Julie Gerdes
Pitching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator

Former University of Northern Iowa standout pitcher Julie Gerdes enters her fourth season with the Panthers. Gerdes came to the Panther staff after serving as the pitching coach at Wartburg College from 2005-07 and also assisting head coach Ryan Jacobs at Cedar Falls High School from 2004-07. As an assistant coach at Wartburg, Gerdes helped lead the Knights to a combined 102-23 record and two Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championships, including a 2006 IIAC regular season title. Not only did Gerdes assist with pitching at Wartburg from 2005-2007; she also helped Jacobs with pitching duties at Cedar Falls High School. Gerdes helped lead the Tigers to a 32-10 mark in 2007 and was ranked as high as fifth in Iowa's Class 4A.

A 2000 graduate of Burlington High School, Gerdes began her collegiate softball career at Kirkwood Community College where she earned NJCAA Region XI first team honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and also National Coaches Association-Louisville Slugger All-American first team. Gerdes pitching record at Kirkwood was an impressive 41-10 over two seasons, helping Kirkwood to an 84-29 team record. Following her career at Kirkwood; Gerdes joined the Panther pitching staff and tallied a 12-6 pitching record in her first season. She threw over 100 innings in each of her years as a Panther, and posted 17 complete games, including 12 in her junior season. Gerdes graduated from UNI in 2005 with a degree in Mathematics and taught at Cedar Falls High School from 2005-2007.

Ashley Gilland
Assistant Coach

University of Northern Iowa head softball coach Ryan Jacobs has announced the hiring of assistant coach Ashley Gilland to the Panther coaching staff for the 2010-11 season.
"Ashley is a great addition to our coaching staff," Jacobs said. "She is an excellent communicator, relates very well with the student-athletes, and has a passion for the game that is easy to see. We are very excited to have Ashley in our program and believe she will help us continue to build on our success at UNI."

Gilland spent four years with the Western Illinois softball program as a player and a graduate assistant coach from 2005-2009.

She served as a graduate assistant coach for the 2008 and 2009 seasons where she worked primarily with the infield.

In 2008, WIU won the Summit League title and advanced to the 2008 NCAA Division I Regional tournament in Evanston, Ill. The following year, WIU captured the Summit League regular season title and hosted the conference tournament in Macomb, Ill.

She spent her first two years playing third base for the Leathernecks and was a volunteer student assistant coach in her final year of undergraduate studies. In 2006, Gilland was named team captain and saw action in all 56 games. She was a three-time Dean's List honoree at WIU.

Gilland transferred from Santa Fe Community College in 2005 and received a bachelor's degree in business management at Western Illinois in 2007.

Gilland spent the 2009-10 academic year working as a marketing assistant at the Murray State University in Murray, Ky. At Murray State, she coordinated the marketing and promotion efforts for softball, volleyball and women's basketball while also assisting with efforts in football and men's basketball.

The Ocala, Fla., native earned a master's degree in sport management at WIU in May 2009.

Tina Vande Hoef
Volunteer Assistant Coach

Tina Vande Hoef is in her first season as a volunteer assistant coach for the UNI Panthers' softball squad. Vande Hoef began her collegiate playing career at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. She transferred to Wartburg College where she completed her collegiate caeer. In 2007 at Northwestern, Vande Hoef batted .360 and was a first-team all-GPAC selection. Vande Hoef was second-team all-conference and second-team all-region pick at Wartburg in 2010 after starting all 34 games at third base. As a senior, she batted .383 for the Knights. She was a first-team all-IIAC honoree in 2009 after hitting .374 as an outfielder. Vande Hoef served as an assistant softball coach at Sibley-Ocheyedan High School in 2007 and 2008. She is slated to graduate from Wartburg in December with a degree in physical education and a minor in heath with a coaching endorsement. She and her husband, Brett, reside in Waverly.