BILL EDWARDS
HEAD SOFTBALL COACH

Bill Edwards has completed 18 seasons as Hofstra University Head Softball Coach, and he has been the architect of a program that has grown to national prominence. He has led Hofstra to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament in both the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and has helped the Pride capture a remarkable 10 straight conference tournament titles from 1998-2007.   

Edwards guided Hofstra to a school record 43 wins in 2005, including two at the NCAA Regionals at Alabama, as well as the regular season and postseason Colonial Athletic Association championships. The year before, he led the Pride to the 2004 NCAA Regional finals at Stanford University. The Pride became the lowest-seeded regional finalist in NCAA Tournament history and fell just one win shy of reaching the Women's College World Series. In the last five years, Hofstra has won 10 NCAA Tournament games, including victories over Penn State, Nebraska, Auburn, Stanford and Arizona State, while defeating five pitchers who earned All-America honors during their careers.

While the last five seasons have been especially noteworthy on a national level, the Hofstra Softball program has also displayed consistent excellence over the last 18 years. Edwards and company have garnered 10 NCAA Tournament appearances (1993, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), five Colonial Athletic Association Championships (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), five America East Championships (1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), two East Coast Conference Championships (1992 and 1994), and an ECAC Championship (1993). In each of the last 16 seasons under Edwards, the Pride has won either a regular season or a postseason conference title, including 10 straight tournament championships.

Edwards, who has been a part of 18 straight winning seasons at Hofstra, coached the Pride to a #21 ranking in the final 2004 NCAA Division I Softball Poll, and a #20 ranking in the final 1994 poll. He has also led the Pride to #1 rankings in the Northeast Region Poll in 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2000.

Edwards has been named the Regional Coach of the Year eight times in his career (1993, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007). His players have also earned All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association five times, including twice by Crystal Boyd (1993, 1994) and once apiece from Alicia Smith (2000), Lisa Ciavardini (2000) and Amanda Hallaway (2003).

During the 2000 season, Edwards and the Pride set a then-school record with 42 wins, marking the third time that they had reached the 40-win plateau. Hofstra also won their third consecutive America East Championship and earned their second straight automatic bid to NCAA Regionals, where they defeated Louisiana-Lafayette before being eliminated 2-1 by seventh-ranked LSU.

In 1995, Hofstra's first season in the North Atlantic Conference, Edwards led the squad to a school-record 41-21 mark, the North Atlantic Conference Championship and a berth in Hofstra's second NCAA Tournament. For his efforts, Edwards was selected as the North Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year and Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. Edwards was also named the East Coast Conference Coach of the Year (1994) earlier in his career.

Edwards came to Hofstra from Commack High School where he coached softball for nine years. During his tenure at Commack, his teams compiled a 118-61 record and reached the Suffolk County Class A playoffs in seven of those nine years. His 1988 squad captured the Suffolk County championship and the Long Island championship, and finished third in the New York State Tournament.

Since 1986 Edwards has also served as head softball coach for the P.S.I. Couriers, an Amateur Softball Association (ASA) summer team. His 1987 team captured the Mid-Atlantic region championship and finished fifth in the national tournament, which marked the first time a Long Island team had competed in the national tournament. The P.S.I. Couriers also finished second in the region in 1986 and third in 1988 and 1989. He is also a past president of the Suffolk County Softball Coaches Association.

Edwards, a teacher in the Commack School District from 1967 through 1999, worked and coached at John F. Kennedy Junior High School, Wood Park Elementary School and Commack High School. He served two stints as freshman football coach at Kennedy Junior High School from 1972 through 1976, and 1979 and 1980, and was also the freshman baseball coach from 1975 through 1980. When he moved on to Commack, Edwards served as offensive coordinator from 1981 through 1983. During those three years, Commack won three league titles, two conference championships and one Suffolk County championship. In 1993 he served as head football coach at Commack.

In addition, Edwards also served as head ice hockey coach at Iona College from 1968 through 1979. At Iona, his teams posted a 174-58-14 record and captured four Metropolitan Collegiate championships. In 1988 Edwards was inducted into the Iona College Sports Hall of Fame.

