Michelle DePolo is the head coach of the St. John's University softball program in Queens, New York, and entered her third season in that position after being hired on Aug. 1, 2023. She arrived at St. John's with 14 seasons of Division I head coaching experience and had compiled a 416-326-2 record with 11 postseason appearances.
At St. John's, DePolo quickly produced some of the strongest seasons in program history. In 2024, the Red Storm won 31 games, the third-highest total the program had recorded at that point, advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament, and earned two wins there. St. John's also had three All-BIG EAST selections that season. In 2025, the program set a school record with 39 wins and captured its fourth BIG EAST regular-season title. Jess Bianco broke the school's single-season hits record, and Bianco, Loreley Francia, London Jarrad, and Ana Serafinko received NFCA All-Northeast Region recognition. At the close of the season, DePolo and assistants Marissa Rizzi and Sean Crowell were named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Serafinko was chosen as the conference's Pitcher of the Year, Francia and Serafinko made the All-BIG EAST First Team, and Bianco and Jarrad were selected to the second team.