After a national search, Emilia Jackson has been named the 11th head softball coach in Ripon program history as announced by Director of Athletics Chris Schumacher on June 18, 2024.
"We are thrilled to welcome Emilia as our new head softball coach to lead our program into its next chapter,” Schumacher said. “Her energy and interpersonal skills shone brightly during the interview process, and her competitive passion for the game, coupled with her experience as a two-time All-Midwest Conference performer, is incredibly exciting for our program."
A Kenosha, Wisconsin native, Jackson is no stranger to Ripon or the Midwest Conference, previously serving as an assistant softball coach at nearby Lawrence University. Since 2021, she has served as the Vikings’ recruiting coordinator with a coaching emphasis on pitchers, catchers and defense. The 2024 season was Lawrence’s best on the diamond since 2017 – the Vikings won 14 games, their most in seven seasons, and their 2024 MWC win total was greater than or equal to their overall win total from both the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.
Jackson said: “I am thrilled to step into the ‘batter’s box’ as the new head softball coach at Ripon College! I look forward to bringing passion, strategy and teamwork to every inning. Go Red Hawks!”
In addition to her coaching duties, Jackson was an admissions counselor at Lawrence, building and managing relationships and pipelines to promote liberal arts education and Lawrence University to prospective students. She traveled to high school and college admissions events, managed correspondence with key Lawrence stakeholders and served as the athletic conduit between the admissions office and athletic department.
Jackson also has experience as a travel softball coach with The School 12U, Red Devils 10U and Hawks 10U. For nearly a decade, she served as a softball mentor at Kenosha’s Mahone and Washington middle schools.
Prior to Lawrence, Jackson was the band director at the Almond-Bancroft School District in Almond, Wisconsin. There, she doubled band enrollment, supported students to earn selection for the Middle-Level Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall and promoted multicultural experiences through exposure to multicultural professional music performances.
A former student-athlete at Lawrence, Jackson was a two-time All-Midwest Conference pitcher for the Vikings, earning first team honors in both 2019 and 2021. She collected 29 victories in the circle, ranking sixth in program history. Sporting a career earned run average of 3.91 over 437 career innings, Jackson tallied 269 career strikeouts – fourth-most in Lawrence program history. Her 0.80 strikeouts per inning in 2017 is the fourth-best mark in school history.
Jackson also played first base, second base and outfield for the Vikings, netting a .268 career batting average with 11 doubles, 39 RBI and 24 runs scored.
A National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar Athlete, Jackson earned her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Lawrence in 2021, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Athletic Coaching Education from Ball State University with an anticipated graduation date of 2025.
