Maribeth Gorsuch Fulfills Lifelong Passion At Grand Canyon

After finishing up an impressive career at LSU, Maribeth Gorsuch has now entered a new phase in her softball life as the pitching coach for Grand Canyon University. For Gorsuch, becoming a college softball pitching coach fulfills a lifelong dream.

"My passion for coaching comes directly from my passion for softball. I love softball," Gorsuch said. "My goal as a coach or in life, really, is to be able to impact others and love others and help others."

Gorsuch adds that her main reason for wanting to become a coach is to help young women succeed in life, not only off the field, but also on it.

For Gorsuch, her late father has always been an influential person in her life and her softball career. He was her first coach, and the two coached together in Gorsuch's home state of Texas—it was their favorite thing to do together. Accepting the job on Father's Day was a special, but bittersweet moment for her.

"It's just all so fitting that I accepted the position on Father's Day," she said. "My first Father's Day without him, that was hard, but it was cool that there's something joyful out of that day. You don't really understand why things happen the way they do.

"But for that to happen on that day, I thought that was so cool. That's definitely a sign from my dad that he's still watching over me. I think that was one of the coolest things that I've ever experienced."

Gorsuch begins her coaching career in Phoenix, joining new GCU head coach Shanon Hays on the Lopes' coaching staff. Hays knew Gorsuch's father and recruited her while at Texas Tech.

One thing Gorsuch brings to the table for GCU's pitching staff is her wealth of experience at LSU. She was an instrumental part of the Tigers' staff for five seasons, posting a career record of 31-12 with a 2.77 ERA.

"I know what it's like to be in the players' shoes," Gorsuch added. "And I can use that experience to mentor them and teach them. I know what it takes to play at the highest level, so I'll be able to use those experiences at practice in the bullpen."

While Gorsuch has coaching experience as the pitching coach for Texas Glory Naudin at the elite travel ball level, the hardest part of her transition has been moving to Arizona. Now settled into her new home, she's excited to start working with the young GCU pitching staff and the different pitching styles that they bring to the team.

And as she gets ready to make her college coaching debut next spring, Gorsuch hopes to help GCU improve in 2022. The Lopes went 19-30 in 2021 with an 8-9 record in the WAC.

"What's going to make us good—because we are going to have a really good team—is the fact that (the pitchers) all do something different," she said. "I think that's awesome. I don't want them all to be the exact same."

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