DIANA PEPIN: Former ECSU Coach Reflects On A 25-Year Career

Following the 2026 college softball season, longtime Eastern Connecticut State University softball coach Diana Pepin announced her retirement.

Serving as the program's sixth permanent head coach from 2002 through 2026, Pepin coached 969 games, winning 611, losing 355 and tying three for a winning percentage of .632. The Willimantic native and 1992 Eastern graduate served as head coach for half of the program's seasons, coached 51.2 percent of its 1,893 games and recorded 49.9 percent of its 1,224 victories.

Pepin took some time out to talk to the CT Softball Blog's The Inside Corner podcast about her career as well as her future and the future of her chosen sport.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hi everyone, we welcome you to the Inside Corner Connecticut Softball Podcast with John Nash. I'm Rob Adams, and John, we haven't been to the college ranks in a few weeks. We're heading back there today.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Right in the middle of the state tournament, which is something I know uh our guest will appreciate because it's uh uh you know all softball all the time right now, it seems, but uh we we did want to get uh uh this guest on um just because she's a special one, she's a legend here in the state of Connecticut. I I don't know if uh she she will like me saying that, but hey, that's the truth. It's uh former Eastern Connecticut State University coach Diana Pepin, who after uh was it 25 years coach? Yeah, 25 years, yeah, as a coach, uh retired at the end of this season. And and coach, thank you so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Looking back, and and again, the coaching career was 25 years, but Eastern has been a part of your life for even longer, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:06

Because you grew up in Willemantic and uh I can't imagine at Eastern. I was an assistant coach for one year, so I've been involved in the program for 30 out of the 50 years.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

That that's amazing. And how how tough was it to walk away at this point you know in your life because it had been such a part, or or did it feel like it was the right time because you're still young enough to enjoy what's left of life and and all that?

SPEAKER_03 1:32

Well, I think that it was hard going away because there's never, or retiring because there's never a good time with kids that you have that you really like, and you're like, well, after this kid graduates, or after this kid graduates. And so I just felt like it was the right time for me and what I want to kind of do, um, and how I can be better for maybe the sport and grow the sport a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

And and you know, we're gonna recap your whole career, you know, over the the next 20 minutes or so. I don't know how we're gonna put it all into 20 minutes, but uh what is next for you? Do you know yet? And you know, you talked about wanting to grow the sport and and uh you know keep giving back to the sport, but uh any idea how you're gonna do that?

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Well, I've given some thought into you know maybe working with a travel organization on how to develop college athletes. I think that they need to build more resilience. I think that we've gotten away from holding them accountable. I feel like they have more opportunities to play softball and they take them for granted. So either that or doing some sort of mental training for them, um creating a consulting business, I'm not really sure. Just taking a little time to process all of this and to figure out exactly what avenue is best for me and how I can still have softball part of my life.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Well, let's go back to the very beginning. How how did you gravitate to a softball field? You know, as a player, what was that first moment like where you know were you picking dandelions out in right field, like a lot of the people you know talk about? And uh how did it all start for you?

SPEAKER_03 3:30

Well, I played little league baseball with my friend growing up, and um, I didn't want to play baseball going into senior league, and so I didn't play anything, but then there was um a senior softball league that we were starting up in Willemantic, and I was too old, and I started coaching at that point. I always loved the game of baseball, but it was a little slow for me in middle school, is when I feel I feel like I got a lot out of softball. Um, it grew me in many ways through life lessons and um, you know, managing time and being a good student and all that stuff. So, and having Eastern in my backyard, it's always, you know, and they always went to the national tournament. So it was something I always strive for.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

And what high school did you go to?

SPEAKER_03 4:28

I went to Wyndham High, which we went to the state title game my sophomore year or junior year.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Okay. And and you knew even back then that that you were gonna probably be a coach? I mean, was that a life goal for you?

SPEAKER_03 4:44

Not at all. Even while you were playing. Not when I was 16 looking into coaching, you know, senior league, but once um I started doing camps at Eastern and I was a player at Eastern and doing camps. Um, John Risley, I don't know if you know that name, he was a big baseball guy. He was the pitching coach at Eastern, he was a good, like a P teacher at New London High, and he said to me once, you would be an awesome coach, and I just took that and ran with it.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Before we get to your coaching career, as a player, you know, where did you play? What did you love about that position? And uh or were you one of those people that played everywhere just because you wanted to learn everything?

