Jess DePolito

A native of Taunton, Mass., DePolito capped a stellar career at Wheaton by being named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Third Team in 2007, drawing her first national honor and becoming just the eighth player in program history to do so. DePolito was one of only four New England players among the 45 Division III All-Americans, and one of just two position players from the region to receive the accolade.

"I am very excited to have Jess join the coaching staff," said Starek, who enters her second season as head coach at UNH in 2008. "After working at camps with Jess for the past few years I am confident she will be an excellent instructor and offer a wealth of knowledge to our hitters and infielders. I also believe as team captain that she will have a lot of insight on leadership and team chemistry."

During her four-year career at Wheaton, the Lyons posted a 110-58-1 record. DePolito, the starting first baseman and a co-captain, added the All-America laurel to a growing list of honors. She was also earned the third NFCA All-New England accolade of her career, landing on the first team in 2007, while being named New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) All-Conference for the third time. She was a First Team selection for the second straight spring.

"I am very much looking forward to my future at UNH and I am very grateful for the opportunity to begin my coaching career in such a competitive conference," DePolito said.  "I am eager to work with Coach Starek and to become a member or the UNH athletic community."

DePolito started all 41 games in 2007, batting a career-high .463 with career bests of 57 hits, 37 runs, 14 home runs and 42 RBIs. Her .894 slugging percentage, .514 on-base percentage, 12 bases on balls and seven stolen bases were also the top single-season figures of her four-year career.

As one of the nation's top-five home run hitters, DePolito also finished 12th in Division III in slugging. She batted .478 with runners in scoring position and collected 13 two-out RBI. DePolito twice had streaks of at least three games with a home run, had two streaks of at least eight games with a hit, provided 20 multi-hit performances and notched multiple RBI in 12 contests. Her home run total this season was the third highest in program history, while her slugging percentage was good for fourth, and she will graduate third at Wheaton with 24 career longballs.

In 15 contests against teams that qualified for the 2007 NCAA Tournament, DePolito batted .341 with four home runs, seven RBI and seven runs.

In addition to her home run total, DePolito finished her 154-game career among the top 10 in a number of categories at Wheaton. She is second in putouts (945), sixth in slugging percentage (.640) and total bases (286), seventh in RBI (110), eighth in batting average (.389) and ninth in doubles (32).

DePolito finished as the NEWMAC leader in home runs while placing third in average and RBI, tying for fifth in runs and tying for ninth in doubles.

DePolito earned her Bachelor's degree in History from Wheaton in 2007.