LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Softball Head Coach Danielle Henderson has announced the hiring of Mikayla Panko as her squad's new assistant coach. Panko comes to the River Hawks from Assumption College, where she spent the last season as the top assistant coach.
 
"I am very excited to welcome Mikayla to our program," said Henderson. "She is a great team player, and possesses the strong work ethic and enthusiasm to become a great coach. She will be able to offer the team a lot of knowledge both on and off the field."
 
In her role at Assumption, Panko assisted with game day preparation and scouting, coordinated road trips and created outfield practice plans. She also helped with field maintenance and fundraising. During her time with the Greyhounds, the squad finished third in the Northern Division of the Northeast-10 Conference with four players receiving All-Conference honors.
 
"Coaching at UMass Lowell is an amazing opportunity and I am excited to work alongside one of my former college coaches, Danielle Henderson," said Panko. "I want to thank everyone in the athletic program for welcoming me into their family, and for allowing me to be a part of a new tradition being built here at UMass Lowell. I cannot wait for this year to begin."
 
Other experience for Panko includes coaching the 16U Nor'Easters softball team out of Tewksbury, Mass., and working as a batting instructor at Aegis Hitting.
 
Panko was a four-year member of the softball team at Massachusetts. The outfielder appeared in 108 career games, making 49 starts. She totaled 34 runs, 13 RBI and seven stolen bases with a .165 batting average.
 
A native of Naperville, Illinois, Panko received her bachelor's degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from Massachusetts in 2015.