The University of Mississippi Athletics
Trachsel Adds Rietkovich Browder as Assistant Coach
5/2/2020 | Softball
Former Rebel Coach Returning to Oxford
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss head coach Jamie Trachsel made the first addition to her coaching staff on Friday, adding Katie Rietkovich Browder as an assistant coach. A former assistant coach at Ole Miss for three seasons from 2016-18, Rietkovich Browder spent the last two campaigns on Trachsel's staff at Minnesota.
"It is with great pride that we announce Katie Rietkovich Browder as part of our softball staff and family," said Trachsel. "Her tireless work ethic, knowledge and passion for the game as well as her fearless mindset and commitment to developing student-athletes into strong, confident young women makes her a perfect fit for our staff. She will be a key piece as we build a championship caliber culture and softball program here in Oxford. I welcome her and her family to our Rebel family and am excited to begin our journey together at Ole Miss."
Rietkovich Browder will primarily be tasked with leading the Rebel offense as the teams hitting coach, the same role she served for the Golden Gophers.
"First and foremost, I want to thank Jamie for the opportunity to return to Ole Miss," said Rietkovich Browder. "This town and this program hold a special place in my heart and I could not be more thrilled to be back. The passion and support around this program is special and I'm proud to be a part of it. I'm excited to get to work and compete for more championships here in Oxford. Hotty Toddy!"
The former Georgia Bulldog was pivotal in the establishment of Ole Miss as a standard for the slap-style of hitting, perfecting the craft of standout Rebel slappers like Kylan Becker, Elantra Cox and Paige McKinney. During Ole Miss' historic 2017 season, more than a quarter of the Rebels' hits never left the infield.
Rietkovich Browder also worked closely with the Rebel catchers during her initial stint at Ole Miss, including Courtney Syrett and Autumn Gillespie. Syrett ranked second in the SEC in 2017 with six runners thrown out, committing just two errors on the season. Meanwhile, since arriving in Oxford, Gillespie has been one of the most feared arms behind the plate in the nation.
Following the 2018 season, Rietkovich Browder was hired by Trachsel as an assistant coach at Minnesota, immediately making an impact and helping the Gophers to a magical run to the Women's College World Series in her first season. In recognition of their success, Rietkovich Browder and the rest of the Minnesota coaches were named the 2019 NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Rietkovich Browder's Minnesota offense left their mark in the Golden Gopher record book during her lone complete season in Minneapolis, ranking second all-time in home runs (72), third in walks (225), fifth in doubles (87) and fifth in slugging percentage (.496). The Savannah, Georgia, native developed three First Team All-Big Ten honorees in Hope Brandner, MaKenna Partain and Natalie DenHartog.
Partain flourished in the leadoff spot under Rietkovich, breaking the school single season runs record with 66 and single game runs record with five in a game. Meanwhile, Brandner, a transfer from Oregon State, finished second all-time in single season home runs, crushing 19.
Rietkovich Browder's most impressive work may have been the job she did coaching freshman DenHartog. After not beginning the year as a starter, DenHartog led the Gophers in slugging percentage (.780) and RBIs (64) and was second on the team in batting average (.373) and home runs (17). DenHartog was named a top-3 finalist for the NFCA Freshman of the Year award. The slugger went on to lead the Gophers in virtually every category in the shortened 2020 season and earned Softball America Shortened Season All-American honors.
Rietkovich Browder got her start in coaching at Savannah State, where she served for one year under head coach Jose Gonzalez as an assistant.
Rietkovich Browder made a few stops during her playing career, starting at Georgia under head coach Lu Harris-Champer, where she was a part of the Bulldogs' third-place finish at the 2010 Women's College World Series. After her stint at Georgia, she played at the NAIA level at both South Carolina-Beaufort and Reinhardt University. In addition to her WCWS trip, she was a part of trips to two NCAA Regionals, two NCAA Super Regionals and an NAIA postseason run.
Rietkovich Browder earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from USCB in December 2014. She completed her Master's Degree in Kinesiology from Georgia Southern in July 2016.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.
"It is with great pride that we announce Katie Rietkovich Browder as part of our softball staff and family," said Trachsel. "Her tireless work ethic, knowledge and passion for the game as well as her fearless mindset and commitment to developing student-athletes into strong, confident young women makes her a perfect fit for our staff. She will be a key piece as we build a championship caliber culture and softball program here in Oxford. I welcome her and her family to our Rebel family and am excited to begin our journey together at Ole Miss."
Rietkovich Browder will primarily be tasked with leading the Rebel offense as the teams hitting coach, the same role she served for the Golden Gophers.
"First and foremost, I want to thank Jamie for the opportunity to return to Ole Miss," said Rietkovich Browder. "This town and this program hold a special place in my heart and I could not be more thrilled to be back. The passion and support around this program is special and I'm proud to be a part of it. I'm excited to get to work and compete for more championships here in Oxford. Hotty Toddy!"
The former Georgia Bulldog was pivotal in the establishment of Ole Miss as a standard for the slap-style of hitting, perfecting the craft of standout Rebel slappers like Kylan Becker, Elantra Cox and Paige McKinney. During Ole Miss' historic 2017 season, more than a quarter of the Rebels' hits never left the infield.
Rietkovich Browder also worked closely with the Rebel catchers during her initial stint at Ole Miss, including Courtney Syrett and Autumn Gillespie. Syrett ranked second in the SEC in 2017 with six runners thrown out, committing just two errors on the season. Meanwhile, since arriving in Oxford, Gillespie has been one of the most feared arms behind the plate in the nation.
Following the 2018 season, Rietkovich Browder was hired by Trachsel as an assistant coach at Minnesota, immediately making an impact and helping the Gophers to a magical run to the Women's College World Series in her first season. In recognition of their success, Rietkovich Browder and the rest of the Minnesota coaches were named the 2019 NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Rietkovich Browder's Minnesota offense left their mark in the Golden Gopher record book during her lone complete season in Minneapolis, ranking second all-time in home runs (72), third in walks (225), fifth in doubles (87) and fifth in slugging percentage (.496). The Savannah, Georgia, native developed three First Team All-Big Ten honorees in Hope Brandner, MaKenna Partain and Natalie DenHartog.
Partain flourished in the leadoff spot under Rietkovich, breaking the school single season runs record with 66 and single game runs record with five in a game. Meanwhile, Brandner, a transfer from Oregon State, finished second all-time in single season home runs, crushing 19.
Rietkovich Browder's most impressive work may have been the job she did coaching freshman DenHartog. After not beginning the year as a starter, DenHartog led the Gophers in slugging percentage (.780) and RBIs (64) and was second on the team in batting average (.373) and home runs (17). DenHartog was named a top-3 finalist for the NFCA Freshman of the Year award. The slugger went on to lead the Gophers in virtually every category in the shortened 2020 season and earned Softball America Shortened Season All-American honors.
Rietkovich Browder got her start in coaching at Savannah State, where she served for one year under head coach Jose Gonzalez as an assistant.
Rietkovich Browder made a few stops during her playing career, starting at Georgia under head coach Lu Harris-Champer, where she was a part of the Bulldogs' third-place finish at the 2010 Women's College World Series. After her stint at Georgia, she played at the NAIA level at both South Carolina-Beaufort and Reinhardt University. In addition to her WCWS trip, she was a part of trips to two NCAA Regionals, two NCAA Super Regionals and an NAIA postseason run.
Rietkovich Browder earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from USCB in December 2014. She completed her Master's Degree in Kinesiology from Georgia Southern in July 2016.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.
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