Coach Profile
Camp Director
Jen Petteys
Jen Petteys enters her seventh season at the helm of the Spartan’s Softball program after taking over the reins on January 14, 2013.
Petteys led the Spartans to a 27-16-1 record in 2018 that culminated in a trip to the CAC semi-finals. Petteys helped coach three Spartans to garner all-conference honors that included first-team pitcher Ginger Lewis and second-team players Joanna Marmo and Ashley Meekins. The softball program also earned a team GPA of 3.53, which was good for 22nd in the nation out of 451 programs according to the Easton/NFCA release. The program has also been awarded the William DeMeester award for two straight seasons under Petteys.
Petteys has worked very hard to rebuild the Spartan program and 2017 was the best campaign of her tenure. York got off to a quick start with a 9-3 trip to Clermont, Florida. After a rough six game patch when they got back from Florida, the Spartans got rolling as they entered the thick of conference action. The Spartans won 10 consecutive games and 12 of 13 en route to yet another CAC Tournament appearance. Under Petteys, York earned their first ever win over Salisbury in the CAC tournament as they advanced to the tournament semifinals.
Post season accolades followed the impressive 2017 season as four players earned All-CAC honors. Carleigh Ruleman was a first-team pick after a conference-leading 15 homers, made her second career appearance on the All-CAC teams. Katie Maloney, Haley Hirn and Ginger Lewis all were named to the second team. Maloney finished her career as a four-time All-CAC honoree.
Along with the team success over the last three years, the softball program has garnered individual accolades as a total of 10 Spartans have earned All-CAC selections over the past three seasons. The Spartans have earned 22 CAC wins over those three seasons.
Petteys has been relentless on the recuriting trail and those efforts began to pay off with the 2015 season as York went 23-19 with a number of hallmark wins, including a victory over nationally-ranked Christopher Newport on April 11. The Spartans found continued success in 2016 as they posted a record of 25-17 and earned the fourth seed in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament, their highest seed since 2013. Also, sophomore infielder Savannah Zittle earned a spot on the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
Petteys earned her 100th York College victory on April 17, 2017 with a 10-2 victory over Albright at Spartan Stadium. Petteys enters her sixth season at the helm of the program with a record of 101-109-1. However, remove the first two years prior to her being able to recruit her players into the program, her overall record jumps to 76-51 overall, good for a winning percentage of .598.
"York College is a dynamic and impressive environment with state of the art facilities. Our program has implemented a high standard of performance to align with this environment. We are building a sustained level of excellence. Each player is expected to give the perfect effort each and every day, rise to every occasion and make those around them better as they do so. As a program, we are focused on process over outcome and we strive for perfection in commitment, work ethic, teamwork, character, and accountability. We look to a bright future as we work to build and sustain a championship culture.”
Petteys believes her vision and expectations are clear and there is full buy in from the team as she embarks on just her sixth full year of leading the program.
“I expect my players to excel in the classroom, outwork our opponents, be faster, smarter and more aggressive on the base paths and execute a potent high scoring offense. Every player is expected to control their controllables: Attitude and Effort. I expect each girl to play hard but play smart. We will respect the game, the opponent, and the process of improving as individuals and a team. I believe the trajectory of our program only continues to go up."
The squad got the job done in the classroom at a very high level in 2017 as they earned the William DeMeester Women's Team GPA award as they finished they year with a lofty 3.53 GPA for the campaign. The team registered an impressive 3.63 team GPA during the season, a season in which they went 28-15 on the field.
Petteys came to York after serving as assistant coach for Herkimer County Community College in the fall of 2012 and SUNY Cobleskill in 2011-2012. Petteys was the girls’ varsity softball coach for eight years at Canajoharie High School in Canajoharie, N.Y. where she compiled a record of 90-47-1.
Petteys was an accomplished player at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. In 1999, Petteys powered the Cardinals to a 39-11 overall record and earned NFCA All-Region First Team and NYSWCAA All-State First Team accolades as her Cardinal team won the NYS Championship as well as the ECAC North Championship. The Cardinals won 106 games during Petteys' four-year career including the school-record 39 victories in 1999.
Petteys still holds single-season records for hits (72 in 1999) and stolen bases (21 in 1996), and is second in runs scored (52 in 1999) and sacrifices (21 in 1999). She currently holds career offensive records for hits (223), on base (312) and on base percentage (.502). She is in the NCAA Division III record book for at bats in a season (174).
Petteys was inducted into the St. John Fisher Athletic Hall of Fame on September 28, 2006.
Petteys graduated Cum Laude from Fisher with a Bachelors' degree in Sociology and a concentration in Criminal Justice. She earned her Masters’ degree in Sports Science with an emphasis in NCAA Compliance through the United States Sports Academy and graduated with honors in May 2015.
In the fall of 2014, Petteys assumed the role of Coordinator for the newly designed York College mascot program. In July 2015, she became an adjunct professor in the Sport Management department at York College.
Petteys resides in York, PA with her husband, D.J., and her two children, Chance (15) and Caitlyn (12)