Cal State Fullerton Head Coach Michelle Gromacki returns to the bench for her ninth season at the helm of the Titans' softball program, continuing to build upon a tradition that has made Fullerton one of the most prestigious programs in the nation.

Gromacki has devoted the past 13 seasons to the Titans' program after spending five years as an assistant under Hall of Fame Head Coach Judi Garman from 1995-99, helping Cal State Fullerton to a 184-129 (.588) overall record and a berth in the College World Series in 1995.

With Garman's retirement following the 1999 season, Gromacki stepped right in as head coach of her alma mater and the Titans never missed a beat.

Under her guidance, Gromacki's Titans have staked their claim to five Big West Conference championships in the last eight seasons, including four consecutive conference titles from 2000-03. Those accomplishments bring the program's total to eight league crowns overall - the most of any other school in the history of the conference.

After a two-year absence, Gromacki has guided Fullerton to postseason play in seven of the last eight years - including the last three consecutive seasons. In 2007, the Titans won their regional in Columbus, Ohio, for the first time since 1995 and became the first Big West school to advance to the NCAA Super Regional round since the format was adopted in 2005.

Gromacki's teams have finished in the top 20 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's poll in five of the last eight seasons, including top-10 finishes in 2002 (No. 9) and 2003 (No. 10). The Titans also finished ninth in the inaugural year of the ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches poll in 2003.

Her head coaching career got off to a great start in her rookie year in 2000, leading an inexperienced Titan squad to a 45-15 overall record and the school's first Big West title since 1993 with a 19-5 mark. For her efforts, Gromacki was named Big West Conference Coach of the Year.

With a little more experience under its belt in 2001, Cal State Fullerton won its second consecutive league crown thanks to a 19-2 record and finished the year 48-14 overall after a tough NCAA regional in Tucson, Ariz., where the Titans finished third.

The 2002 season was a banner year for Titan softball as Gromacki led Fullerton to a 53-13 overall record, posting the most victories in a single season since Gromacki helped the Titans to 59 wins as a player in 1987. That campaign featured a 32-game winning streak (the second-longest in the history of the program and the second-longest in the nation that season) and Gromacki's 100th career coaching victory. She became the fastest coach in school history to 100 wins (134 games), besting Garman (142 games) and former baseball coach Augie Garrido's previous record of 135 games.

Fullerton also clinched its third-straight conference title wih a 22-2 mark, posting the best single-season conference winning percentage in school history. However, the "region of death" awaited the Titans in the postseason as Fullerton was awarded one of eight national No. 1 seeds and was pitted against five other squads in NCAA Regional play at Fresno, Calif. - a regional that featured five ranked teams and four in the top 15.

In 2003, featuring a roster chock-full of talented seniors, Gromacki piloted the Titans to a 41-15 overall record and a 20-1 mark in the Big West to clinch Fullerton's fourth consecutive league title. The Titans broke the school record for best Big West winning percentage and served as host of an NCAA Regional for the first time since 1996.

The 2004 season was supposed to be one of celebration as the program turned 25 years old, but the loss of seven seniors (including All-Americans Jenny Topping, Gina Oaks, and Jodie Cox) forced Gromacki and the Titans in rebuilding mode as Fullerton struggled to its first losing season in the history of the program (18-34 overall, 7-14 in the Big West).

Proving you can't keep a good program down, Gromacki brought the Titans back to the national stage in 2005, guiding the Titans to a 30-21 overall record and a 14-7 mark in Big West play to finish third.

Thanks to a very difficult strength of schedule, Fullerton was selected as one of two Big West programs to the 64-team NCAA regional field, seeded third at UCLA's Easton Stadium. The Titans emerged as the only undefeated team through the first two games, including a 2-1 victory in 11 grueling innings over the host Bruins. However, Fullerton's storybook run through the regional tournament ended as UCLA won both games on "Championship Sunday" to advance to the super regional round and eventually finish as the national runner-up.

The 2006 season saw the Titans regain their swagger and climb back atop the Big West pile with their eighth league title and 24th trip to the postseason. Gromacki, who was named the league's Coach of the Year for the second time in her career following the end of the regular season, helped the Titans to a 37-24 overall mark and a 14-4 record in Big West play.

Guided by the stellar pitching of junior Candice Baker (22-10 overall in the circle) and the powerful bat of Ashley Van Boxmeer (the Co-Big West Player of the Year after hitting .302 with 13 home runs and 41 RBI), Cal State Fullerton advanced to the NCAA Regionals in Fresno, Calif., before they were eventually eliminated by Stanford.

In 2007, Fullerton took another step forward toward the nation's elite, finishing 38-23 overall and 14-5 in the Big West Conference for second place. Placed into a four-team regional in Columbus, Ohio, as the No. 3 seed, the Titans rebounded to win four straight games after an opening night loss to the host Buckeyes to claim the regional title and move on to the super regional round against defending national champion Arizona.

The Wildcats, however, proved to be too tough for Fullerton as they swept the Titans in a best-of-three series by the scored of 11-6 and 2-1 to end Cal State Fullerton's season.

Gromacki has been honored by her peers throughout her coaching career, serving as head coach on four Speedline/NFCA West Region Coaching Staff's of the Year in the last eight seasons (2000, 2002-03, 2006). She has even taken her talents to the next level, serving as an assistant coach for the USA Blue Team in 2001 and the U.S. "Elite" National Team in 2002-04, competing in international tournaments and serving as the "sparring partner" for the U.S. National Team in preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.

In 2003, she helped lead the "Elite" Team to a gold medal at the Canada Cup with an 11-1 record and a roster which featured former Titans Gina Oaks and Jodie Cox. Cox was named MVP of the tournament, posting a 3-0 record without allowing an earned run in 19 innings and striking out 15.

Regarded as one of the best catchers in the nation, Gromacki helped lead the Titans to a combined 170-19-1 overall record and a 65-10-1 mark in the Big West as a player from 1985-87 while helping Fullerton claim the 1986 NCAA National Championship.

In 1995, Gromacki was invited to participate in the first-ever Olympic try-out camp and led the Redding Rebels to three ASA Women's Major Fastpitch National Championships. She was named an ASA All-American in 1995 - an honor she has earned eight times throughout her playing career.

Gromacki was also selected as a member of the U.S. National Team that participated in the tournament to open the Olympic Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga., prior to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. In 1994, Gromacki was a member of several U.S. National Teams which claimed gold medals at the South Pacific Classic Tournament, the World Championships in Canada, and the Pam Am Qualifier in Guatemala. She was a participant in the Olympic Sports Festival in St. Louis as both a player and assistant coach.

From 1985-92, Gromacki participated in three Olympic Sports Festivals and was a member of two U.S. National Teams that took gold medals in international competition in China (1987) and Japan (1985). She also spent eight months playing on a travelling team in New Zealand from 1988-89.

Aside from playing, Gromacki has also been involved in numerous activities to promote the sport of softball. She was responsible for Junior Olympic try-outs and Pan Am Team practices held at Cal State Fullerton, has conducted numerous coaching clinics and speaking engagements around the world, and conducted a clinic in Italy, spending three days working with the Italian Junior Olympic National Team.

Gromacki is also a contributor to numerous athletic publications, including authoring a monthly column for Southern California Softball Magazine and writing articles for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association newsletter.

A native of Antioch, Calif., Gromacki currently resides in Huntington Beach. Her parents are Rick and Adeline.