LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The NFCA is pleased to announce College of Lake County head coach Hannah Clark and United States Sports University head coach Morgan Cinello are the 2025 recipients of the Mary Nutter Scholarship. Clark and Cinello will receive funding to attend the 2025 NFCA National Convention, Dec. 10-13 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
Reviewed and voted on by the NFCA Awards Committee, the Mary Nutter Scholarship is an educational grant named for the former Pittsburg State (Kan.) head coach and 1997 NFCA Hall of Fame inductee who founded the National Sports Clinics. It seeks to continue Nutter’s effort to provide softball coaches at all levels access to the best minds in the sport to help them become better coaches themselves.
Clark and Cinello will be awarded a complimentary Convention registration, $700 in travel reimbursement and up to four nights at the Convention’s host hotel.
Clark was hired this past summer as CLC’s head coach following two years on the coaching staff at Northern Illinois. She enjoyed a decorated international playing career in both the Dutch and Italian professional leagues. An NFCA All-Region selection, Clark was a three-year captain at Eastern Kentucky and is the program’s all-time home run leader.
“Receiving the scholarship and attending the NFCA Convention will allow me to network with those similar to me and my situation as a new NJCAA coach,” said Clark. “After attending past Conventions, I always walk away meeting someone amazing. I met my first mentor last year, and she is someone I continue to go to for advice. Networking also allows me to help my junior college athletes find a home they deserve after graduating from my program.”
Cinello, hired in December 2023, is USSU’s first-ever head coach and led the newly-established program in its first year of competition as the University launched intercollegiate athletics for the 2024-25 academic year. Prior to USSU, she was the head coach at Gulf Shores High School, a graduate assistant at Alabama and pitching coach at Wichita State.
“I am dedicated to creating a strong foundation focused on quality instruction, team cohesion and a positive experience for our student-athletes,” said Cinello. “I have been fortunate to attend the Convention in the past. These experiences were invaluable. I gained knowledge from some of the best minds in our sport and built lasting connections through collaboration and shared passion for the game. As I work to establish and grow our new softball program, I view the Convention as a vital resource for my development as a coach and leader.”
“Attending the NFCA Convention would be a transformative opportunity for Morgan’s coaching career,” said Missouri head coach Larissa Anderson, who coached Cinello at Hofstra. “Building a program from scratch takes a bold vision, but it also requires a strong network. Attending the NFCA Convention would provide Morgan with essential tools, mentorship and connections to help her continue this pioneering work.”
Clark and Cinello will be recognized on Thursday, Dec. 11 during the Convention’s annual mentoring workshop presented by SixFour3.
ABOUT NUTTER
Nutter, who passed away in July 2012, compiled a 204-125 record over eight years at Pittsburg State University. She got her start in coaching with three years as a graduate assistant at Michigan State, after seven years as a teacher in nearby Elsie, Mich.
In 1981, Nutter won the first of three NAIA District 10 titles and the first of her three District 10 Coach of the Year honors (1981, 1982, 1985). That 1981 squad finished fourth at the NAIA national championship and she served as an assistant coach for the 1983 Pan American Tri-Nationals team and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Pan American selection committee. Nutter was a 1988 inductee into the NAIA Hall of Fame.
As a player, Nutter was a two-time first-team All-American (1974-75) for the Lansing Laurels, an ASA Women’s Major fastpitch team and spent 1976 as player-coach for the Michigan Travelers of the Women’s Professional Softball League.
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its extensive awards and scholarships program, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from NFCA podcasts to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and a National Convention.
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