Palatine High School alum named head softball coach
Nicole Pauly was named head softball coach at Palatine High School. Pauly, a 2006 Palatine High School graduate and an assistant coach at the school this past season, replaces Jeff Manz at the helm of the Pirates softball program.
Pauly completed her first year working as a counselor at Palatine High School. Prior to this, she was a counselor at St. Benedict Prep High School in Chicago from 2011-2013.
She coached collegiate softball at Loyola University Chicago from 2010-2013, helping the program to a pair of Horizon League regular-season titles and was instrumental in high school player recruiting for the Ramblers program.
"Nicole is a standout athlete, and has been a great addition to our student services team," said Palatine High School Principal Gary Steiger. "Athletically, she has left her mark on every program she's been associated with, from her playing days at Palatine High School, Northwestern, and professionally, to her previous coaching experience. We're very excited about the direction our softball program is headed and the mark Nicole will leave here."
A Palatine native, Pauly was a four-year letter winner in both basketball and softball at Palatine High School. From her softball tenure, she holds Palatine High School's single-season record with a .496 batting average and an overall career average of .460.
She was a four-time MSL All-Conference selection and an All-Area captain and Pioneer Press Great Northwest team captain. She earned Chicago Sun-Times All-Area second-team, Chicago Tribune All-State second-team, and Illinois Coaches Association All-State second-team. During her career, her team broke the school record for wins in each of her last three seasons.
On the basketball court, Pauly was a two-time All-State selection. She is the school's career-leader in steals and second in career points. She was named MSL Most-Valuable Player, All-Conference and All-area. Pauly was a member of the National Honor Society, earned All-Academic team selection every year of high school, and was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame.
Pauly attended Northwestern University, where she was a four-time All-Big Ten softball collegiate student-athlete. During her collegiate career, she recorded 53 home runs, 168 RBI, 149 runs, and a .604 slugging percentage, while starting all 215 games Northwestern played during her four years.
A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Pauly was a 2010 Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V pick. She also was one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which identifies personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete, including community service, excellence in the classroom, outstanding character, and competition on the field. Pauly also was a Lowe's Senior All-America Second Team choice.
Pauly graduated with a bachelor's degree in education and social policy from Northwestern in 2010. She earned her master's degree in school counseling from Loyola University Chicago in 2013. Pauly played professionally for both the Chicago Bandits and Akron Racers of National Professional Fastpitch.
Her Chicago Bandits team won the regular season in 2010 and she earned All-NPF honors in 2012 with the Akron Racers.
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