Jen Starek enters her fourth year as head softball coach in 2025.
While at UMass Lowell, Starek has guided the team to three postseason appearances, including a championship game in 2024. She currently holds a 68-88-1 record at UMass Lowell.
Starek came to the Mill City following 15 years as the head coach at the University of New Haven.
Regarded as the all-time winningest softball coach at New Haven, Starek completed her 15th season as the head coach of the Chargers in 2021. Overall in her tenure, the Chargers have made nine NCAA postseason appearances including the program's first appearance in the Super Regionals in 2010.
"I'm so thrilled to be the next head coach of the River Hawk softball program," exclaimed Starek when hired. "I'd like to start by thanking
Peter Casey,
Sandra Roecker (Senior Associate AD) and the entire search committee for this opportunity. Coming to Lowell is a great chance to lead a group of exceptional student-athletes. I'm looking forward to the future and doing some great things for River Hawk Nation."
In 2021, Starek led the Chargers to a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Division II East Region Championships, the 13th time in the history of the program, closing out the 2021 season with a 28-9 overall record, the 12th time in her tenure with 25+ wins.
Over her career, Starek has coached six All-Americans including 2010 graduate Breanne Gleason who is a three-time All-America and the Daktronics East Region Pitcher and Player of the Year, the only player under Starek to earn that distinction. Additionally, 20 of Starek's players have been named to All-Region teams, while over 40 have earned All-Conference distinction, including three NE10 Player of the Year honorees, two Rookie, one Defensive and one Pitcher of the Year.
In addition to her players' accolades, Starek is a two-time NE10 Coach of the Year, most recently in 2014 when she led New Haven to the Southwest Division regular-season title. Starek claimed the honors for the first time during the 2010 season as she guided the Blue and Gold to a program-record 42 wins and made the longest NCAA postseason run in program history, finishing the spring ranked No. 16 in the NFCA Division II Top 25 poll.
As the longest tenured coach in New Haven history, Starek held a record of 418-235-2 (.640) with the Chargers and a career record of 529-379-3 (.582), including previous head coaching stints at Mount Ida and Simmons.
Prior to her arrival at New Haven, Starek spent two years as head softball and field hockey coach at Simmons College in Boston. The Sharks' 2006 softball team won the Colleges of the Fenway Tournament and scored an opening-round win in the Great Northeast Atlantic Conference (GNAC) Playoffs. The team posted a 19-19 record overall, including wins in seven of the team's last nine games, to improve upon a 17-22 mark from 2005. She was also the co-head coach of Pressure Softball's 16U Team during 2005 and 2006.
Previously, Starek has been head softball coach, assistant athletic director and an adjunct professor of sports management at Mount Ida College (2003-04). She was also an assistant softball coach at her alma mater, Springfield College, from 2001-03 which included the programs second-highest win total in a 17-year span with a 33-12 overall record in 2003.
A standout softball and field hockey player at Springfield, Starek graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training from Springfield College in 2001 and earned an MS in athletic administration in 2003. As a catcher and outfielder in softball, she was twice a NEWMAC First Team All-Conference selection (2000, 2001), NFCA All-New England Second Team (2001), and NEISCA Division III second team All-Star (1999). The Pride won their first-ever NEWMAC Tournament in 2000, advancing to the NCAA Tournament with a 30-17-1 record. The following season as a senior, Starek led Springfield to a 41-10 record, their highest win total in at least 17 years.
Additionally, Starek led the Pride field hockey team to NEWMAC titles 1998, 1999 and 2000. They advanced to the national championship game in 2000, her final season.
Making her return to the Bay State, Starek is a native of Holliston, Mass.
