Coaching Staff

Hillary Johnson
Assistant  Softball Pitching Coach

Hillary Johnson joins the Husky Softball coaching staff this fall with primary duties as the pitching coach and  assists in player development. 

Johnson had been with the Burnsville High School program since 1999.  From 1999 to 2005, coach Johnson served as an assistant coach under legendary coach Pat Feely, with the team earning five conference championships, two section championships and two state championships.

In 2006, Johnson took over the reins as head coach and served in that capacity through the spring of 2012.  During her tenure as head coach, coach Johnson’s teams had an impressive record of 140-31, earning conference championships in 2007, 2009 and 2011, a section championship in 2010, and a state championship in 2010.  Johnson was named both the Section Coach of the Year and the Minnesota State High School Coach of the Year in 2010.

Additionally, Johnson coached two Metro Players of the Year, one Gatorade State Player of the Year, one Ms. Softball award winner, 17 All-State players, 12 All-Star Game Participants, and three Academic All-State Players.  She has served on the softball advisory committee to the MSHSL, as the Section 3AAA Representative to the Softball Coaches Association, as the Coaches Association Treasurer, and as the Girls Coaches Representative to the MSHSL Region 3AA Committee.  Coach Johnson has also previously served as an assistant coach with Burnsville High School’s volleyball program.

Johnson played collegiate at the University of Minnesota and graduated with a major in Economics.  She received her master's at the University of Minnesota in Math Education. She had been a math teacher at Burnsville High School (1999-2012) and now is currently employed by Becker High School.

Morgan Emmans
Student Assistant Coach

Emmans joins the Huskies coaching staff in 2020 after an outstanding collegiate career at St. Cloud State. Emmans played softball with the Huskies from 2016-19, primarily serving as the team's starting catcher.

In her four seasons with St. Cloud State, Emmans earned Second Team All-NSIC honors as a junior and earned Gold Glove honors as a senior. In her final season, Emmans appeared and started in all 61 games as the starting catcher for the Huskies. She earned NSIC Gold Glove honors for her play behind the plate, as she did not commit a single error against conference opponents and was 4-9 on stolen base attemps in NSIC play. At the plate, Emmans concluded the season with a .272 batting average and led the team in runs (54) and home runs (13). She hit a walk off home run to help St. Cloud State beat Sioux Falls 4-3 in the final at bat of her career at Selke Field.

As a junior, Emmans earned Second Team All-Conference honors after a breakout season, both behind and at the plate. As the team's starting catcher, Emmans played all 51 games for St. Cloud State and led the team in home runs (11), doubles (19), runs (42), RBI (59) and slugging percentage (.684) during the regular season. The junior also finished second on the team in batting average, as she tallied 54 hits in 155 at bats for a .348 overall batting average prior to the NSIC tournament. Emmans numbers were equally impressive amongst the NSIC, as she ranked second overall in RBI (59) in the conference and ranked in the top-5 in doubles doubles (third) and home runs (fourth) at the end of the regular season. Her numbers were even better in conference play. In 30 conference games, Emmans tallied a team-leading .363 batting average with 33 hits, 10 doubles, five home runs, 29 RBI and 23 runs. In addition to batting average, the junior catcher led the team in hits, doubles, home runs and runs versus NSIC opponents and ranked in the top-10 in the conference in doubles (third) and RBI (seventh).

Haley Covais
Assistant Coach

Haley Covais joined the St. Cloud State softball program as an assistant coach in 2018.

A native of Lennox, South Dakota, Covais has over five years of experience in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) as both a student-athlete and coach. After an impressive all-state career in high school, Covais played for Northern State in 2013, where she posted a .238 batting average with 20 hits, four home runs and 19 RBI as a first year. She then played softball at the University of Sioux Falls from 2015 to 2016, helping the Cougars qualify for the NSIC tournament with a record of 34-20 her senior season.

After concluding her career as a player, Covais joined the Sioux Falls coaching staff in 2017, once again guiding the Cougars to the NSIC tournament. Additionally, Covais is also the head coach of the Sioux Falls Steel and led that team to a ninth place finish at USA 16U Nationals this past summer.

"Haley will be a great addition to our coaching staff," U'Ren said in a recent statement. "She has experience in the NSIC as both a student-athlete and an assistant coach. Haley has a true passion for teaching the game and a great work ethic. I look forward to everything that she will bring to our Husky softball program."

Covais earned her degree in biology from Sioux Falls and is currently pursuing her master's in sports administration.