Jun. 2—VERMILLION — ‘Coach Piv’ is taking over Coyote softball.
The University of South Dakota announced Tuesday that Shannon Pivovar will be the program’s 11th head coach, replacing Robert Wagner, who led the Coyotes to their first-ever NCAA tournament berth in May but parted ways with the school soon after.
Pivovar was an assistant under Wagner for the last three years, and prior to that spent five years as the head coach at Division II USF. Before that, she spent four years as an assistant for South Dakota State, helping Krista Wood turn the Jackrabbits into an NCAA tournament team. Wood is now the head coach at Creighton.
Pivovar went 109-113 in her head coaching tenure at USF.
“I could not be more humbled and excited for the opportunity to be the next head softball coach at the University of South Dakota,” Pivovar said in a statement released by the school. “The commitment level towards the overall growth of the softball student-athletes, the experiences afforded to them on and off the field, and the ability to ‘play for the paw’ have been evident in my first three years on staff, and I am anxious to continue that moving forward. There is something special about being at the flagship university of South Dakota and it is something I am excited to get to recruit to and put our own stamp on. I am very thankful to President Gestring, Jon Schemmel and all of senior staff for the trust given to me to build off the foundation that has been laid by the previous 48 years of USD softball. It’s a heck of a day to be a Coyote.”
Pivovar started her collegiate coaching career at Wayne State (Neb.) as a graduate assistant for the 2014 season after serving as a coach at Ralston and Marian High Schools in Omaha, while also a program coach for the Nebraska Fury / Nebraska Gold Fast Pitch Softball.
Before getting into the coaching ranks, Pivovar served as an assistant sports information director at Creighton.
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Pivovar had a stellar collegiate career at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri where she was a three-time All-Conference performer for the Griffons. She was also a 2008 All-Region performer and the 2010 Missouri Western Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Pivovar sits top-10 in five offensive categories at Missouri Western State in her career, including sitting sixth in career at-bats (692) and eighth in doubles (40) while also being sixth in both most games played (226) and career starts (224).
Pivovar earned her degree from Missouri Western State in 2010 with a degree in sports management. She went on to earn her master’s degree from Wayne State in 2018.
“I’m excited to announce Shannon as the next head coach for the University of South Dakota Softball program,” said USD athletic director Jon Schemmel. ‘Piv’ has great pride in the University of South Dakota and her passion for Coyote Softball and our student-athletes is contagious. She is the right person to lead our program and is committed to building upon the relationships she already has while providing an elite holistic student-athlete experience.”