University of Minnesota Athletics
Softball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- mvansche@umn.edu
Gretta Melsted was named head coach of the University of Minnesota softball program in May 2026.
Melsted came to Minnesota after 20 seasons as the head coach at Augustana University, where she built one of the premier Division II softball programs in the country. During her time with the Vikings, she guided the program to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, five consecutive NSIC regular season titles from 2021-25, the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship and the 2026 NSIC Tournament title.
Melsted led Augustana to an 813-313 overall record, including seven seasons with 50-plus wins. Her 2019 team posted a program-best 61 wins and captured the NCAA Division II National Championship after going 10-2 in the NCAA postseason. The Vikings defeated No. 2 Winona State in regionals and No. 1 Central Oklahoma in super regionals, both on the road, before earning back-to-back 6-4 wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville in the championship series.
Following the historic 2019 season, Melsted and her staff were named the NFCA Central Region and Division II National Staff of the Year. She was also named the NFCA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2012 after leading Augustana to a 53-12 record, an NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 5 final ranking in the NFCA poll. In December 2024, Melsted was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
During the 2024 season, Augustana captured its fourth consecutive NSIC regular season title, claimed the NSIC Tournament title, won the NCAA Central Regional and advanced to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship. The Vikings finished the season 50-15 and had four NFCA All-Americans, three D2CCA All-Americans, five NFCA All-Region selections and nine All-NSIC honorees. The Augustana staff was also recognized as the ATEC/NFCA DII Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.
Melsted’s teams were consistently among the top offensive programs in the country. In 2023, Augustana ranked second nationally with a .607 slugging percentage and fifth with a .356 batting average. In 2022, the Vikings ranked third nationally in batting average, second in home runs per game and fourth in runs per game.
A native of Albert Lea, Minn., Melsted served as the head coach at Culver-Stockton for three seasons before taking over at Augustana. She also served as an assistant coach for softball and women’s basketball at William Woods and had assistant coaching stops at Carleton, Robbinsdale Cooper High School and Robbinsdale Armstrong High School.
Melsted earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Carleton and her master’s degree in education administration from William Woods. She played basketball and softball at Carleton and still holds the school record for runs scored in a season.
She and her husband, Dan Van Schepen, have two sons, Matthew and Jacob.
