two, in 2004 and 2005.

Tschida, from the Cardinals’ class of 1990, has the highest winning percentage of all NCAA Division III softball coaches with a record of 999-193.

Per the release, the Tommies moving to Division I factored into returning to St. Mary’s.

“I love the Division III atmosphere; it’s the culture I grew up with, and I appreciate the relationships you develop with student-athletes in this division,” he said, per the release. “I enjoy the Division III philosophy of developing a lot of different levels of players and watching them grow as people and as players.”

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