The greatest pitcher in DePaul softball history came back home to Lincoln Park.
Three-time All-American Lindsay Chouinard, who helped deliver DePaul to the 2000 Women's College World Series (WCWS), was named Associate Head Coach on July 2, 2013.
Chouinard was also an assistant coach for three seasons and helped guide DePaul to the WCWS in 2005 and 2007.
"I feel very lucky coming back to DePaul, a place that I am very passionate about," Chouinard said. "It's like I'm coming home. I first came here when I was 18 year old and spent eight years in Lincoln Park. It's an honor to have this opportunity.
"I want to help kids be successful and help the program be successful. I really understand what Eug (head coach Eugene Lenti) wants and his vision for what the softball program. The DePaul philosophy worked so well for me with my style of play."
Chouinard holds the DePaul career records for wins, earned-run average, shutouts, complete games, most starts, innings pitched and appearances. She was a two-time NCAA Regional MVP, the Conference USA Player of the Year in 2003 and the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2000. She was C-USA all-conference four times. In addition, Chouinard was a two-time, CoSIDA Academic All-American.
"Lindsay was the best pitcher in school history and was an integral factor in three of our four appearances at the Women's College World Series," Lenti said. "She will again be a great addition to our program with her legacy as a player and a coach. She left an indelible mark on the program.
"What strikes me about Lindsay is her intelligence and competitiveness. Those were her strengths as a player and they are the same for her as a coach. She will be in charge of the pitching and call pitches during games.
"In Lindsay and Jackie (assistant coach Jackie Tarulli-Fisher), we have two people who grew up in the program and made significant contributions to the rich heritage of DePaul softball."
Chouinard was the second overall pick by the Texas Thunder in the National Pro Fastpitch Softball League (NPFSL) 2003 draft. After helping the Thunder win the regular-season title in her first year, Chouinard signed with the Chicago Bandits in 2005 where she was named to the league's all-star team after notching a 9-1 record and leading the Bandits to a regular-season title.
Chouinard graduated from DePaul in 2003 with a degree in finance and completed her MBA at DePaul with a finance concentration in May 2007.
She spent five seasons (2008-2012) as the head coach of the Northern Illinois softball program, leading the Huskies to three Mid-American Conference Championship appearances.
Chouinard spent2013 working as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch.
"After my experience at Northern Illinois, I came away with an incredible perspective on how hard it is to be a head coach," Chouinard said. "I have an even greater appreciation for DePaul and for the job Eug does. I come back to DePaul with a renewed and re-charged spirit.
"I enjoy working with the highest-caliber pitchers. I can spot little discrepancies in form and make tweaks and corrections immediately. I understand form and dynamics while working diligently to create mental toughness. Movement was a big part of my success, and I hope to pass that along to Blue Demon pitchers.
"As for recruiting, I am well-connected in California where I grew up. After being in this sport for so long, I'm looking forward to re-connecting with the top travel-ball organizations on the West Coast."
She is also ready to make some new memories in her new position.
"My best memory as an assistant coach was being a part of two Women's College World Series and coaching with my best friend from college, Liz Bouck," Chouinard said.
"As a player, I'll always remember beating No. 1 UCLA 1-0 at a tournament in Fresno, my home town. They were the country's dominant program and had won more than 20 games in a row."