Following a standout career at the University of Minnesota, Briana Hassett has joined the Macalester softball staff as the team's new pitching coach.

Hassett led all NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeouts last spring as a senior, fanning 414 batters in 307 innings in the circle, while posting a 1.87 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .182 batting average. She pitched in 51 of 55 of Minnesota's games and was the starter for the Gophers in 47 of them.

Hassett is a two-time second team All-Big 10 choice and is heading to play in Australia this winter before returning to the Mac staff next spring. As a junior, she pitched the Gophers to a remarkable 1-0 shutout in a 13-inning marathon against No. 25 Iowa in Iowa City.

A native of Eagan, Minn., Coach Hassett started 119 games in her Gopher career. She majored in Business at the U of M and was a CoSida Academic All-District selection.