Softball

Head Coach Keith Cooper is entering his 6^th season with the Cavaliers. Coach Cooper has posted a career record of 131-72-1, as well as winning two NJCAA Div. II Region IV District C Coach of the Year awards, and two NJCAA Div. II Region IV Championships.

Before becoming KCC’s head coach, Cooper was a community leader and coach of youth sports at various levels for 23 years. He held multiple positions on local league boards of directors, and was  president of the Kankakee Knights of Columbus Little League, Knights of Columbus Bronco League, Kankakee Elks Pony League, and the Kankakee Valley Colt and Palomino League.

Cooper’s involvement as a coach has taken him to many tournaments at Illinois State University in Normal; Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan; and three State Fast Pitch Softball Tournaments in National Softball Association in Illinois.

Prior to becoming the head coach for Lady Cavs softball, he assisted with the KCC Women’s Basketball team as official scorekeeper for home games and often traveled with the team.

Coach Cooper was born in Kankakee, raised in Limestone, and graduated from Kankakee High School in 1990. He is a former KCC student, where he studied Law Enforcement. Cooper worked for AT&T for 18 years.

He and his wife, Lisa, reside in Kankakee. They have four children and nine grandchildren.

Assistant Head Coach John Teders enters his 5^th season coaching for the Cavaliers. He brings a wealth of sports knowledge and coaching experience. Since Coach Teders joined the staff, The team has amassed a 104-48 record

Coach Teders grew up in the area and was an all-star athlete through his high school career in football and baseball. After high school, he continued to play baseball at KCC, as well as playing on several slow pitch softball teams. Teders has been involved in coaching for the past 20 years in softball, baseball, and football, and brings extensive knowledge of the mechanics of pitching for both women and men.

Outside of sports, Coach Teders is a union carpenter with many years of experience in residential and commercial construction. He and his wife , Lori, have three children and one granddaughter.

Coach Mikayla Cole enters her 4th year as an assistant coach at KCC. She is a graduate of Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, where she excelled at softball all four years under Coach Laura Harms, a 2002 KCC graduate and former Chicago Bandits professional softball player. In high school, Coach Cole was an all-area player, as well as Bishop McNamara’s MVP her senior year. Cole played travel softball for eight years. In her last year of travel ball, Cole pitched and won the national title game.

Coach Cole was a pitcher and outfielder at KCC under Coach Cooper. Both years with the Cavaliers, she led the team in batting average and went to the NJCAA Div. II National Tournament. Cole graduated from KCC in 2019 with an Associate in Arts transfer degree.

In addition to her assistant job with the Cavaliers, Cole coached her younger sister’s team to three straight championship games. She also has been the junior high coach at Donovan, head JV coach  at Clifton Central High School, and Nash Middle School coach. She now coaches 16u travel softball for Champaign Blue Ice Elite and offers pitching and hitting lessons.

Cole recently had her first child. She also enjoys spending time with her siblings, twins Kloie and Keegan. A huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Boston Red Sox, she enjoys watching as many games as possible. 

Coach Kayden Mines enters her first year as an assistant coach at KCC. She is a graduate of Knoxville High School in Knoxville, Illinois, where she played softball all four years. She was on KCC’s softball team in 2020, when the season was canceled because of COVID-19. She did play the 2021 season for the Cavaliers. Head Coach Keith Cooper said, “We are very excited to see what challenges Coach Mines brings to the team, and congratulate her in her exciting new role.”