Fort Lewis College athletic director Gary Hunter maintained throughout the search process he wanted the Skyhawks’ next head softball coach to possess prior collegiate head coaching experience.

That focus led him to Valley City State University in Valley City, North Dakota, and their head coach, Elle Fracker.

FLC announced Fracker would be its next softball head coach Thursday, and she’ll begin coaching duties Aug. 15.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to join the Fort Lewis College family and the softball program,” Fracker said in a news release. “Coaching in the highly competitive (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) will be a challenge, one that I look forward to. Working with and getting to know the talented student-athletes at FLC will be an exciting new beginning.”

She replaces Kira Zeiter, who resigned in May and was FLC’s all-time leader in winning percentage with a 105-138 record in five seasons.

Fracker served as Valley City’s head coach for the past two seasons and is the reigning North Star Athletic Association Coach of the Year.

The Vikings won more than 20 games in both of Fracker’s seasons at the helm.

She was heavily involved in Valley City’s strength and conditioning program and fundraising.

Fracker was an assistant coach at Valley City for two seasons before being named the head coach, and she also assisted at Oberlin College in Ohio and Drexel University in Philadelphia.

She graduated from Indiana State University in 2008 and lettered in all four years she played on the Sycamores’ softball team.

“She has proven to be a successful coach in her young career,” Hunter said in a news release. “Her passion for the game, coupled with her coaching experience and strong track record of recruiting solid students – both academically and athletically – will help take the program to the next level.”

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