By Patrick Gordon/Lakeland Sports Inforamtion

Kirtland, OH---The Lakeland Community College athletic department has announced the hiring of Jeff Morganti to the position of head softball coach.  Morganti brings with him a wealth of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate level.  He has coached softball for the past ten years and spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at nearby Lake Erie College. 

In his two years with the Storm, four student-athletes earned honorable mention all-conference accolades from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), one of the premier NCAA Division II conferences in the nation.  Additionally, ten were named to the GLIAC All-Academic Team for carrying a cumulative GPA of 3.0-3.49 and eight more earned GLIAC Academic Excellence Team selections for maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater. 

Prior to his tenure in Painesville, Morganti spent eight seasons leading a pair of high school varsity programs.  From 2003-2009 he was the head coach at Eastlake North High School where he led the Rangers to three conference titles and the first district title and regional appearance in program history.  He was named News-Herald and Plain-Dealer coach of the year in 2003 and 2008 after guiding Eastlake North to Premier Athletic Conference (PAC) championships.  In his seven years at the helm the Rangers amassed 125 wins and boasted 20 First Team All-Conference players.  He then spent a year as the head varsity coach at West Geauga High School before accepting the position with Lake Erie College.  

Morganti becomes the fifth coach in the 27-year history of Lakeland softball and will inherit one of the strongest offensive lineups in the region.  Last year, the Lakers finished ninth in the nation (NJCAA Division II) in homeruns with 48 despite playing at least five fewer games than every other team in the top-10.  Lakeland went 22-18, finished third in the OCCAC, and advanced to the semifinals of the Region 12, District H tournament.  

The Kirtland, Ohio native is a cum laude graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in Mass-Media Communication.  He went on to earn a teaching certificate in special education and a Master's in Communication from Cleveland State University.  He has been employed as an intervention specialist with the Willoughby-Eastlake school district since 1996.  A member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association (OHSFSCA), Morganti resides in Mentor with his wife, Deanna.

Morganti: At A Glance
July, 2013 – Present                                     Lakeland Community College Head Softball Coach
August, 2011 – July, 2013                          Lake Erie College Assistant Softball Coach
October, 2010 – May, 2011                      West Geauga High School Head Varsity Softball Coach
January, 2003 – June, 2009       Eastlake North High School Head Varsity Softball Coach