Don Justus

Don Justus, who will begin his second season at New Haven in 2023, was named the tenth softball coach in program history in October 2021, following a two-year stint at the University of Hartford, most recently as the interim head coach.

In his first season at the helm of the Blue and Gold, Justus led New Haven to a 17-23 overall record and an 11-15 record in the Northeast-10. Among the highlights for Justus was a pair of Northeast-10 All-Conference selections in middle infielders Mya Case (second team) and Nhatli Simpson (third team).

Justus has more than a decade of collegiate coaching experience under his belt, including a stint in Division II as an assistant coach at Kutztown University. Prior to that he also spent two seasons at Iona where he oversaw a pitching staff that featured the 2009 Metro Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Year and a conference leading 1.62 ERA.

Justus joined the Hawks coaching staff as an assistant prior to the 2020 campaign as Hartford got off to a 6-4 start before the season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2021 campaign, the Hawks finished with a 6-13 overall record before Justus was asked to take over the helm of the program following the season.

At Kutztown, Justus worked alongside one of the winningest coaches in Division II history, Judy Lawes, for 10 seasons from 2010-19 during which time the Golden Bears racked up 332 victories, including a program record 52 wins (52-7) in 2012. During his time at Kutztown, the Golden Bears advanced to the NCAA Division II regionals six times.

A member of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, the PONY Softball National Tournament's Staff and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as a Three Star Master Coach, Justus graduated from Columbia Southern University '93 with a bachelor's degree in business sports management.