Kristen McGaughey became the Clarkson University Softball program's first head coach when the program was started in 2012, and she is now entering her 13th season guiding the Golden Knights in 2025-26.
The Golden Knights enjoyed their most successful season in the program's brief history during the spring of 2017 when the team reached the championship round of the Liberty League Tournament. It was Clarkson's first time in the post-season and the team produced a record of 22-17 against stiffer competition than in its previous seasons. For her efforts, McGaughey shared the conference's honor of Liberty League Coach of the Year. During the 2019 campaign, the Golden Knights surpassed their previous win total with 25 victories and reached the conference tournament for the second time in three years, gaining their first ever regional ranking in the process. This past season, the Knights reached the Liberty League Tournament for the second straight season as the third seed, winning 22 games. McGaughey was selected as the Liberty League Coach of the Year for the second time in her career in 2025.
In her first 12 seasons at the helm of the fledgling program, McGaughey has recorded 191 victories and a .486 winning percentage.
After spending the 2012-13 academic year forming the Clarkson Softball program, the Golden Knights posted a 6-26 record with all new collegiate players in 2014. Following that formative year, the Golden Knights produced back-to-back winning records and a combined mark of 38-27. Clarkson was within a game of its first Liberty League post-season appearance in 2016 after going 20-14 overall and 5-7 in the Liberty League. In a dozen seasons, McGaughey has already guided 20 different players to all-star status, including Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Liberty League Pitcher of the Year, and Liberty League Player of the Year student-athletes. Most recently, Devin Fitzpatrick earned NFCA All-Region status in 2024 and 2025, and was chosen as the Liberty League Player of the Year in 2025.
Prior to coming to Clarkson, McGaughey served as the assistant coach for the softball team at Bethany College in West Virginia. McGaughey is no stranger to overseeing the startup of an athletic program, having served as the head coach for the newly reinstated women’s field hockey team at Bethany in 2011-12. During her time as the Bison’s Field Hockey Head Coach, McGaughey was recruiting student-athletes, ordering equipment, creating a schedule and carrying out all the other necessary responsibilities that are required to form a team. She will perform similar duties in her first year at Clarkson.
In her four seasons on the Bison’s softball staff under head coach Jan Forsty, McGaughey helped Bethany to 101 victories, including a school-record 35 in 2010. After going 14-2 in the PAC during the 2011 regular season, BC swept three straight in the tournament to claim the conference championship and a trip to NCAA Regionals. It marked the third straight postseason trip during McGaughey's tenure, as Bethany also earned a pair of bids to the ECAC Tournament, highlighted by a runner-up showing in 2010.
A native of Massillon, Ohio, McGaughey was a standout softball player at Division II Ashland (Ohio) University from 2004-08. She finished her collegiate playing days ranked third in career home runs (19) and fifth in career RBIs (99) at Ashland. McGaughey earned First Team All-Great Lakes Region and Second Team All-GLIAC as a junior in 2007 after slugging 11 home runs and driving in 38 while batting .355. As a senior, she hit three home runs and had 32 RBIs to receive Honorable Mention all-conference honors.
McGaughey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Ashland in 2008 and a Master’s of Science in Athletic Coaching Education from West Virginia University in 2011. She and her wife, Rachel, have three young children.
