Coaching Staff

Monica Wright
Assistant Coach

Assistant Coach Monica Wright is heading into her third season as a member of the Panthers coaching staff. Wright works with UNI's pitchers to improve in the circle over their collegiate career.

In her first two seasons with the Panthers, Wright has coached one MVC Pitcher of the Year, two All-MVC First Team pitchers, an NFCA All-District Third Team pitcher, and a MVC Championship Elite 17 winner. In two season's under Wright's direction, UNI has lowered its ERA by 1.82, increased strikeouts in the 100s, and lowered opponent batting averages. 

Wright's pitchers at UNI have been nationally ranked by the NCAA in several categories including ERA, hits allowed per game, strikeout-to-walk ratio, strikeouts, and strikeouts per seven innings. The Panthers have also led the MVC in strikeouts and strikeouts per game over Wright's time as pitching coach with UNI.

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UNI head softball coach Ryan Jacobs Wednesday announced the addition of veteran pitching coach Monica Wright to his staff.

Wright brings over a decade of coaching and elite playing experience to the position and returns to the place where she began her college career.

"We are excited for Monica to return to the place she chose out of high school," Jacobs said. "She is a student of the game and works very hard to keep building her knowledge base, which she uses to help herself grow and get the most out of her players. She has a great sense of the Missouri Valley Conference, which is a huge part of the reason we brought her on."

Wright, a native of Morrison, Ill., began her career at UNI before transferring to Indiana University after her freshman season. In her three seasons at Indiana, she rose into the IU record books finishing fifth all-time with 348 strikeouts, sixth with 124 appearances, starts and innings pitched. She is 11th on the career wins list.

After her playing career ended, she jumped straight into the coaching realm. She was the pitching coach at Elon for the 2011 season before moving to Bowling Green to serve as the pitching coach for the Falcons from 2011-2015. Her teams led the MAC in ERA in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

She then moved to Valparaiso before the 2016 season. In her first year, she successfully reduced staff ERA by over four runs a game, reduced opposing b/avg. by over .100, reduced walks by 40%, and allowed 45% fewer home runs. The Crusaders won the 2016 Horizon League Championship.

In 2018, she helped Valpo make the transition to the MVC where they finished fourth in their inaugural campaign.

Jacobs is excited about everything that she brings to the coaching staff on the technical side but is also excited about what she brings with her intangible attributes of competitiveness and experience.

"She brings a competitive fire and eagerness to win. She has a great work ethic and a great mentality. We have a lot of talent on our pitching staff, I feel like she is going to bring out their talent and instill that competitive mindset," Jacobs said. "I am very excited to have someone of this caliber and experience that can take the initiative and be the leader of the pitching. I trust her and know that she is going to help shape our pitching staff into an outstanding group."

UNI Softball finished the 2020 season with a 7-14 record against a tough non-conference schedule before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garrett Furnal
Assistant Coach

Garrett Furnal is entering his second season as the outfield and hitting coach for UNI. In his first season with the Panthers, Furnal helped UNI's offense come to life setting four program records and leading multiple players to post-season honors.

In the 2022 season, Furnal's hitters set a program record in slugging percentage (.505) and home runs (66). Furnal also helped coach the MVC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in catcher Emmy Wells who led the MVC in home runs, slugging percentage, and RBIs. 

In the outfield, Furnal's defense made 143 putouts with a fielding percentage of 0.945. All three of UNI's outfielders during the MVC Tournament in 2022 where named to the All-Tournament Team for their defensive effort in the semi-final and championship games. 

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UNI head softball coach Ryan Jacobs has announced the hiring of Garrett Furnal as the teams new assistant coach. Furnal joins Ryan Jacobs and Monica Wright, a staff who were honored as the 2021 MVC Coaching Staff of the Year.

“We couldn’t be happier to add Garrett to our staff,” stated head coach Ryan Jacobs. “He is a perfect addition and brings great knowledge and experience.”

Furnal will serve as the outfield and hitting coach after the departure of J.J. Reimer following the 2019 season. He has previously served as an assistant coach at Ohio University (2018-21), University of North Carolina Wilmington (2016-18), Presbyterian College (2014-16), and the University of Louisiana at Monroe (2013-14). Furnal is an experienced hitting coach while also developing infield and outfield defense, overseeing day to day operations, and leading recruiting efforts.

Furnal was a 2010 graduate of Marshalltown Community College and earned his bachelor degree from Iowa State in 2013.