Jon Ladino took over as the head softball coach and Assistant Athletic Director at JWU (Providence) prior to the start of the 2022 campaign. His .682 winning percentage is No. 1 all-time in program history, and he enters the 2025 campaign 12 wins shy of becoming the third coach in JWU history to reach 100.
The 2024 edition of the Wildcats won 22 games and was one of the final four teams remaining in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament. Eight student-athletes received GNAC All-Conference honors, four of which – Hailey Erickson, Katie Scheid, Caroline Amorelli, and Mackenzie Clee – were honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
In 2023, the Wildcats won 27 games and secured the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Eight student-athletes earned all-conference accolades, including GNAC Rookie of the Year Mady Lyons – while both Erickson and Jill Pulek earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region Team accolades.
In Ladino’s first season at the helm of the program in 2022, Ladino guided the Wildcats to a 37-8 record (13-3 GNAC) and their first GNAC Championship. JWU advanced to the NCAA Regionals at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, where a win over Lesley was booked by loses to NEWMAC Champion WPI and host Arcadia.
Not only did the 2022 Wildcats set the program record for fewest losses during the regular season (six), they also established records for batting average (.398), runs (356), home runs (49), and RBI (323). JWU also finished in the top three nationally in average, runs, hits, home runs, on-base pct., slugging pct., and HBP. Individually, Kaelani Gamble belted 13 home runs – two more than the previous single-season record of 11.
A total of eight student-athletes were named to the GNAC All-Conference Team in 2022, including Clee, who was tabbed GNAC Rookie of the Year. Six student-athletes later garnered National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors, highlighted by Gamble, who also earned NFCA All-America Second Team honors.
During Ladino’s time in Providence, a total of 45 student-athletes have been named to the GNAC Academic All-Conference Team – 15 in each of his three seasons.
Prior to his arrival at JWU, Ladino – who also oversees budgets and finances for all of JWU’s 17 varsity athletic programs – spent four seasons as the head coach at Assumption College, a Division II institution in Worcester, Mass. The Greyhounds compiled a 61-53 mark during Ladino’s tenure (44-33 NE-10) and qualified for the postseason every season. Ladino coached five all-conference selections and one all-region selection. Off the field, his programed raised its team GPA from 3.10 to 3.4 from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021, and also featured 20 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes.
Ladino cut his teeth in collegiate coaching at Becker College in 2015, helping the Hawks post a 47-27 (30-6 NECC) record during his two years in Leicester and win the 2016 NECC Championship – the first in program history. He coached both the NECC Pitcher and Rookie of the Year while at Becker and saw seven student-athletes receive NECC First Team honors and seven grab a spot on the NECC All-Academic Team.
From there, Ladino moved on to Regis (MA) College, helping the Pride to a 16-13 record in his lone season in Weston in 2017. The program won a record 13 conference games behind six all-conference selections, highlighted by the NECC Pitcher of the Year, Madi McLellan.
During his time in collegiate coaching throughout New England, Ladino has also served as a Title III Academic Coach, Area Director, and First-Year Experience Instructor. He graduated from Merrimack College in 2012 with a degree in Business Administration and later received master's degree in Higher Education Student Administration from Salem State University in 2014.
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