Kristi Villar enters her eighth season as a head coach of the Wolves in 2017-18. A former standout shortstop at Augustana College, Villar comes to the Wolves after two seasons on staff at Southwest Minnesota State University.
In her second season, Villar lead the Wolves to their most wins in school history with a record of 24-28 and 13-13 in the conference. This would mark the first year the Wolves would make the conference since 2007, when all conference teams participated. That same season three were named to the NSIC All-Conference second team; Caitlin Moran, Brittany Huback, and Kelsey Robling. Moran was also named the NSIC Newcomer of the Year.
She went on to surpass her previous records in 2015. Villar led the Wolves to their best season in over 20 years and was named the NSIC Coach of the Year. Northern finished the regular season 33-22 overall and 19-10 in league games, with a .615 winning percentage to finish fourth overall in the NSIC. In her fifth season at the helm, Villar pulled together single season school records in wins with 32, games played with 55, and homeruns with 31. Kristi earned her 100th career victory as the Wolves defeated Winona State 1-0 in extras. Senior pitcher, Kami Smesmo, was named to the NSIC All-Conference second team after breaking three school records and recording 20 wins.
In her sixth season at the helm, Villar tallied her second straight NSIC Conference Tournament appearance and second straight 20-plus win season. She also graduated two All-Conference performers in Kelsey Gale (2nd team/gold glove) and Macey Engel (gold glove).
The Wolves softball program continued to grow in 2017 with the team breaking single season school records in games played (56), runs scored (257), hits (434), doubles (81), and runs batted in (242). Freshman Kennady Thompson was named to the NSIC All-Conference Gold Glove team. Villar also graduated the largest recruiting class in 2017 with seven seniors who qualified for the conference tournament the last three seasons.
Villar's squads have also excelled in the classroom since the start of her tenure. In 2013-14, the Wolves finished the year sixth in the nation with a team GPA of 3.529.
A native of Oakdale, Minn., Villar enjoyed a stellar 4-year career at Augustana, earning all North Central Conference honors during all four seasons and leading the team in batting average each of her last two seasons. She was also named as the NCC Freshman of the Year in 2003 and earned a pair of all-region accolades during her career. The Vikings claimed the NCC conference champion during her senior campaign and advanced to the NCAA tournament that season as well.
Following her playing career, Villar joined the SMSU staff as a graduate assistant for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The Mustangs claimed the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season title both seasons and compiled a record of 71-35 (38-6 NSIC) during her tenure. SMSU also advanced to the NCAA tournament both seasons.
Villar spent the 2009-10 academic year teaching and coaching at Lennox High School, where she was an assistant for both the girls basketball and softball squads.
| Kristi Villar Year-By-Year |
|
|
Overall |
Conference |
|
| Year |
School |
W |
L |
T |
W |
L |
T |
Finish |
| 2011 |
Northern State |
14 |
29 |
0 |
7 |
16 |
0 |
10th |
| 2012 |
Northern State |
24 |
28 |
0 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
7th |
| 2013 |
Northern State |
19 |
23 |
0 |
11 |
13 |
0 |
11th |
| 2014 |
Northern State |
16 |
28 |
0 |
9 |
19 |
0 |
13th |
| 2015* |
Northern State |
33 |
22 |
0 |
19 |
10 |
0 |
4th |
| 2016 |
Northern State |
25 |
32 |
0 |
14 |
16 |
0 |
9th |
| 2017 |
Northern State |
29 |
26 |
1 |
14 |
15 |
1 |
10th |
| Total |
|
160 |
188 |
1 |
87 |
102 |
1 |
|
* NSIC Coach of the Year
