Elisa Van Kirk

Dr. Elisa Van Kirk recently made the move from Saints' softball coach to Visiting Assistant Professor in the St. Lawrence University Masters of Arts in Leadership program and Education Department.

Van Kirk was named the head coach of the St. Lawrence University softball program in the summer of 2012 and has a 121-114 record in eight seasons with the Saints. In her first season, she led the Saints to a 22-17 record, the most wins in program history.  She also guided the team to its highest seed in the Liberty League tournament in which it finished third. In 2017, the Saints tied the program record for wins, posting a 22-11 record, and shattered the program record for runs in a season with 206.

Van Kirk has coached 34 All-Liberty League players, including the two-time Liberty League Pitcher of the Year and All-Region Selection Kyle Plimpton '15, First-Team All-Region utility player Skylar Hein, Third Team All-Region selection Becky Allen '14, as well as two ECAC Upstate Regional All-stars.  Additionally, five members of her squad garnered NFCA Academic All-America status, and Taylor Armijo '20 and Skylar Hein '21 were CoSIDA Academic All-Region honorees in 2020.

In January 2021, she obtained a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University; her thesis was titled "A Narrative Inquiry Study of the Leadership Pathways of NCAA Division III Female Collegiate Athletic Administrators."

Van Kirk was a former Division I athlete at George Washington University where she graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Science. Prior to St. Lawrence, she was a graduate assistant coach at Smith College where she earned her Master of Science Degree in exercise and sport studies.

Van Kirk’s research focuses on collegiate athletics as well as, sports and gender.