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New Otter Softball Era Begins As Montañez Returns Home

Saint Mary’s College associate head coach, Salinas High alum Emily Montañez is an Otter

July 17, 2024

By: Kevin Gilmore (@OtterKevin)
SEASIDE, Calif. — The second era of the Cal State Monterey Bay softball begins as the Otters tab Saint Mary's College Associate Head Coach Emily Montañez as the second head coach in program history.

Montañez takes over for Andrea Kenney, the winningest coach in any sport in CSUMB history, who founded the program in 2006.

Montañez joins the Otters after spending the last six seasons as Sonja Garnett's top lieutenant at Saint Mary's (Garnett herself was a former assistant coach at CSUMB). It's also a homecoming for Montañez, who grew up in Salinas and played at Salinas High School.

"Emily was impressive in her preparation and approach in what was a competitive search process," says CSUMB Director of Athletics Kirby Garry (@kirbygarry). "I'm thrilled for her to come home and lead our softball program. She is highly motivated and has worked hard to get to this point in her career."

"I am grateful for the opportunity to lead Otter Softball and return to the area," says Montañez. "Congratulations to Drea on an incredible career. There has been so much success within the department and softball program, I'm excited to continue building on it."

Montañez helped lead Saint Mary's from worst to first during her tenure with the Gaels. SMC won more conference games in her first season on the bench than it had in the previous two seasons combined. By the time the dust settled on the 2024 campaign, the Gaels were lifting their first-ever West Coast Conference Championship trophy.

She began her collegiate coaching career at Cal State East Bay after finishing a 4-year playing career with the Pioneers. She joined Garnett on the Academy of Art staff in 2016, where she helped the Urban Knights achieve the best season in program history in 2018 with 40 wins and the team's first NCAA Tournament bid.

Montañez got her start coaching at the club level with the Salinas Force, coaching the 12s, 14s and 16s teams for four seasons.

As a player, Montañez was one of the best in Cal State East Bay history and ranks in the program's all-time Top 10 for hits, home runs and runs scored.

"Emily is well connected in the college softball community and everyone we spoke to commented on her relentless work ethic, character and readiness to be a head coach in the CCAA," says Garry. "We all look forward to supporting her as leads us into this new era of Otter Softball."

"Thanks to Kirby and his staff for the time they invested the past couple of weeks. They were all so great, and I'm excited to join the team," says Montañez. "I am so grateful for all of the opportunities and experiences I've had the last nine years coaching under Coach Garnett. I can't wait to get to work!"

In addition to the support from the CSUMB campus leadership and community, Otter Athletics also thanks Kurt Patberg and Mammoth Sports Consulting for assisting with the search.


 
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