Bill Lajeunesse enters his tenth season at the helm of Siena Softball in 2020.
The 2013 Anaconda Sports MAAC Coach of the Year, Lajeunesse has led the Siena Softball program to unprecedented heights during his first nine seasons at the helm. The winningest coach in program history, Lajeunesse has achieved nine of the 10 highest single-season win totals in program history and led the Saints to their first MAAC Co-Regular Season Championship in 2013. From 2011-17, the team posted seven consecutive 20-win seasons after winning 20 games only once in the prior 36 seasons.
Following a doubleheader sweep of North Carolina Central on March 10, 2020, Lajeunesse became the first coach in program history, just the third active coach in Siena athletics and only the sixth active coach in MAAC softball to reach 200 career victories.
Lajeunesse's success in MAAC regular season play continued in 2019, as he led the Saints to their third consecutive top-3 finish, marking the first time in program history they have done so. Under his direction, senior Madysen Cossack was proclaimed the MAAC Player of the Year, given First Team All-MAAC honors, named First Team All-ECAC and ended her career as one of the most decorated players in program history.
Lajeunesse became the first coach in program history and just the sixth in the history of the MAAC to achieve 100 conference victories with a home sweep of Rider on April 27, 2019. He also led the team to an 11-7 mark at the Siena Softball Field, marking its third double-digit home win total in the last four seasons.
2018 saw that Saints eclipse double-digit conference victories for the sixth straight season and finish in the top-3 in the MAAC for the second time in a row. Junior Madysen Cossack earned First-Team All-MAAC honors for the second straight year, while Isabelle DeChiaro was named to the MAAC All-Rookie squad.
In 2017, Lajeunesse led Siena to a second-place finish in the MAAC and set a new program record with 14 conference victories. The Saints boasted just their second ever Player of the Year in sophomore Madysen Cossack who was joined on First Team by Chelsey Drew. One Saint was also on both All-MAAC Second Team and the All-Rookie Team. The team finished well above its eighth place projection in the preseason poll, with just two seniors and three juniors on the squad.
Lajeunesse guided the Saints to a program best win percentage of .532 in 2016 when the team finished 25-22 and seventh in the MAAC. Paige Hess was awarded All-MAAC Second Team and three Saints were named to the All-Rookie Team.
The Saints finished the 2015 season just one win shy of the MAAC Championship game after winning two games in the MAAC Tournament. Siena was 21-27-1 overall and 13-7 in MAAC play. Senior Paige Lloyd was named All-MAAC First Team.
He became the winningest coach in program history in both overall and MAAC play in 2014. In 2015, he won his 100th career game as head coach in a 4-2 victory over Sacred Heart and picked up his 150th career win on April 23, 2017 win a 10-6 win at Quinnipiac.
Lajeunesse guided the Saints to a program record of 29 wins and 13 MAAC victories in 2014. Siena's 29-26 overall record marked the program's first winning season since 1988. Additionally, Lajeunesse steered the Saints to just the program's second MAAC Tournament victory.
In 2013, Lajeunesse led the Saints to a share of the first MAAC Regular Season Championship in program history and first conference tournament appearance since 2003. For his efforts, he was named the Anaconda Sports MAAC Coach of the Year.
In each of his first two seasons, Lajeunesse laid the groundwork with consecutive 20-win campaigns and eight-win MAAC seasons marking the most overall wins since 2005 and most conference wins since 2003. Under his guidance, Lajeunesse helped recruit and mentored 2012 MAAC Co-Player of the Year and Siena College Female Student Athlete of the Year Shannon Jones.
Lajeunesse took over the program in 2011 after four seasons as the lead assistant, and oversaw a turnaround from a 14-37 record in 2010 to a 20-25 mark in his first season, a winning percentage improvement of nearly 170 points.
Lajeunesse enjoyed a long and successful track record at the high school level while coaching at nearby Waterford, Cohoes and Shaker High School. Before joining the Saints' softball staff in 2007, Lajeunesse gained a wide variety of experience while coaching scholastic soccer, football, wrestling, baseball and softball.
The highlights of Lajeunesse's high school coaching career included an undefeated Colonial Council Wrestling Championship in 1992 at Cohoes. In 1993 he helped the Cohoes football program capture the Buckley Cup Championship as an assistant coach. At Shaker High School in 2006, he led the varsity softball team to a 17-5 record and a #9 ranking in New York State.
Lajeunesse also successfully coached the Adirondack Magic 16-U and 18-U softball teams to the National Final Four in 2005 and 2006, as well as 10 Invitational Championships from 2003-2006.
Lajeunesse graduated from SUNY Brockport in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. He went on to receive his master's degree in health education from Russell Sage College in 1993.
Lajeunesse is a lifelong resident of the area, having grown up in Cohoes. He now lives in nearby Watervliet with his wife Karen and has two children, Karah and Bryan.
YEAR-BY-YEAR WITH COACH LAJEUNESSE
| YEAR |
OVERALL |
PCT |
MAAC |
PCT |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| 2011 |
20-25 |
.444 |
8-8 |
.500 |
Led team to second highest overall and MAAC win total in program history |
| 2012 |
20-30 |
.400 |
8-8 |
.500 |
Led program to first consecutive 20+ win seasons |
| 2013 |
21-26 |
.447 |
12-4 |
.750 |
MAAC Coach of the Year; MAAC Co-Regular Season Champions |
| 2014 |
29-26 |
.527 |
13-7 |
.650 |
Set program record for both overall and MAAC wins; First winning season since 1988 |
| 2015 |
21-27-1 |
.439 |
13-7 |
.650 |
One win away from MAAC Championship |
| 2016 |
25-22 |
.532 |
10-10 |
.500 |
New program record for overall win percentage |
| 2017 |
21-30 |
.412 |
14-6 |
.700 |
New program record 14 conference wins; MAAC Player of the Year Madysen Cossack |
| 2018 |
18-26 |
.409 |
13-7 |
.650 |
Finished top-3 in MAAC standings for second-straight year; Madysen Cossack named First-Team All-MAAC for second consecutive season |
| 2019 |
22-25 |
.468 |
13-7 |
.650 |
Placed top-3 in the MAAC for the third straight year (first time in program history); Madysen Cossack named MAAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-MAAC selection for the third straight year |
| 2020 |
3-10 |
.300 |
0-0 |
.000 |
Became first coach in program history to record 200 wins on March 10, 2020 |
| TOTALS |
200-247-1 |
.448 |
104-64 |
.619 |
|
