Illinois Wesleyan

Amanda Fazzari became an assistant softball coach at Illinois Wesleyan in August 2016.

A 2014 IWU graduate, she was a three-year letter winner earning All-Conference shortstop of Illinois and Wisconsin squads and All-American Scholar Athlete honors as a senior. She obtained the sixth best batting average (.368) in the conference and ended her senior season batting .313 with 14 walks (.389 on-base percentage), eight doubles, two home runs and scored 24 runs with 22 runs batted in. During her playing career, Illinois Wesleyan softball earned regular season, conference tournament, and regional championships. Fazzari assisted in setting a single season school win record (41-7) with a 21 game winning streak.

In 2017, Fazzari led the Titans to conference tournament, regional, and super regional championships with a national fifth place finish. Fazzari and the rest of the coaching staff earned Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year while guiding the development of six All-Conference and two All-Region players along with one CoSIDA Academic All-District, NCAA Finals All-Tournament team, and Elite 90 Award winners.

Before coaching at IWU, Fazzari served as an assistant softball coach at Heartland Community College. The team won the MWAC Championship with a 22-6 record and competed in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. Fazzari enhanced the team’s offensive strategy, which led to a 95 home run total (3rd nationally) and 387 runs batted in (8th nationally). As defensive coordinator and primary infield instructor, the Hawks improved their fielding percentage from .928 the year prior to .952 and turned a high of 27 double plays. Fazzari coached one Region and MWAC Player of the Year, one Third Team All-American, and three First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Conference players. Academically, she guided the development of five Academic All-Americans and nine Academic All-Conference players. Fazzari was honored to coach one MWAC Woman Athlete of the Year and Lea Plarski Award winner. 

Fazzari earned her master’s degree in kinesiology and recreation sport management from Illinois State in 2017 and served as a compliance graduate assistant. A native of Wheaton, Ill., and product of Glenbard South High School, she graduated with a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing. Fazzari recently received the Mary Nutter Scholarship from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and has previously served as an assistant softball coach at the high school and youth levels.