Mercedes “Lovato” Bohte is entering her fifth season as Head Women’s Softball Coach at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), after ascending from interim to full-time head coach in June 2021. Prior to that she had served on the Maverick staff since 2013. At the conclusion of her first season in the head role (as interim in 2021), she led the Mavericks to a 39-5 overall mark, swept both the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) regular season and tournament titles, and achieved the best winning percentage (.886) in NCAA Division II that year. The 2022 season saw the team go 45-9 (35-3 in RMAC play) and in 2024 the program again claimed the RMAC regular season title with a 46-11 record. Through her first four years she amassed a 162-48 mark (.771) and an even stronger 136-23 (.855) record in RMAC play.
During Bohte’s tenure the program has consistently produced outstanding pitching units and offensive output, including setting a Division II national record by hitting 123 home runs in 2024. Her book of accomplishments includes two RMAC Coach of the Year honors (2021, 2024) and leading staffs that produced multiple RMAC Pitchers of the Year and RMAC Players of the Year. A former collegiate player herself at California State University-Northridge (CSUN) and University of Illinois-Chicago, Bohte stands out not only for her coaching success but for her development of high-performing student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom. She earned her bachelor’s in Communication Studies from CSUN and a master’s in Coaching & Athletic Administration from Concordia Irvine.
