Katie Rufo Hired as Softball Assistant Coach

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Carnegie Mellon University softball head coach Monica Harrison is excited to announce the hiring of Katie Rufo as the Tartans next assistant coach. Rufo joins Coach Harrison as the full-time assistant coach following an assistant coaching role at Wellesley College and a playing career at both Division I Elon University and Division III Johnson & Wales University. 

Rufo, who started her coaching career at the youth fastpitch level nearly eight years ago, most recently served as the assistant coach at Wellesley for the past two seasons. During her time at Wellesley, Rufo also coached for the Rhode Island Thunder Gold Softball organization where she called pitches during games.

Rufo's other coaching experience includes being a member of the coaching staff at Planet Fastpitch in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, since 2014 and serving as the assistant coach of the Natick High School varsity softball team in 2019. A certified Amateur Softball Association umpire, Rufo has also coached with the NE Quicksilver U16 and U18 Travel Teams and interned with the Boston University Women's Basketball Team.

As a Tartan, Rufo will be charged with leading the bullpen staff.

As a player at Elon, Rufo saw time as a utility player and appeared in 34 games during her two-year time with the Phoenix. Rufo transferred close to her home state of Massachusetts to finish her collegiate career at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. While with the Wildcats, Rufo played first base and was twice named to the All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) first team and honored with two National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region selections. As a senior, Rufo led the team in RBIs with 42 and hit seven home runs and 12 doubles. She was also a remarkable student-athlete in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors following her senior season.

"We are excited to have Coach Rufo join our staff," said coach Harrison. "She brings a wealth of knowledge to the program given both her coaching and playing experience. Coach Rufo had a distinguished playing career and garnered many awards. I'm excited to have her on staff to help share her experiences with our student athletes and to help guide them to new heights of success as well."

Rufo played in two NCAA tournaments with Johnson & Wales after twice winning the GNAC Conference tournament and held the role of secretary for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during her senior year. A proponent of giving back, Rufo organized multiple fundraising events and was the recipient of the Feinstein "Enriching America" Award in 2018 for self-initiated community service and was recognized with the Johnson & Wales Tom Carmody Award for Character, Spirit, and Community Service.

Rufo earned her bachelor's degree in sports, events, and entertainment management from Johnson & Wales in 2018 and her master's degree in sports management with a certificate in sports leadership from Lasell University in December 2020.