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Yeah, I taught myself how to pitch. So I pitched one year in college, I played the outfield one year, I was DP, and and then my junior and senior year I played third base.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Um did you have a favorite, or did you know was there one position that you never wanted to play? Like, you know, I didn't hear you say catcher.

SPEAKER_03 5:50

Oh no, I do not want to play catcher. I I have, but no, thank you. Um, I I was really good at third base. Um, I would say I liked second and I liked first base the most.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Okay, that works. Um, and and you know, you graduate from Eastern and you go right in as an assistant coach for the one year, or I was a special education teacher for a while.

SPEAKER_03 6:18

Um, and then and a high school coach. I coached at the Holy Family, that was my first coaching job, and then I went to Rockville High and I was there for six years, and we won three championships there, and then I went to Wyndham High um for two years, I think, and then to Eastern.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Gotcha. Okay. Uh, and and the college game, I mean, was that something that you did strive for?

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Yeah, I always wanted to coach at the collegiate level. I just felt like it was at a high level, it was some something I could do that would teach young women how to be strong women. Um, and I think that it just sports always gave me an avenue to be growth, uh, have a growth mindset and to really kind of come out of my shell. So it was the way that I grew up and what I looked forward to, and why I wanted to give back to kids that love the game.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

And did you feel any pressure, you know, being a former ES uh PCSU player and and taking over a program that was already so traditionally strong?

SPEAKER_03 7:35

Yeah, because I knew Clyde Washburn and Jeff Anderson very well, and I wanted to make them proud. And I think early in my career, I pushed my players to get back to the national level too soon, and there was some pushback, and I had to figure out quickly what was my path and how I wanted to coach, not how Jeff or Clyde coached. Um, and so I had to be authentic to myself and figure out what that looked like, and uh I did. Um, and here we are.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Rob, I I you know I did a search on her numbers uh earlier, and I of course can't find them now because I have too many windows open and that type of thing. But you know, we're talking there it is, 25 years, yep. Overall record, 611 wins, 355 losses, three ties. I'm sure you probably remember all three ties because you're that close to winning them. Uh, you know, you won your 600th game back on May 1st of 2025. You've coached more than half of all the seasons in program history. So you've been there longer than anybody, you know. I mean, it really is. You've left your mark on that program and so many athletes. But the question I want to ask you is through all that, how much has the game changed from the day you set foot on campus uh as head coach to now? You know, the recruiting and the the whole process, how different is it at the collegiate level at the D3 level now?

SPEAKER_03 9:07

I don't know if you have enough time. Uh it's significantly different. I feel my first couple years, the players um worked more competitive, they appreciated the game, they worked really hard and they took constructive criticism well. I feel um, you know, every five to ten years it changed a little bit, and we got um more student athletes that played only softball, so they specialized, and that was a little different. And so we had to teach them about softball IQ, and we had to teach them about being efficient and effective. Um and it's just changed over the years to right now where I feel as though they play way too much and they have more um overuse injuries, and I think that they should be an athlete, not just a softball player.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Preaching to the choir on that one, coach, that's for sure. Um uh yeah, because you see the burnout happen at so many different levels, and and and the and the state of the travel game right now, as compared to what it was, you know, again, back when when you were playing and or first added coaching, is so different. It changed a lot over the decade that I was coaching, um uh both in high school and travel. Well, what are your thoughts right now in terms of like where the travel game is? Because it almost seems like coaches don't go find players anymore, the players just go to these showcases where people are making money, and it just you know makes it easier for you guys because you don't have to travel the country. But but how much has the travel game changed? You know, is it better for coaches now or different?

SPEAKER_03 11:00

No, it's not. Um, the travel game has changed to its own demise, I think, because they're not competing and they're just playing all the time and they don't know the game within the game. So I I had players the last couple years who I told during the recruiting process, you're probably not gonna play your freshman year, you're gonna have to develop and grow, and you're gonna have to work hard and be coachable. And they weren't playing, and they were upset, and they're like, I don't understand why I'm not playing. And I'm like, Well, who who should you play over? Well, I'm better that what makes you better than that, and they they have no understanding of that. Um, and so that's what's what's kind of changed a lot for me is they think they know more than the coach knows. They think they could put a lineup out there, and why are you calling a bunt play when this kid is hitting, I don't know, let's just say 350. You know, like I'm a good hitter. I so that's what's changed about the travel game, and I think we need to go back to competing and understanding that it's a seven-inning game, and how about we play seven innings for something that matters?

