Softball Program Gets New Head Coach

Kalamazoo Valley Community College has named Lisa Karau as head softball coach, assuming the reins from Emily VanFleet who is now the pitching coach at Kalamazoo College. Karau started Dec. 5.

Karau played softball at the high school, community college and university levels. Her prowess led to her being recruited to play softball at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa while she was in high school. After a year at Ellsworth, she transferred and played at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for three additional years, where she earned a degree in physical education as a major and health education as a minor.

Karau perfected her coaching skills in the K-12 setting in Wisconsin and Michigan. Most recently, she was the girls' junior varsity softball and assistant girls' basketball coach at Paw Paw High School during Winter/Spring 2023. In Spring 2022, she served as the girl's junior varsity softball coach for Michigan's Belleville High School. Prior to that, she coached girls' softball, girls' varsity basketball and boys' varsity basketball for several Wisconsin high schools.

"I have a huge passion for coaching and am eager to take my experience as a student-athlete at the collegiate level and coaching experience to the next level by coaching at the collegiate level," said Karau, who professionally teaches physical education and other subjects to upper elementary, middle school and high school students.

Athletic Director Russ Panico said he is excited to have Karau join Kalamazoo Valley's strong softball program. "Because of her past experiences as a student-athlete at the community college and four-year university level, she is highly relatable to our current and future softball players to be recruited," Panico said. "She is well-versed in the game of softball and will do a great job in developing players to be ready for the next level of softball at four-year colleges and universities."

The first Conference home game will be 3 p.m. Friday, March 22 vs. Jackson Community College on the softball field at Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Texas Township Campus. Admission is free to all home games. Visit athletics.kvcc.edu for the full schedule