COACHING STAFF
Naomi Tellez
Northwest Missouri State University Director of Athletics Andy Peterson has named Naomi Tellez as the 10th head coach in the Bearcat softball program's history.
Tellez will officially join the Northwest staff July 1.
"I'm excited for Naomi to join our team," Peterson said. "She's a young and energetic up-and-comer in the profession and we're lucky to have her at Northwest. It's a unique situation for the program, so it's going to be fun to see how the young women respond to the change of pace and a fresh start. We have a history of first-time head coaches doing very well as Bearcats. We are eager to get Coach Tellez here and support her and the Bearcat softball team as they move forward."
Tellez (pronounced TAY-ez) served as the pitching coach at the University of North Dakota for the previous three seasons. The Fighting Hawks lowered their team earned run average for the second straight season under Tellez's direction. The 2021 squad produced a 3.63 ERA, which ranked third-best in the Summit League.
"I would first like to thank Andy and the entire search committee for this amazing opportunity," Tellez said. "I am excited to be a part of the Bearcat athletics family. The athletics department has a championship culture and I look forward to implementing it to the softball program. This team is young, hungry and eager to embark on this new journey. I cannot wait to get to Maryville and start working with them to set our goals moving forward."
After her collegiate playing career ended, Tellez joined the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant coach at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. She earned her master's in business administration with a 3.93 GPA in 2018.
She split her playing career at the University of New Mexico and DePaul University. Tellez earned her bachelor of arts degree in organizational communications from DePaul in 2016. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.92 GPA.
In her first two collegiate playing seasons for the New Mexico Lobos, Tellez started all 105 games and was named the team MVP during her freshman campaign after slashing a .373 average with five home runs and 26 RBI. She smacked seven dingers to go along with 43 RBI, 11 doubles, 58 hits and a .369 clip during her final season in Albuquerque.
Tellez transferred to DePaul where she terrorized the BIG EAST Conference during her senior season. Over her final season, Tellez finished third on the team in average (.366), fourth in runs (20), third in hits (48), third in doubles (6), tied for first in round trippers (10), and first in RBI (50), which tied for fifth in the DePaul record books for most in a season, and Tellez finished second in the league in slugging percentage (.656). The dominant senior season landed Tellez on the All-BIG EAST First Team, BIG EAST All-Tournament Team, and the conference's player of the week honors in March.
Tellez is a native of San Diego, California. Her brother, Cisco, was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 24th Round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
Tellez is replacing head coach Ryan Anderson, who resigned after 15 seasons as the all-time winningest softball coach in program history to pursue other family interests.
Brianna Billie