SPEAKER_01 12:25

And and while you know that there are issues with the travel game and and issues with the athlete themselves, is part of the problem, do you think, that the parents in the air on the ride home and things like that? I mean, have parents changed over your career?

SPEAKER_03 12:39

Oh, totally. They I mean, there's always parents that are gonna think that they can tell coaches what to do, and they think they have been in the travel ball ranks and their daughter know their daughters better than we know them um on the softball field. And so they'll they'll give you their two cents here and there, but it's more about what you can do for my daughter rather than how are you gonna push my daughter to be the best person and player that they can be and trust the process. So there I would meet with parents every fall, and I would say, Listen, I don't come into your office and tell you how to do your job. Don't come in my office and tell me how to do mine.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

You've yet to say a word about me and Rob uh, you know, doing our job here. So we we are appreciative of that. Uh however, I'm sure a parent will probably call us saying, How can you slam us? Um, let's let's get back to your career. Because again, 25 years, you know, uh gosh, I was what 45 or 35 years, 35 years old 25 years ago. So uh what's the one season that you remember that just means the world to you even today? Is there one season that really stands out? Is I can't believe we had that season together?

SPEAKER_03 14:04

Well, I think it was you know, the times of going to the World Series and competing during Molly Rathbun's junior year when we went to Wisconsin Eau Claire and competed there and finished third in the nation. And it was because the kids wanted it, and we had talented, um, selfless athletic kids, and we had a great coaching staff um with Peter Managia and myself, and we really pushed them to go beyond what they thought they could do, and then we follow it up with 2000. No, that was 2010. So 2011 we go to the World Series, 2012. We were probably the most talented and had a 40-game win streak, and um never made it to the World Series, but that was one of our best years, um, finishing 44 and 3, which is crazy, and never getting to the World Series because we had three all-American pitchers in our regional. Um so those seasons and then 2019 when we went to the World Series and no one expected us to, and we just gelled at the right time, and the kids bought in and they just wanted to play for each other, and they celebrated everything. Um, those were those were the great years.

SPEAKER_01 15:34

And I'm guessing, you know, because you're a state school, you did this with a lot of Connecticut kids on the roster, right?

SPEAKER_03 15:40

Yeah, yeah, for sure. New England mostly.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Um but or at least yeah, at least some some Connecticut kids. Yeah. Um because that's the thing. Since I've started the blog, you know, I was always a sports writer, you know, when I first moved down here 18 years ago. Uh, but I'm covering all the sports then, you know, coaching. I was just tuned into my team, my league then a little bit. But uh, you know, since I started the blog three years ago, just to see some of the players that this state has produced. Uh are we in Connecticut? Do are we a kind of a uh not a best kept secret, but we have some really, really good players from this state, don't we?

SPEAKER_03 16:18

Yeah, especially right now. Um, you know, the Cheshire Kids, you know, Jordan McHugh, who's going to Yukon. Um, oh my god, her name escapes me right now, the pitcher who's going to be.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Jenica Matos, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

Yeah. And they have a great team. And one of my former alums coaches that team. Um, and then, you know, you had the Rachel Fico's, you know, before, and the um Litos. So there's a lot of great softball here. And some of my coaching colleagues will say that they love to come to Connecticut and recruit. And I tell them to stay out of Connecticut and leave it, give it all the state kids to me.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Well, that now you can welcome them with open arms and say, hey, you know, I got time. Take me out for some coffee or something while you're here. Uh I I have a feeling I know what you're gonna say to this question now because I've already heard the name once, but bottom of the seventh, you're up by one, bases are loaded. Which one of your former pitchers do you want on the mound in that moment?

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Molly Rathbin.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

That's what I thought. So, and and why her and and or or up to bat for that matter. Well, that was gonna be my next question. So, yeah, so there we go. We got Molly Raph.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

Or Ariel Cooper, Porter now. She's that Coast Guard.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Oh, okay, the the coach over there, yeah. Um, so why Molly? You know, what was it that was just made her so special?

