Gina McCool was elevated to Saint Joseph's head coach in May 2023. Prior to that, she spent five seasons as an assistant with the Hawks.
2025 saw the SJU continue to make strides forward, winning 30 games for the 12th time in program history and the first time since 2013. Marla Freiwald was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and finished in the top-10 nationally in saves. Hailey Mailto and Sierra Fretz were named First Team All-Conference with Fretz becoming just the seventh player in team history to record double-digit homers in a season. Additionally, Taylor Trowbridge was named to the A-10 All-Tournament Team. The Hawks also won 19 games away from the SJU softball field, its most wins in road and neutral site games since 2019. In the classroom, St, Joe's posted a 3.42 GPA for the year with Fretz, Malito, Trowbridge, Sarah Cancila and Meghan Sinkus named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District. Furthermore, 10 student-athletes earned Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors.
In her first season at the helm in 2024, McCool guided Saint Joseph's to 22 wins, including a 14-12 mark in Atlantic 10 play. The Hawks advanced to the conference tournament and won a game at the league championship for the first time since 2022. Cancila and Kayla Tauber were named A-10 Second team with Haley McMenamin and Gianna Muhaw picking up Rookie Team accolades.
Coming to Hawk Hill in 2018 as an assistant coach, McCool was promoted to associate head coach in 2021 and served in that position until being elevated to head coach.
In her first season with the Hawks in 2018-19, McCool helped SJU advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship. Individually, Molly Kapala and Sarah Ostaszewski earned All-Conference honors, while as a team, Saint Joseph's finished third in the A-10 in runs scored (255) and RBI (224), while defensively topping the conference in double plays turned with 25.
Coaching through a shortened season in 2019-20, McCool helped transition a lineup of veterans and newcomers to mold together and play as one quickly through a challenging non-conference slate that featured multiple postseason teams including No. 4 Arizona.
In 2021, McCool guided the Hawks to the Atlantic 10 North Division title, and saw the Hawks host the A-10 Championship for the first time in program history. Along the way, McCool helped Caela Abadie set a new program record for home runs, while Sarah Ostaszewski set a new program record for doubles.
McCool came to Hawk Hill after spending three seasons as an assistant at Army West Point. Serving as primary assistant, McCool coordinated the Black Knights' recruiting, and specialized in defensive strategies as the team posted a 101-69 overall record from 2016-18. Under her guidance, 14 student-athletes garnered All-Patriot League honors and five captured NFCA All-District accolades.
Prior to starting her collegiate coaching career, McCool was a four-year standout at shortstop for Rider. Starting all 193 games from 2012-15, she capped her career tied for 23rd all-time in career hits (147) and garnered Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic honors three time. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.
A native of Marlton, New Jersey, McCool was a three-year letterwinner at Cherokee High School where she earned All-South Jersey and First Team All-Conference accolades twice.
