COACHING STAFF

Head Coach Jen Lane

Jen Lane is an Adjunct Professor of Physical Education at Wesleyan and will be in her 19th season at the helm of the Wesleyan softball program in 2019.  She also serves as the co-director of the A+ Athletics Advantage program at Wesleyan.

Lane led the Cardinals to a 21-14 record in 2016.  In 2013, she led Wesleyan to the NESCAC tournament for the fifth time in seven years and a 24-12 overall record.  That year the Cardinals also won the Little Three title for the second time in program history.  In 2010, she led the team to a school-record 24 victories after back-to-back 21-win seasons in 2007 and 2008, and back-to-back NESCAC West titles in 2008 and 2009. The Cardinals captured their first overall NESCAC crown and automatic berth in the NCAA tournament in 2010. For that effort, Lane was named NESCAC Coach of the Year. During the 2008 season, the Cardinals won the NESCAC West title for the first time and earned the right to host the NESCAC championship, where they finished as runners-up. Wesleyan repeated the effort in 2009 and finished second to Tufts once again. The Cardinals also won their first Little Three title in 2008.  For her team’s success in 2008, Lane received her first NESCAC honor as Co-Softball Coach of the Year.

During the summer, Lane travels throughout New England, as well as to tournaments in Pennsylvania and Colorado, to assess high-school talent. She is the director of the Cardinal Softball School at Wesleyan, and also instructs at other softball camps in the Northeast.  Lane attends the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association’s annual convention and has achieved the level of 2-star Master Coach through the National Fastpitch Coaches’ College. She is the treasurer of the New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association (NEISCA) and serves on various committees for that organization.

Before coming to Wesleyan in the summer of 2001, Lane coached at her alma mater, NESCAC and Little Three rival Amherst College, while earning her Master's degree in exercise and sports studies at Smith College. In 1999, she was an assistant with the Amherst softball team before moving into a co-head coach position in 2000 and 2001. She was an assistant with the field hockey program at Amherst for two years as well, including the 1999 season when the Purple and White finished as the NCAA Division III national runners-up. During her undergraduate years at Amherst, Lane captained both the softball (1997,1998) and field hockey (1997) teams. As a pitcher, she helped lead the Purple and White to a No. 16 finish in the country her senior year, and was named to the New England Regional All-Tournament Team. A sweeper in field hockey, Lane played in the Division III North-South All-Star game in 1997.

Originally from Hatfield, Mass., Lane was a four-year, three-sport (field hockey, basketball and softball) varsity standout at Smith Academy. She is married to Jimmy Lane, Jr. They have four children: Julia, Andrew, and twins William and Olivia.