Eastern New Mexico University Athletics Director Dr. Greg Waggoner is pleased to announce the hiring of Kira Zeiter as the Greyhounds new Head Coach Softball Coach. She is the 10th coach in program history and will begin her duties at ENMU on June 18.
“We are very pleased to have Kira Zeiter on board our coaching staff to lead the ENMU Softball program moving forward. Kira has extensive successful head coaching experience in the NCAA D-II and is familiar with ENMU and the Lone Star Conference,” said Dr. Waggoner. “Kira also has an extensive recruiting network throughout the southwest and she is a fine addition to our ENMU Athletic Team. We look forward to working with her in the years to come and we are confident that ENMU Softball is in good hands.”
Prior to joining ENMU, Zeiter spent three seasons as Urbana’s head softball coach from 2015-2018. Zeiter, a native of Tucson, Ariz., has amassed a career record of 140-241 and was 35-103 at Urbana. In the 2017 season, she led the Blue Knights 17-28 overall record (12-20 MEC) for a fourth-place finish in the MEC North Division to them an automatic berth to the MEC Tournament.
“I am truly grateful for the opportunity to lead the ENMU softball program. I want to thank President Elwell, Dr. Waggoner, and the search committee for having the belief and trust in me to take over this program,” said Zeiter. “After spending time on campus and meeting the tremendous staff, it became clear that ENMU is a place with people that I wanted to work alongside and a University that has an exciting future ahead. I’m looking forward to meeting the team and starting a new era of ENMU softball.”
Under Zeiter’s leadership, two players, Caitlyn Stoner and Courtney Stewart became Urbana’s all-time leaders in home runs and hits, respectively. In addition, Stoner earned All-MEC First Team, All-Atlantic Region Second Team, and MEC All-Tournament Team honors in 2017. This past season, senior outfielder Riley Curtis was named a Google Cloud First Team Academic All-American, the first under Zeiter and in Urbana Softball history.
Before her stint at Urbana, Zeiter started her head coaching career at Fort Lewis College from 2010-2015 where she posted a 105-138 record over five seasons. She set a program record for single-season wins with 30 in her second year in 2012, while leading the Skyhawks to an NCAA-II Regional berth for just the second time in program history. Zeiter had the best winning percentage of any coach in FLC softball history at .432, while her 105 wins are second-most.
Prior to leading the Skyhawks, Zeiter got her coaching career started as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Adams State University. In three seasons as an assistant coach, she was responsible for off-campus recruiting, scouting opponents, summer camps, and day-to-day operations. She helped guide the Grizzlies to a 76-59 overall record in her time at Adams State
On the field, Zeiter had a very successful playing career as a corner infielder and outfielder for Adams State. She was a two-time ESPN: The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District VII selection, and a three-time All-RMAC and Academic All-RMAC selection.
Zeiter finished her playing career ranked in the top-10 in 11 different statistical categories in ASU’s NCAA Division II era record book (1993-present). She leads Grizzlies in career games played (198) and career games started and ranks fourth in career home runs (20), third in career RBIs (98), second in career doubles (36) and second in career walks (86).
Zeiter received both her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and master’s degree in Human Performance and Physical Education from Adams State.