Bio

Mandy Roczniak returns to the softball diamond for her ninth season as the head coach for the Blue Devils.  Roczniak was named head coach in 2001. 

Last season, Central Connecticut finished at 14-25 overall and 5-11 in the Northeast Conference.  Melissa Pelletier led the CCSU with a .355 batting average in her final season, while Liz Montemurro paced the pitching staff with a 6-3 record and 1.62 earned run average in her first season.

In 2007, the Blue Devils finished above .500 with a 10-8 record in the Northeast Conference.  They placed fifth while compiling the most overall wins (18) since 1994.  Senior third basemen Pam Shifrin, a 2007 All-Northeast Conference first team recipient, posted a team-high in batting average at .303, while fellow departing senior Alison Rossi led CCSU with eight home runs and 28 RBIs.  Rossi also shined in the classroom, being named a first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree.

In recent years Roczniak has coached many players toward individual accomplishments, including eight All-Northeast Conference members.  Outfielder Kristin Kropp, a 2005 graduate, earned All-NEC first team honors three years in a row and was an All-Northeast Region second team selection during her senior season.  Roczniak coached three All-NEC recipients, first teamer Shifrin and second team award winners Allie Falco and Karen Costes, in 2007. 

During the 2007 season, Central Connecticut had five players receive National Fastpitch Coaches Association Academic All-American honors, the most under a Roczniak-coached team.  Among the recipients were Rossi, Costes, Rachel Brenneman, Heather Goscinski and Caylee Johanson.

In Roczniak’s inaugural campaign, CCSU posted its second-highest number of wins (10) over the previous five years, recorded its best NEC record (6-16) in the three seasons Central Connecticut had been a league member, and tied the program’s most single-season conference wins since CCSU left the ranks of the independents in 1991.

And in 2002 she one-upped herself, as the Blue Devils recorded double-digit wins (11) for the second straight season. Outfielder Jess Harvey and catcher Stacie Signore earned spots on the NEISCA First-Team.  Harvey was further honored with her selection to the NEC Second Team.

In 2003, the Blue Devils recorded 11 wins, tying the team’s best effort over the last eight seasons. Deb Munson was tabbed as the NEISCA first team Division I catcher. 

Roczniak guided Central Connecticut to a 9-41, 7-13 NEC season in 2004 before posting the program’s best finish in 2005.  The team won 11 league games in 2005, finishing in fifth place at 11-9.  The Blue Devils were 15-32 overall.  In 2006, they went 8-38, including 4-14 in the league.

Prior to her appointment at Central Connecticut, Roczniak logged five seasons with the University of New Haven, her final two as head coach.  Before that, the Marlborough, CT resident was a three-year assistant with the Chargers, serving double-duty during two of those seasons as the team’s athletic trainer.

Before joining the New Haven staff in 1996, Roczniak was an assistant softball coach and athletic trainer at Eastern Connecticut State University for two seasons.  She also served two years as an assistant coach and athletic trainer at Wesleyan University.

A four-year softball player at Eastern Connecticut, Roczniak helped lead the Warriors to the 1986 NCAA National Championship.  Third place finishes followed in 1987 and 1988.  Her collegiate career ended with a second place finish for the Warriors in 1989.  She earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team as a senior.

Roczniak graduated from Eastern Connecticut in 1989 with a degree in Early Childhood Education and a double minor in Athletic Coaching and Athletic Training.  She earned a master’s degree in physical education with a specialization in human performance from Southern Connecticut State University.

In 1995, ECSU honored Roczniak with The Jeff Konin Athletic Trainers Award, which is presented to a former ECSU student-trainer who has gone on to earn a master’s degree and serve the community in a positive way.

Roczniak, who served a two-year presidency with the NEISCA, was inducted into the Nathan Hale-Ray High School Athletic Hall of Fame on March 15, 2003.

She also served on the NCAA Softball East Region Advisory Committee from 2006-07 and completed eight highly-intensive courses through the National Fast Pitch Coaches’ Association.  Roczniak was part of the first graduating class to attain the Four-Star Master Coach designation.