Edwards and his wife, Janie, have two grown daughters, Shari, who played NCAA Division I softball at Northern Illinois University and coached at Hofstra, and Karen, a licensed practical nurse. Edwards received a bachelor's in physical education from Northern Michigan University in 1967 and a master's from the University at Stony Brook in 1975. The Edwards family resides in Nesconset, New York.

Edwards' College Coaching Record
1990 Hofstra University 19-17-1
1991 Hofstra University 24-13
1992 Hofstra University 35-7-1
1993 Hofstra University 37-12 (NCAA's)
1994 Hofstra University 39-16 (#20 in Nation)
1995 Hofstra University 41-21 (NAC Champions, NCAA's)
1996 Hofstra University 33-18 (NAC Regular Season Champions)
1997 Hofstra University 38-16 (America East Regular Season Champs)
1998 Hofstra University 39-17 (America East Champions)
1999 Hofstra University 40-19 (America East Champions, NCAA's)
2000 Hofstra University 42-21 (America East Champions, NCAA's)
2001 Hofstra University 37-26 (America East Champions, NCAA's)
2002 Hofstra University 28-25 (CAA Champions)
2003 Hofstra University 39-17 (CAA Champions, NCAA's)
2004 Hofstra University 38-21 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Finalists, #21 in nation)
2005 Hofstra University 43-16-1 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Finalists)
2006 Hofstra University 37-20 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Hosts)
2007 Hofstra University 41-15 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Hosts)

Total 650-317-3

LARISSA ANDERSON
ASSOCIATE HEAD SOFTBALL COACH

Anderson enters her seventh year on the coaching staff at Hofstra in 2008 and her fourth as Associate Head Coach, after spending her previous three years as an assistant. She has helped the Pride to six CAA Tournament championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances in her first six seasons on the staff. She has also helped the Pride win 10 NCAA Tournament games in the last five years, including four in 2004. She has been a part of a Hofstra staff that has won the Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year Award from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) four times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007).

Prior to coming to Hofstra, Anderson served as an assistant coach for two seasons at C.W. Post, where she helped the Pioneers to a combined 75-33 record, including a school record 42 wins during the 2000 season. She assisted in all facets of the program at C.W. Post and was in charge of coaching the pitchers and catchers. Her efforts helped the Pioneers to the 13th best team earned run average in Division II (1.11) in 2001. She was also part of a C.W. Post staff that received the Northeast Region Division II Coaching Staff of the Year award from the NFCA in 2000.

Anderson also served one season as an assistant coach at Gannon University in 1998, after being named a regional All-American outfielder in 1997. She graduated from Gannon in 1997 with a bachelor's of science degree in therapeutic recreation.

No stranger to the Hofstra athletic community, Anderson spent the 2000-01 academic year as an Administrative Assistant to the Women's Basketball program in addition to her coaching duties at C.W. Post.

Anderson currently resides in Levittown, NY with her husband, Patrick. The couple was married in October of 2001.

RYAN REALMUTO
ASSISTANT SOFTBALL COACH

Ryan Realmuto, a former four-time All-Big 12 catcher at Oklahoma State, is entering her second season as an assistant coach at Hofstra after being hired in August of 2006. She was part of a coaching staff that earned the Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) in her first year at Hofstra.

Realmuto joined the Pride already familiar with Hofstra Softball Stadium, after playing for the New York/New Jersey Juggernaut of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league in the summer of 2005, which played its home games at Hofstra.  She hit 10 home runs for the Juggernaut, ranking her third in all of the NPF, while also leading the team with 27 RBI. 

The Juggernaut moved to Philadelphia in 2006, where she was the starting catcher for the Force. She also was a member of the NPF's Texas Thunder in 2004, and earned NPF All-Star status in both 2004 with the Thunder and in 2005 with the Juggernaut.

Realmuto played college softball at Oklahoma State University from 2000-2003, earning All-Big 12 status in all four seasons. She set Oklahoma State career records for home runs (27), doubles (40), hits (162) and RBI (97). She was also a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Regional selection as a junior and senior, and was twice chosen to the Big 12's All-Academic team. She graduated in 2003 with a degree in education.

Realmuto has also found time for some coaching experience since graduating from Oklahoma State as well, in addition to her professional playing career. She was a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Missouri during the 2003-2004 season, and coached at Gwynedd Mercy Academy in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania last spring.