The beginning of legacies: Recent coaching changes

Anyone who has followed University of St. Francis (USF) sport programs over the past year will have noticed that there are many new leaders at the helm of programs. In total, eight programs have new head coaches for their 2026-27 seasons out of the 19 teams that the school boasts. This is a 42% turnover rate, a mark over four times the national average of 10.2% as reported in a study done by coachad.com over the last two school years. 

Of the six coaches that are gone, three of them stepped away from USF for other opportunities. These coaches were Alyssa Moreno, John McGinty and Alexandra Whittenhall of the Softball, Women’s Basketball and Dance programs respectively. 

The other three coaches retired from their respective sports. Former women’s volleyball head coach Cara Currier retired after 24 seasons in the program, and also served as USF's assistant athletic director for 25 years. Mark Ortega, who headed the women’s tennis team for eight seasons and the men for three, also retired; along with Paul Downey, former men’s golf head coach, who coached for 31 years. 

After being an assistant to Coach McGinty for three seasons, Jimmy Copenhaver will now lead the women’s basketball program. Copenhaver was a head coach previously for travel basketball teams for three years, but this will be his first time at the helm of a college team. He will be assisted by former star player Le’Lani Harris. 

A veteran coach in the high school golf world, Matt Eber will coach his first college team this fall season while still serving as Lockport Township High School’s head coach. In 14 years as Lockport’s head coach, he has led six teams to the state tournament, two of which finished in the top six. He also coached the individual state champion in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019. 

An NAIA All-American for the Fighting Saints dance team, Brianna Hoffman is the new head coach for her alma mater after serving as Wittenhall’s assistant last year. A former captain of the team, Hoffman will try to help to bring them back to nationals since their last appearance in 2024, when she was a junior. 

Another assistant coach taking over for a program is Mike Kaddatz, the new Softball head coach. Kaddatz served as an assistant to Alyssa Moreno for the past two seasons, and has been tasked with the head coach position after her untimely departure. Kaddatz has led numerous travel teams to national championships and will look to bring that winning culture to the USF program. 

Tom Wappel brings both experience and youth to the men’s and women’s tennis program. A former CCAC tennis player with Holy Cross College, Wappel was an assistant coach at Prairie State College before becoming the women’s head coach at Oakland City University, in Oakland City, Ind. for two seasons. He would make the NAIA tournament in both of those seasons, and looks to make it a third straight with the Saints. 

Taking over for both the women’s volleyball team and the newly formed men’s volleyball team is Tom Welsh. Welsh comes to USF after leading both the men and women at Trinity Christian for one season. Welsh has also previously served as head coach at both Morton College in Cicero, Ill. and Joliet Junior College. 

Along with having to replace these coaches, USF also had to find a new Assistant Athletic Director after Currier’s retirement. Wendy Reid, the former Sports Information Director at Olivet Nazarene University, will fill the role for this school year.

The question remains how these rookie coaches will perform with their teams this year. Some, however, may be beginning to build their legacies as a crucial part of USF athletics for years to come.