Caitlin Lever begins her second year with the softball program after being hired in September of 2012. Lever will primarily tutor the outfielders, while assisting with the team[apos]s hitting and short game.
In her first year with the UNLV softball program, the Rebels went 21-31 overall and finished sixth in the Mountain West with a 7-11 record. Included in the 21 wins were three against Top 25 competition.
One of her main pupils, Stefany Valentino, earned 2013 NFCA All-West Region Second Team Honors following a selection to the Mountain West All-Conference Team. Valentino led the Scarlet & Gray offensively with a .405 batting average, which ranks as the sixth-best in UNLV[apos]s single-season record book. Her hitting figure was also the second highest amassed by a MW player this season, while ranking 55th overall in the final NCAA statistics.
Lever came to UNLV after playing on the collegiate, professional and international levels of softball. After leading the Canisius Griffins to a conference championship in 2004, Lever transferred to Georgia Tech where she earned first team NFCA All-America honors once in 2007 and was selected to the All-ACC Team each season (2005-07). In her three years in Atlanta, she owned a .377 batting average with 226 hits - 64 of which went for extra bases - 139 runs, 126 RBI and 71 stolen bases. As a senior, she broke GT records in hits (94 in 2007), on-base percentage (.526) and single-game hits (five). She finished her career ranked in 10 of the program[apos]s records, which includes batting average (third) and stolen bases (third). She led her team to the NCAA Tournament all four years of her career. She earned her undergraduate degree in management from Tech in 2009.
Following her three years as a student-athlete at Tech, she became a volunteer assistant for two seasons at her alma mater. She then accepted an assistant coaching position at Niagara University (Jan. 2009 to May 2010), where she helped the team reach the MAAC Tournament both years. A total of nine student-athletes were named to the All-MAAC Teams, while 19 were selected to all-academic recognition under her guidance.
In 2007, she began playing internationally for Team Canada, and she earned a roster spot on its 2008 Beijing Olympics roster. She helped her squad to a fourth-place finish. Besides playing for Canada, she has played professionally in the U.S. in the National Pro Fastpitch league for the Chicago Bandits (2007-11) and the Carolina Diamonds (2012).
