Tampa native Katie (Grimes) Profitt began her tenure as the head coach of the Eckerd softball program in August of 2016, becoming the seventh head coach in program history.  She enters her eighth season as preparations for the 2024 campaign begin.

In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she helps oversee the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). 

Her first season at the helm saw the team win 19 games including five victories over nationally-ranked opponents.  The team improved to 20 wins in 2018 including nine walk-off victories and two wins over No. 9 Saint Leo. 

In 2022, she led the program to the best start in her tenure, including a pair of walk-off extra-inning victories over No. 4 North Georgia while coaching freshman, Brenna Lokeinsky, who led the SSC in homeruns.

In 2023, she produced her best record during her tenure with a 21-26 record, marking the most wins in a season under her guidance and the fourth most wins in a season in program history. Eckerd produced a 13-game win streak during the season, including a sweep of Palm beach Atlantic. Eckerd also posted 89 stolen bases, the most in a season since at least 1998. She guided two All-SSC selections in Lauren Margolis (first team), and Brenna Lokeinsky (second team and defensive team). 


North Carolina State University - Hitting Coach 2013-15
Boston University - Assistant Coach
Boston University - Volunteer Assistant 

Proffitt brings plenty of experience at the NCAA Division I level, spending nearly a decade as a player and an assistant coach at three stops before taking her first head coaching position at Eckerd.
  
Proffitt comes to Eckerd from her most recent coaching stop at North Carolina State University where she was the team's hitting coach from 2013-15.  The Wolfpack's offensive numbers dramatically increased under her tutelage as the 2015 squad broke school records for most runs scored (320), most runs batted in (293), most walks (227) and highest on-base percentage (.367) in a single season and also posted the second-most home runs in a single season (75).
 
As a result of the strong offensive numbers, North Carolina State made its first-ever appearance in an NCAA Super Regional after advancing through the NCAA Harrisonburg (Va.) Regional with a perfect 3-0 mark.

The team's power-hitting numbers exploded during Grimes's tenure.  In 2013, the Wolfpack totaled 88 homeruns, the most in the ACC and sixth-most in the nation.

She began her coaching career at Boston University, spending one year as a volunteer assistant before joining Coach Shawn Rychick's staff as a full-time assistant.  While there, she worked with the team's hitters, pitchers and outfielders and handled scouting, recruiting and summer camps.


100 Career Wins - 3/17/23 vs. PBA 
First Program Win - 2/3/17 - vs. Chadaron State 



All-SSC Team

• 2023
  • First Team: Lauren Margolis  (1B)
  • Second Team: Brenna Lokeinsky (SS)
  • Defensive Team: Brenna Lokeinsky (SS)
• 2019
  • First Team: Nikole Van Gennep (UT-P)
• 2018
  • First Team: Crystal Garcia (SS), Nikole Van Gennep (UT-P)

NFCA All-Region

• 2019
  • First Team: Nikole Van Gennep
• 2018
  • First Team: Nikole Van Gennep

Proffitt was a four-year standout as a catcher at the University of Hawaii, starting 202 games over the course of her career.  She was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007 and earned WAC All-Tournament honors as a senior in 2010.  Her senior year saw Grimes hit .282 with 11 homeruns and 41 RBIs.  She also succeeded in the classroom, receiving the UH Scholar-Athlete award and WAC All-Academic honors in each of her four seasons.

Before heading across the Pacific Ocean, Grimes prepped at H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, leading her team to three straight district championships and earning all-county and all-state honors during her career.

She earned a bachelor's of science degree in psychology in 2010 from the University of Hawaii and added a master's of education degree in counseling, sport psychology, from Boston University in 2012. 

She married Tyler Profitt in 2017 and the couple welcomed their son, Jack, in the summer of 2020.
 

YEAR	OVERALL	SSC	NOTES
2017	19-33	8-16
2018	20-27	11-19
2019	18-30	10-20
2020	9-13	5-7	Shortened season due to COVID19
2021	-	-	No competition due to COVID19
2022	18-26	7-23
2023	21-26	6-24