Capello Named Simmons Head Softball Coach

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications

BOSTON, Mass. – Brook Capello has been named Head Softball Coach at Simmons College, it was announced today by Director of Athletics Ali Kantor. 

Capello becomes the 10th Head Softball Coach in school history and replaces Anne Hennigan Forsythe, who stepped down after seven seasons, following the birth of her first child. 

We are so pleased to welcome Brook to Simmons," said Kantor. "We are fortunate to have a coach of Brook's caliber join the Simmons Athletics Department. In addition to being a proven successful coach, Brook is an exceptional mentor, who we expect to guide the already successful program that Annie built into a perennial conference champion." 

The Massachusetts native comes to Boston following a nine-year stint at Newbury College, where she served as the Nighthawks' Head Coach for the past five years and was an Assistant Coach in her first four seasons in Brookline. Under Capello, Newbury reached new heights. She directed the Nighthawks to a pair of 20-win seasons, including a school record 21 victories in 2013. The 2013 campaign saw Newbury record a 12-6 mark in New England Collegiate Conference play to earn the number three seed, before finishing as the league runner-up following an appearance in the NECC Championship contest. Capello was rewarded by being named the NECC Coach of the Year as well as Newbury College's Coach of the Year. 

In her five years as the Head Coach with the Nighthawks, Capello won 76 games to stand as the program's all-time leader in coaching victories and turned in a 57-52 mark in her last three years. The field general coached Newbury to four winning campaigns in conference play, racking up a 51-37 mark against NECC opponents, including a 35-19 (.648) record over the last three years. 

Capello has proven to be an excellent recruiter as evidenced by 22 All-Conference honorees, including 10 First Teamers and the school's first-ever All-Region recipient. Her players have rewritten the Nighthawks' record book with improving offensive and defensive numbers since her promotion to Head Coach. The squad has broken 72 school records, including hitting, pitching and fielding standards. Her players have also been exceptional student-athletes performing well off the field as well, with 22 individuals earning National Fastpitch Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete accolades. Her team turned in the ninth-highest grade point average among NCAA Division III squads in 2014 and last season ranked second in the nation to earn the NFCA Top 10 Award for the second straight year. 

In her first season at the helm in 2011, the Nighthawks improved in all facets of the game, besting their previous season totals in eight categories, which helped them to their first-ever appearance in the NECC semifinals with a 9-7 conference record. 

In addition to coaching at Newbury, Capello has also coached with the highly respected Polar Crush organization, which sponsors a pair of Under-18 programs. She was the Head Coach of the program's Elite Team and more recently has given her time as an Assistant Coach for the Gold Team, which travels all across the country. 

Prior to the 2011 season, Capello spent four years as an assistant coach with Newbury. As an assistant coach with the Nighthawks, she helped the program earn double-digit wins for the first time in school history, while making a pair of trips to the Association of Division III Independents Championship Tournament. 

In addition to her coaching duties, Capello also served as Assistant Director of Athletics and the Senior Woman Administrator at Newbury and was previously a Staff Assistant in the Registrars office on campus. 

A native of Hanover, Mass., she graduated from Stonehill College in 2006 with a Bachelors Degree in Criminology before earning her Masters Degree in Social Work from Boston College in 2010.