Karissa Hovinga is a current member of the Canadian National Team, and one of 20 players competing for a 2021 Olympic roster spot. She has played on the Senior National Team since 2012 and she has been to four World Championships and one Pan American Games. Karissa played collegiately at the University of Oregon from 2012-2015. At Oregon, she contributed to three Pac-12 Championships and three trips to the Women’s College World Series.
Karissa also earned her master’s degree at the University of Minnesota where she served as a graduate manager for the Gopher softball program from 2016-2018. During her time with the Gophers, she served as interim pitching coach for the 2017 non-conference season and boasted a record of 25-2. Karissa broadened her coaching experience from 2018-2020 when she served as the Volunteer Assistant for the Stanford Cardinal softball program.
Karissa is excited for the opportunity to be able to reach students all around the country and beyond through the Area Scouts platform.
Proud native of Toronto, Canada, Joey Lye joins the Area Scouts team with more than 10 years of professional and international experience as both an outfielder and infielder. Since joining the Canadian National Team in 2010, she has played multiple infield and multiple outfield positions and was Team Captain from 2013-2017. Joey is an active athlete within three professional organizations- the brand-new Athletes Unlimited, Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois, and Team Canada.
Following her graduation from Williams College in 2009 with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University, Joey began her NCAA coaching career in both softball and ice hockey spending two years at her alma mater before landing her first head softball coach position in 2011. Joey is excited to use her six years of NCAA Division III and three years of NCAA Division I softball head coaching experience to help her thrive in her role as the National Director of Fielding for Softball.
Currently living in Pennsylvania, Joey is actively training for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Joey is excited to impact the next generation of softball players. She believes strongly in mental approach, pre-pitch preparation, and building solid muscle memory to develop championship-level defense.
Alyssa Reina, A native from Auburn, California, Alyssa has been in the game of softball both as a player and coach for over a decade. Following a decorated career as a catcher at a Division I University from 2012-2017, she continued on to coach for a Power 5 program for 4 seasons. During her time there, she developed numerous All-American catchers as well as helped lead the program to their first ever Women’s College World Series appearance. In addition to her coaching duties, she was also the Camp Director for the program as well as gave catching lessons at numerous sport facilities. As of May 2021, she will have also contributed two years as a Graduate Manager for the program and will have completed a Master’s program in Sports Management.
Alyssa is excited to use her knowledge from both coaching and playing in Division I softball to impact the many athletes striving to reach the next level. Joining the Area Scouts team will allow her to use her passion for the game to develop athletes to reach their fullest potential.
Kelly Kretschman is an American, former collegiate four-time All-American, two-time medal-winning Olympian, retired nine-time professional All-Star softball outfielder and current softball coach. Kretschman played college softball at Alabama where she is the career leader in doubles and total bases. As a member of the United States women’s national softball team, she won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also played in the National Pro Fastpitch with four teams including her longest tenure with the USSSA Pride; where she is the all-time career leader in RBIs, hits, doubles and base on balls. She also owns numerous records for the Tide and is one of the select NCAA Division I players to bat .400 with 300 hits, 200 runs and 100 stolen bases for her career.
