On Monday, Iona Softball announced the hiring of Carla Campagna to be the school’s new Head Softball Coach.

Iona competes in the D1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) which has 13 members located across five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.

The MAAC members are all relatively small private institutions, a majority Catholic or formerly Catholic, with the only exceptions being two secular institutions: Rider University and Quinnipiac University.

The other dozen members of the conference include Canisius, Fairfield, Manhattan, Marist College, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Rider, Sacred Heart, Saint Peter’s and Siena College. 

Campagna replaces Alyssa Tiumalu who announced on July 16 that she was stepping down as head softball coach at Iona for personal reasons. 

Tiumalu joined the Gaels staff in 2022 and in three seasons went 18-29 (2024), 21-31-1 (2023) and 23-26 (2022) for an overall record of 62-86-1.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to Alyssa for her contributions to the Iona University softball program,” Iona Athletic Director Matthew Glovaski said at that time.

“While we are sad to see her go, we fully support her decision and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors.”

In her three seasons, Tiumalu’s Gaels went 34-30 mark in MAAC play and helped The Maroon & Gold compete in the conference tournament in all three years including a championship series appearance in 2023.

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Here is the complete release announcing the hiring of the Gaels new softball head coach…

Iona Athletics Announces Carla Campagna as New Head Softball Coach

NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Iona University Director of Athletics Matthew Glovaski announced the appointment of Carla Campagna as head coach for the Gaels’ softball program. Campagna brings extensive experience and a proven track record of success from her tenures at Adelphi University and LIU Post, where she led the Panthers and helped lead the Pioneers to multiple conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances.

“We are thrilled to welcome Carla to Iona,” said Glovaski “Her track record of success and commitment to developing student-athletes make her the perfect fit for our softball program. We are confident she will lead our team to new heights and continue to build on the foundation of excellence at Iona.”

“I am honored to become a part of the Iona family,” said Campagna. I am excited to work with a talented group of student-athletes and contribute to a program that values both athletic and academic success. I look forward to building on the tradition of excellence here and am ready to get started on this exciting journey with the team.”

Campagna joined Adelphi in 2018 and quickly made her mark by guiding the team to a 32-20 record and a Northeast-10 Southwest Division regular-season title in her first season. Under her leadership, the Panthers consistently excelled, reaching the NCAA Tournament and securing conference championships.

Following another 30+ win season in 2021, Campagna led Adelphi to a historic season in 2022 with a program-best 47-15 record, winning the NE10 Championship and advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship for the third time in the program’s history. Her coaching excellence earned her NE10 Coach of the Year honors, and her staff was recognized as the NFCA Division II Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.

Campagna continued to build on this success with another record-setting season in 2023, achieving a 47-8 record and an impressive .855 winning percentage. The Panthers secured their second consecutive NE10 Championship and hosted the NCAA Division II East Super Regional. Throughout her tenure at Adelphi, Campagna has developed numerous All-Americans and award-winning players, showcasing her ability to cultivate talent and lead teams to success.  The Panthers earned a bid into the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in 2024.

Before her time at Adelphi, Campagna spent six years as an assistant coach at LIU Post, where she contributed to two East Coast Conference titles and five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. As a former standout player at Molloy College, she was a three-time All-ECC First Team selection and earned numerous accolades, including ECC and Daktronics East Region Player of the Year.