Illinois Wesleyan

OVERALL: 237-99-1, .705 (eight seasons, 2017-24)
CCIW: 100-26, .794 (five seasons, 2017-19, 2024)

The recipient of a number of honors as a player at Illinois State and a former assistant coach at Illinois Wesleyan, Tiffany Prager was chosen as IWU's next head softball coach in August 2016. The 2025 campaign will be her ninth at the helm of the Titans. 

Under the direction of Prager, the Titans have won four College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championships. Prager's teams have claimed the CCIW Tournament title five times and have made five NCAA Tournament appearances. Three of her squads made the NCAA Division III World Series, including a runner-up finish in 2018.

In all, Illinois Wesleyan has seen 42 student-athletes earn All-CCIW with Prager at the helm, along with two CCIW Player of the Year awardees, three CCIW Hitters of the Year, and two CCIW Pitcher of the Year honorees. She mentored the program's first-ever Gold Glove Award recipients in 2024 as first baseman Ava Khoury and third baseman Casey Wissmiller garnered the prestigious honor. Prager and her staff have been voted the conference's coaching staff of the year three times (2019, 2023, 2024).

Most recently, Prager's squad finished up the 2024 season with a 31-12 overall record. The Titans swept the CCIW regular season and tournament championships, making an NCAA Tournament appearance. A total of seven student-athletes received All-CCIW status, all garnering first team distinction. Gianna Certa was voted the conference's pitcher of the year, while Bailey Turner was named CCIW Defensive Player of the Year. 

IWU posted a 27-15 record (12-4 CCIW) and won the CCIW Tournament Championship in 2022, while playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. Colleen Palczynski repeated as the CCIW's Player of the Year and was voted NFCA All-Region. Along with Palczynski, Hayley Earl and Bailey Turner were first team selections. Nina Mardjetko and Natalie Grubczak garnered Second Team All-CCIW honors.

In a shortened 2020 season, Prager guided the Titans to a 9-1 record, including an upset of No. 2 ranked Chirstopher Newport. IWU finished the year ranked No. 4 in the final NFCA Coaches Poll. Additionally, the season saw Ally Wiegand named the NFCA Pitcher of the Week following a perfect game in IWU's season opener. Wiegand and fellow senior Sam Berghoff also went on to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and advanced to the Academic All-American ballot.

In just her second season as IWU head coach, Prager led the Titans to a 40-14-1 record and a second place finish in the NCAA Division III Championships. IWU made its 13th NCAA Division III Tournament and advanced to the final eight for the third consecutive season.

In her first season, Prager's team had a 37-15 record and played in the NCAA Division III Championships for the 12th time in school history. IWU was in the round of eight for the second straight season. 
 
A Titan softball assistant in 2012 and 2013, Prager was an assistant coach at the University of Dayton for three seasons. She served as the top assistant for the Flyers softball staff from 2015 until taking over at IWU.
 
At Dayton, she helped lead the Flyers to the program's first Atlantic 10 regular season championship and first appearance in the A-10 conference title game in 2015, when the squad set season records for wins (39), conference wins (20), and batting average (.291).

As a graduate assistant at Illinois State in 2014, Prager assisted with day-to-day program operations, recruitment, hitting and defensive instruction and coaching first base.  She also coordinated travel and meal arrangements and monitored team academic study tables.

Prager was a three-year starter and two-year captain for Illinois State as a second baseman and still ranks among the all-time ISU leaders in doubles, sacrifice hits and games played in a season.  She was a first team all-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a senior when she hit .350 with nine doubles. As a sophomore she was a second team All-MVC selection and was named to the 2006 MVC all-tournament team.

In 2007, Prager led Illinois State and the MVC with 16 doubles and was seventh in the nation in sacrifice hits per game (0.42). She hit .304 with 59 hits, 36 runs and a .418 slugging percentage.

Prager, who amassed impressive academic honors to match her softball feats, earned her bachelor's degree in business administration in 2008 and received her master's degree in sports administration in December 2014.

She received ISU's Laurie Mabry Award in 2007, which is given to a student-athlete whom best exemplifies positive values and attitudes that can be learned through athletics.  For two years at ISU, Prager was an academic all-district selection, a first team all-MVC Scholar-Athlete, a recipient of the State Farm Student-Athlete Academic Excellence Good Neighbor Award (2006, 2007) and a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athlete (2005, 2006).

A product of Stanford (Ill.) Olympia High School, she led the Spartans to the IHSA Class A state softball championships in 2002 and 2003 and a second place finish in 2001. She was elected to the Olympia High School Hall of Fame. She began her coaching career as a hitting instructor for individual players and summer teams in the Bloomington-Normal area.
 

# - NCAA Tournament Appearance
* - CCIW Regular Season Champion
^ - Season shortened due to COVID-19
$ - CCIW Postseason Tournament Champion

Updated Dec. 5, 2024