St. John's University Athletics
Softball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- tiumalua@stjohns.edu
- Phone:
- 7522
Alyssa Tiumalu enters her fifth campaign on the St. John's Softball staff in 2021 and third under head coach Bob Guerriero. Tiumalu was a four-year letter winner for the UCLA Bruins from 2011-2014.
Tiumalu's fourth season with the Red Storm was cut short due to COVID-19. The Johnnies finished 8-15, winning their last matchup of the season 3-2 over Fairleigh Dickinson on March 11.
In her third campaign with the Red Storm, Tiumalu guided the Johnnies to their third BIG EAST Regular Season Championship following a 14-4 conference record that included a 10-game winning streak. Tiumalu continued to guide the conference's top catchers in caught stealing as junior Kaitlin Mattera threw out eight runners while freshman Peyton Cody nailed six. For the second time in her three seasons, Tiumalu and the St. John's staff were selected as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, while mentoring two major award winners and several All-BIG EAST selections.
In 2018, Tiumalu guided St. John’s to its fifth-straight BIG EAST Conference Tournament after going 12-6 and finishing third in league. In her second season, the Red Storm hit a program-record 62 home runs, beating the previous record of 45 set in 2012. Furthermore, last year's squad ranked 8th in the NCAA averaging 1.24 home runs per game. In addition, 2018 BIG EAST Player of the Year Krystal Puga smacked 19 of the Johnnies’ 62 home runs, topping Chrissy Montez’s record of 16 set back in 2013. Tiumalu also guided Gretchen Bowie to the BIG EAST's Inaugural Defensive Player of the Year Award, recording a perfect fielding percentage and eight assists for the Red Storm.
In her first season with the Johnnies, Tiumalu helped the program reach new heights with its second BIG EAST Regular Season Championship en route to setting school-records with 17 BIG EAST wins and a .667 winning percentage. In addition to reaching the BIG EAST title game, the Johnnies matched the 1990 squad for most wins with 32 and garnered a league-best seven players on the All-BIG EAST First and Second Team’s. The 2017 squad also set new single-season marks with 277 runs scored and 251 RBIs. Because of the Red Storm’s historic success in 2017, Tiumalu and the rest of the St. John’s staff were named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year for only the second-time in program history.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2014 following four seasons with the Bruins, Tiumalu served as an assistant at Canyon View High School during the 2015 spring season before joining Southern Utah University. As a volunteer assistant with the Thunderbirds, she worked mostly with the pitchers and catchers to improve pitch-call effectiveness.
The Elk Grove, Calif., native is no stranger to winning as she appeared in an NCAA Tournament each of her four years at UCLA, including a Super Regional appearance during a senior season where she started 52 games and recorded six home runs and 24 RBIs.
As a player, Tiumalu was named to the All-PAC-10 Freshman Team in 2011 after finishing fourth on the squad with nine home runs and a .556 slugging percentage to go with a .302 batting average and an impressive .993 fielding percentage.
Tiumalu started 151 games during her four-year career, serving several roles for the Bruins that include stints at catcher, outfield, designated player, first base, third base and right field. Overall, she hit 18 dingers, scored 49 times and drove in 64 runs.
