SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame head softball coach Kris Ganeff has announced the first addition to her coaching staff Tuesday morning. Ganeff is adding former head coach Boo De Oliveira to her coaching staff. De Oliveria brings a total of 19 years of coaching experience, and was a Big Ten head coach for seven seasons. In her role, De Oliveira will work with the pitching staff and lead recruiting efforts for the Irish.
“I’m so excited to add Boo and her family to our staff.” Ganeff said, “She is such an amazing person and she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our team. How she cares for the person and teaches the intricacies of pitching is something that will have an instant impact on our program.”
“I want to thank head coach Kris Ganeff, Pete Bevacqua, and Jen Vining-Smith for this amazing opportunity.” De Oliveira said, “Notre Dame Softball exemplifies strong core values, has a rich winning tradition and a history of graduating top-notch humans. I am so honored to be a part of the ‘Ganeff Era’, to help develop an elite group of student-athletes, and for my family to join the Irish Softball Family. We are ready to compete for championships. Go Irish!”
De Oliveira has made assistant coaching stops at Arkansas, Arizona State, North Carolina and Purdue before taking the reins of the Boilermaker program from 2017-23. During her time in West Lafayette, she coached four National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honorees, nine All-Big Ten selections and an NFCA and CoSIDA Academic All-American. Her teams also took care of business in the classroom as she helped mentor 69 Academic All-Big Ten honorees.
As an assistant coach in the Southeastern Conference, the Pac-12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference, De Oliveira recruited several Top 25 ranked classes, including a class with two All-Americans, a pair of Gatorade Player of the Year honorees and a MaxPreps National Player of the Year recipient in her lone season in Fayetteville. In two years at Arizona State, she helped lead the Sun Devils to a pair of NCAA Regional Final appearances as two players earned All-American honors. The ASU program also saw 21 players earn All-Pac 12 honors in those seasons, as well as 11 NFCA All-Region honorees.
She spent three seasons coaching in the ACC under legendary head coach Donna Papa. While in Chapel Hill, she mentored the 2012 ACC Pitcher of the Year, helping lead the Tar Heels to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and the 2012 ACC Regular Season Championship. Individually, De Oliveira saw three student-athletes earn NFCA All-Region honors, with 11 picking up All-ACC awards.
As an assistant at Purdue, she helped the Boilermakers qualify for the NCAA Tournament in two of her three seasons in the dugout. It marked the first two times that the Purdue program qualified for the postseason tournament. The program earned eight All-Big Ten Conference honors during those seasons, including a pair of pitchers.
De Oliveira graduated from the University of Wisconsin where she was a four-time letterwinner for the Badgers, and three-time team captain. She earned All-Big Ten honors as a catcher three times, leading the Badgers to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. She was twice named her team’s Most Valuable Player and Badger Pride award winner, as well as her team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Outstanding Offensive Player.
After her playing career, De Oliveira stayed in Madison, coaching at Division III Edgewood College for a season and becoming the head coach at Madison Area Technical College for a season before entering the Division I coaching ranks. She earned her master’s degree from Purdue University in 2010.
She has also worked with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), working as a member of the Executive Board for several years and most recently was the organization’s Vice President until 2023.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Boo (Gillette) attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and garnered several accolades in volleyball and softball, including being named the Florida Player of the Year after her senior softball season. De Oliveira is married to her husband, Emerson and the two have two daughters, Mila (8) and Nora Beth (1), and a son, Nico (3).