Softball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Phone:
- 401/863-3934
- Email:
- kara_willis@brown.edu
- Joined Brown:
- Second Season
- Alma Mater:
- University of Massachusetts, Boston '12
Kara Willis, a former assistant coach at Dayton, Hartford, Rhode Island, and UMass Boston, enters her second season as an assistant coach with the Brown softball program in 2018-19 after joining the team in October 2017.
In 2018, Willis coached a pair of All-Ivy performers, including First Team All-Ivy and Third Team NFCA All-Northeast Region honoree Meghan Wimmer ’19. Willis helped lead the Bears to their first series win over Harvard since 2004.
Prior to starting with the Bears, Willis spent two seasons at the University of Dayton (2016-17) and one year each at the University of Hartford (2015), the University of Rhode Island (2014), and the University of Massachusetts, Boston (2013).
During her time with Dayton, Willis coached the 2016 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year, two NFCA First Team All-Mid-Atlantic pitchers, and two First Team All-Atlantic 10 pitchers. She mentored a pitching staff that ranked seventh in the NCAA in team ERA in 2016.
A native of Burrillville, R.I., Willis served as the pitching coach during her stints with Hartford and Rhode Island and helped the Rams earn their first Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week winner in over a decade.
During all three of her Division I stops, she held responsibilities surrounding camps and clinics, community service initiatives, social media outreach, and travel and budget operations.
Willis began her collegiate coaching career at UMass Boston, tutoring five all-conference honorees, one NFCA All-Region selection, and one ECAC All-Star student-athlete.
A 2012 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Willis enjoyed a stellar four-year career with the Beacons, finishing as the school’s all-time leader in wins (25), strikeouts (223), complete games (52), and innings pitched (393).
