Heather Pennie-Roy is entering her 28th season as the head coach of the Minnesota Morris softball program in 2026.
Minnesota Morris set a slew of program records in 2024, finishing with the most wins in a single season in program history and also setting a school record by at one point winning 18 straight contests. For the first time in program history, the Cougars shared the regular season UMAC title and had two players each named NFCA All-Region.
Under Pennie-Roy's leadership, the Cougars had tallied 13 straight seasons with double-digit victories and had qualified for the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) 10 times in a 12-year span prior to the abrupt end of the 2020 season. Minnesota Morris got back on track in 2022, finishing fourth in the regular season standings to qualify for the UMAC Tournament once again, then defeating No. 1 seed UW-Superior in the first game of the tournament.
The 2011 season saw Pennie-Roy garner UMAC Coach of the Year honors as she led the Cougars to a program-best 15-6 UMAC record. Following the 2011 season, the Cougars won at least 14 games in conference play in four-straight seasons.
During the 2014 season, Pennie-Roy led the Cougars to a program-record 21 wins and then in 2016 she surpassed 200 career wins as head coach.
An alumna of Minnesota Morris, Pennie-Roy graduated after a prolific career where she was a standout on both the softball and volleyball teams, earning numerous All-Conference honors in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) as a Division II student-athlete.
In 1998, she spent 10 years leading both Cougar softball and volleyball programs, before moving to an assistant volleyball coach role in 2008 until the conclusion of the 2015 season.
A three-time hall of fame honoree, Pennie-Roy is enshrined in the Minnesota Morris Athletics Hall of Fame (2014), Minnewaska Lakers Hall of Fame (2015), and the Minnesota High School Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2011).
As a high school student-athlete, Pennie-Roy was tabbed West Central All-Area, All-Region, All-District and West Central Conference MVP honors in each of her final two years, before landing on the all-state team as a senior.
Beyond her coaching roles, Pennie-Roy serves as an assistant athletic director and the senior woman administrator at Minnesota Morris.
Education
B.A., University of Minnesota, Morris
M.A., Northern State University
