Pitch Perfect Coaching

Santa Clara softball is making history. Under head coach Gina Carbonatto, the Broncos clinched their first-ever West Coast Conference Championship and secured an automatic ticket to the NCAA Tournament, all while breaking the program’s single-season win record with 32 victories. It’s a milestone moment and proof that Carbonatto’s culture of preparation, trust, and instinctive play is paying off big time.

Gina Carbonatto is no stranger to hard work. As Santa Clara University’s winningest coach in softball program history with 122 wins (and counting), her philosophy hasn’t changed since the day she started. Play the game, don’t work the game. It is about creating an environment where her players, after months of preparation, can perform instinctively.

“We work really hard all year long to prepare our team. So when the game is being played, they can just go play, and all the hard work and preparation has already been put in,” Carbonatto says. It is a continuous cycle of learning, grinding, and playing. 

Her career at Santa Clara started in uncertainty: Carbonatto’s first season, 2020, was cut short due to the pandemic. Yet, she saw promise in a team she hadn’t even recruited. “It was a bummer that we didn’t get to finish that year,” she admits. Though, she quickly turned to the future, setting the stage for a new era in Santa Clara softball.

It’s an overall team effort. “We have great athletes here. Great humans that work really hard,” she says. “But it’s not just me doing the work. It’s everybody.” She credits the support from the athletics department and academic advisors as crucial to the program’s transformation.

For players like senior catcher/outfielder Abigail Charpentier ’25, Carbonatto’s impact goes beyond the field. “Coach Carbs took a chance on me during COVID-19 times, when there was so much uncertainty, and offered me a spot on the team. I’m very grateful for that. She helped me fulfill my dream of becoming a Division I softball player at one of the best universities in the country.”

Sophomore middle infielder Cairah Curran ’27 describes her time under Carbonatto’s guidance as transformative. “I’ve learned so much about the game from her. She has opened my eyes in all aspects of softball. She creates an uplifting and fun environment. And she cares about us all beyond just softball.”

Despite the success, Carbonatto remains grounded. “It doesn’t change my life one bit. It’s a compliment to all the people that work for the softball team.” For her, it’s about leaving the program better than she found it.

As she continues to build a legacy, Carbonatto’s focus remains on the players, and on creating a culture where they care for each other both on and off the field. “Team culture is every day lived,” she explains. “It’s not something that I can instill in them. It’s who they are.”