Palatine picks Pauly to run softball program
Nicole Pauly, one of the top players in Palatine High School softball history, is the new head coach of the Pirates program, school officials announced Monday.
A former professional softball player, Pauly served as an assistant at PHS this spring under head coach Jeff Manz. She also completed her first year at Palatine as a counselor.
"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 PHS, 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."
Pauly has a master's degree in school counseling from Loyola University Chicago, and a bachelor's degree from Northwestern. As a four-year starter at Northwestern, Pauly had 53 home runs, 168 RBI, 149 runs scored and a .604 slugging percentage in 215 collegiate games.
A Palatine native, Pauly was a four-year letter winner in both basketball and softball at Palatine High School. She holds Palatine's single-season record with a .496 batting average and an overall career average of .460. She was the Daily Herald's All-Area captain in 2006.
On the basketball court, she became the career-leader in steals and is second in career points, and was a member of the All-Area basketball team for the Daily Herald.
Pauly played professionally for both the Chicago Bandits and Akron Racers in the National Professional Fastpitch league. She earned All-NPF honors with Akron in 2012.