Contact Coach de la Haba:
- Email: delahabc@lafayette.edu
- Office: (610) 330-5764
Caitlyn de la Haba recently capped her fifth season at the helm of the Lafayette softball program. She took over the Leopard coaching reins in July of 2017.
The team's progression, especially on the offensive side of things, was immediate. The Leopards more than doubled their run production, scoring 165 runs compared to 88 in 2017. The team also saw significant improvements in doubles (35 to 59), home runs (8 to 24), RBI (78-145), slugging percentage (.279 to .338), on-base percentage (.280 to .318) walks (72 to 118) and stolen bases (30 to 41). The final numbers in those categories were also top numbers over the last five seasons.
de la Haba's softball expertise lies in the pitching realm and she continues to mold and shape the Lafayette staff through player development and recruiting. She signed her first full recruiting class in Nov. 2018, and that began to pay dividends in her second season. In 2019, the Lafayette ledger featured a much more challenging schedule with the RPI jumping by 16 points from 2018. The pitching staff continued to make strides, allowing 69 fewer hits, 62 fewer runs and eight fewer walks from 2018 to 2019 while pitching 16 additional innings. The Leopards struck out 72 more batters in 2019 and shaved 46 points of the opponent's batting average.
In 2020, de la Haba's program bettered its RPI by 12 points from 2019 to 2020, despite just playing 12 games in the COVID-19 shortened season. The Leopards captured one of the biggest wins in recent program history with a walk-off winner vs. Kent State in the Duke University Invitational on the night before the season ended.
In the classroom, de la Haba's teams continue to perform, placing 13 on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in 2018, 10 in 2019 and a program-best 15 in 2020. In 2019, Brooke Wensel '19 was tabbed as the Patriot League Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining Maddie Wensel '19 on the Academic All-Patriot League squad for a second straight season.
In the COVID-shortened 2021 season, the Leopards placed two student-athletes, Natasha Miner and Morgan Olynyk, on the Academic All-Patriot League Team in a season in which Lafayette played 22 games.
In 2022, more honors followed as Miner was a repeat winner of Academic All-Patriot League honors while Grace Harvey also secured the award. Freshman shortstop Harlie Bickett turned in a solid rookie season to garner All-Patriot League Second-Team status. The pitching staff showed tremendous improvement, shaving five runs off its ERA from the previous season, registering a 4.31 ERA which was the lowest during de la Haba's tenure. Leopard pitchers struck out 143 batters, the second most during her five-year tenure. On the offensive side of things, the team's batting average continue to climb, reaching .226.
When de la Haba was initially hired on College Hill in 2017, she the youngest Division I head softball coach in the nation for 11 months and a day. Prior to coming to Lafayette, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach at George Mason. She worked primarily with the George Mason pitching staff, helped guide the Patriots to their second Atlantic 10 tournament appearance this past season. One of her pitchers, sophomore Marina Vitalich, earned Atlantic 10 Co-Pitcher of the Year, third-team All-Region and first-team Virginia SID All-State honors after finishing first in the conference in ERA (1.87) in 195 innings pitched.
de la Haba made an immediate impact on the George Mason softball program, helping the Patriots' pitching staff improve in every statistical category from the previous season.
de la Haba arrived at George Mason after an assistant coaching stint at Lehigh, where she spent nearly two years. In 2013, Lehigh won a regular-season title with 37 wins. Two of de la Haba's main responsibilities were to coordinate recruitment and monitor student-athletes' academic success to ensure compliance. In addition, she has been a softball instructor in Pennsylvania and Virginia for more than 10 years, preparing players at various positions and ages for the next level of competition.
The Ashburn, Va. native had an illustrious playing career that started at Broad Run High School, where she was a four-year starter (final three seasons as the pitcher) and compiled an overall record of 82-1, helping the Spartans to a No. 1 national ranking by USA Today. With de la Haba on the mound, the team registered 65 shutouts, 26 no-hitters and 13 perfect games. In 2018, she was inducted into the Broad Run High School Hall of Fame.
After her high school performances earned her back-to-back Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2007 and 2008, de la Haba enrolled at Villanova, where she was the team leader in appearances during each of her four seasons. She finished her Villanova career as the all-time leader with 75 complete games, third all-time in strikeouts (660) and fifth in career victories after winning 55 games with the Wildcats.
Exceptional in the classroom as well as on the field, de la Haba earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Villanova in 2012 and regularly earned a spot on the Dean's List. The former Communication Honor Society member earned a plethora of academic recognition such as Big East Honor Roll and Academic All-Star honors, as well as being named as an All-American Scholar Athlete by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. During her coaching tenure at Lehigh, de la Haba continued her education and earned a Master's degree in Educational Leadership in January 2014.
de la Haba married Rhen Vail in June 2021.
Updated 6/22