SPEAKER_03 17:50

She was a farm girl that loved the game and wanted to be in the most pressure situations. Um, I would say to her, you know, Ma, we need you right here. Like it's freezing, and we want to get out of here and blah, blah, blah. And she hits a towering home run. We're in the Lily's conference tournament at Keene, and I'll never forget it. And, you know, she's, I don't know what she was hitting, but she hits for a lot of power. And I remember the coach asking the pitcher if she wanted to pitch to her, and she said, Yeah. And Molly hit it over the scoreboard, and we won walk-off fashion. So Molly was always that person. Cooper was the person that got us started. She was our leadoff. She was the one that would lead off with a double or a home run. Um, but Molly was always the one to drive everybody in.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

And, you know, while we talk about uh, you know, uh the Coast Guard coach, uh, your coaching tree is is really, really darn impressive. I know, you know, we we did the story, uh, well, I actually took the story from the ECSU website and and we published that. But uh, you know, some of your players who who went into coaching, you know, Ariel Cooper, Aaron Miller, Kelly Patterson, who's at New Haven at the Division I level, uh Molly was coaching at Muhlenberg for three years and has been at Trinity, Alyssa Hancock, so on and so on and so forth. Are you proud to have that uh that tree that's branched out of you know players that you coached who became coaches themselves?

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Yeah, absolutely. That's my proudest um accomplishment, I think, because they carry on all the skills that I've taught them, but also impacting the younger generation of players to move forward.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Uh I'm not sure if you uh read Game Time CT with any regularity or Hearst Media, but they published a story, I think I can't remember if it was late last week or earlier this week about the numbers uh of high school softball players is dropping to an all-time low here in Connecticut, or at least over the last decade. How you know, and this is a this is a great thing for you is as you you know head off into retirement. How do we rebuild those numbers? How do we get more kids playing softball? You know, hopefully the Olympic, you know, with the Olympics uh having softball back in the Olympics will help. Uh the College World Series is on right now, and I know kids go crazy over that, but how do we rebuild the numbers so we can make this sport sustainable, you know, well into the future?

SPEAKER_03 20:22

I just think kids today have um no attention span, so it's hard for them to get started, and we have to sort of build some sort of fun into the game at a young age so that they stay with it rather than um get bored standing there and and doing nothing. Um, I think once you find success and you see it played out at a high level, then you're gonna want to stay in it because it challenges you um and humbles you. So I think just getting kids to play and see the game at a high level might spark their interest more. Um, but I I think they they've moved on to other things.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

And in some cases, you know, at the lower levels, especially, those three kids in the outfield may not see a ball all game in some cases. So that's one third of your team who's done nothing but sit around in the dugout until they get one or two at bats, you know. Like you know, I always joke about picking dandelions, but uh I don't yeah, we I just don't know what the answer is, you know, to make it fun for those kids at that age.

SPEAKER_03 21:43

Yeah, I don't know either.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

Well, we gotta figure this out. Come on, we'll save softball. That's what we're gonna do, Rob. I love it. That's our goal. Uh at least, you know, I'm you know, again, like you said, you're trying to bring attention to it. I'm trying to bring attention to it. So hopefully every all these little things will will help in the future. But uh this game's given you a lot. Just, I mean, in can you sum up what it means to you, this sport?

SPEAKER_03 22:15

It's molded me into who I am today, you know, and the respect of never giving up and being resilient to figuring things out and problem solving to um giving back to kids that might not have had the um what's the word I'm looking for, like the ability to play this game at a high level to recognize that you know softball is the vehicle in which we teach um and how we go about our everyday lives.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

And and so many life lessons in this sport, because you do fail so much, you know, especially at bat, and you have to overcome errors and things like that. It it really is uh uh a sport that you can get a lot out of. So hope hopefully, you know, in the future we can save it. You know, unfortunately, you'll no longer be in the dugout or or in the third base coach, but uh you know, we definitely appreciate you joining us, talking a little bit about your career and uh Rob, do your thing.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

I I just sat back and listened because there was so much to be taken from this conversation, and it was absolutely a great one, John. And coach, thanks so much, not only for your time tonight, but everything you've done for this great sport.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

Thank you so much. I appreciate what you guys do as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

And just so you know, Coach, Rob's a Yankees fan, so he loves women. And you know, yeah, there you go. And and again, you know, what a legendary career for you. Congratulations on that. And you know, for me as a former, you know what, nine-year coach at the varsity level. Uh, just thank you for everything you did for the sport.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

And so that'll do it for this edition of the inside corner. For John Nash, I'm Rob Adams. We'll talk to you next time.