Jill Justin

Jill Justin-Coffel (born October 1967) is an American, former collegiate NCAA Division I All-American, right-handed hitting softball player originally from Oak Lawn, Illinois. She played for the Northern Illinois Huskies as an outfielder from 1986-1989 and later was a medal-winning member of Team USA softball. She is the 4-year batting champion (5th overall) for the NCAA and owner of nearly all Husky offense records.

Northern Illinois Huskies

Justin-Coffel graduated from Harold L. Richards High School in 1986 with a Hall-of-Fame career.[1]

In her 1986 freshman season she earned All-MAC conference honors and set new school season records for batting average, home runs and slugging percentage, all of which rank in the top-5 at Northern Illinois University. On April 4, 1986, Justin-Coffel hit a school single-game record of three doubles vs. the Ball State Cardinals.


During her sophomore year, Justin-Coffel earned First Team All-American recognition.[2] The Husky broke her own average and slugging records whilst also posting new records in hits, doubles and on-base percentage. Justin-Coffel still heads the lists in single season slugging and doubles and her 7 triples were tied for second place all-time in the program. Her school record batting average and doubles (career bests) led the NCAA.[3]

Justin-Coffel also achieved a then university record 15 consecutive game hitting streak. On May 1, 1987, she became the first player in Division I to hit three home runs and amass a total of 13 bases for a single game (against the Bradley Braves), in which the Huskies eventually won 12-2. Both record totals from the game were the highest totals for the Division.[4][5]


In 1988, Justin-Coffel was once again honored as a First Team All-American.[6] She was also selected for the All-North Star conference team after the program spent a year as an Independent.[7] For the second consecutive time, she was crowned batting champ in the NCAA.[3] Justin-Coffel's home run and on-base percentage were new school records, she still retains the on-base title; her hits were second only to her previous year's mark and remains top-5 all-time.[4] Along with her RBI total, she earned a conference batting Triple Crown.

The Huskies entered their first Women's College World Series and it was also Justin-Coffel's only appearance.[8][9] The team was eliminated by the eventual champions the UCLA Bruins on May 27; she had a double and two walks in two games.[10] For that World Series, Justin-Coffel was awarded the NSC Offensive MVP title.[4]


For her final season with the Huskies, Justin-Coffel was awarded with all-season honors as a 1989 First Team All-American and received her second All-North Star selection.[11] Achieving a .443 average, it was the first occasion a Division I player had hit .400 or better in all four eligible seasons of play. For the Huskies, Justin-Coffel held all the top seasons averages and she also surpassed Yvette Cannon (George Mason University) for the batting crown in all Division I capacities where at least two seasons of 250 at-bats were played. Her career best RBI total was also a new school record, while her on-base and triples were and still do rank top-5, and she led the NCAA in slugging percentage.[12] These would help her to a second conference batting Triple Crown.

She ranks 5th for stolen bases for the Huskies.[13] In the NCAA, she posted the best slugging percentage and still ranks in the top-20 for a career.[5]

Post-Northern Illinois

Justin-Coffel was invited to join Team USA and proceeded to win gold at the World and Pan-American championships between 1990 and 1995. She auditioned, and was selected for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[14][15]

The former Husky also played during the summer season for the Connecticut Brakettes from 1999-2004 and set all-time team records for RBIs, home runs and doubles.[16][17] On August 24, 2001, Justin-Coffel "singled to drive" in the winning run for the National A.S.A. Championship, in which the Brakettes won 2-1.[18]

On October 7, 2004, Justin-Coffel was inducted into the Northern Illinois Hall of Fame and, in 2002, was inducted a second time alongside her 1988 teammates.[19] Justin-Coffel was also inducted into the Harold L. Richards High School's Hall of Fame on September 24, 2006.[20]

As of 2006, Justin-Coffel worked as a physical education (PE) instructor in Illinois state.[21]

Statistics

Northern Illinois Huskies

YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
1986 42 131 26 57 .435 28 6 6 12 99 .755% 10 7 11 14
1987 49 147 53 74 .503 34 5 7 20 123 .836% 25 6 10 10
1988 46 126 31 61 .484 34 8 1 18 105 .833% 29 1 3 4
1989 45 131 38 58 .443 38 5 8 6 95 .725% 30 4 8 9
TOTALS 182 535 148 250 .467 134 24 22 56 422 .789% 94 18 32 37

See also

References

  1. ↑ Staff (2010). "Harold L. Richards High School Athletic Hall of Fame". Harold L. Richards High School. Harold L. Richards High School. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  2. ↑ https://nfca.org/index.php/awards/awards-history/4209-1987-di-all-american-teams-
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Staff (2011). "NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association" (PDF). NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 NIU Huskies (2011). "1988 World Series Team" (PDF). 2011 NIU Softball. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 NCAA Softball (2011). "Division I Records" (PDF). NCAA Softball. NCAA. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  6. ↑ https://nfca.org/index.php/awards/awards-history/4206-1988-di-all-american-teams-
  7. ↑ National Fastpitch Coaches Association (1999–2012). "1987 NSCA Division I All-America Teams". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  8. ↑ National Collegiate Athletic Association (2004). "NCAA Championship Archives". NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  9. ↑ National Collegiate Athletic Association (2004). "NCAA Championship Archives". NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  10. ↑ http://web1.ncaa.org/ncaa/event.do?championship=400011&division=400011400012&school=503&event=400266
  11. ↑ https://nfca.org/index.php/awards/awards-history/4201-1989-di-all-american-teams-
  12. ↑ Staff (5 July 1989). "Softball Statistics" (PDF). The NCAA News. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  13. ↑ Jeff Kirik (21 June 1989). "No NCAA call for Huskies". Northern Star. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  14. ↑ Amateur Softball Association (ASA) (2009). "All-time Olympic Games Rosters". USA Softball. Amateur Softball Association (ASA). Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  15. ↑ Julie Deardorff (5 September 1995). "Oak Park's Tyler Makes Olympic Softball Squad". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  16. ↑ Brakettes Softball (2012). "BRAKETTES ALL-TIME RECORDS". Brakettes. Brakettes Softball. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  17. ↑ Brakettes Softball (2012). "BRAKETTES ALL-TIME ROSTER". Brakettes. Brakettes Softball. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  18. ↑ Brakettes Softball (2012). "1991 BRAKETTES IN REVIEW". Brakettes. Brakettes Softball. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  19. ↑ Staff (7 October 1994). "Niu To Honor Its Version Of The `Fab 5'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  20. ↑ Northern Illinois University Huskie Athletics (1998–2006). "Hall of Fame - Northern Illinois University Intercollegiate Athletics". niuhuskies.com. Northern Illinois University Huskie Athletics. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  21. ↑ Sean Connor (25 April 2006). "Catching up with the record-breaker". Northern Star. Retrieved 11 May 2012.