Melissa Fracker enters her sixth season at the helm of the Yellowjacket softball team in 2026. She was hired to take over the program June 23, 2020.
During the 2025 season, Fracker skippered Superior to another 30+ win season, coaching a team with one of the most potent offenses in the country. The 'Jackets finished the year 31-12 coupled with a 15-3 mark in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play after finishing third in all of NCAA Division III in batting average (.387) and scoring (361 runs, 8.40 runs per game), fifth in doubles per game (2.16), hits (474) and seventh in on base percentage (.438).
2024 saw Fracker guide her Yellowjackets to the program's second straight and fourth overall UMAC title in program history after sweeping the postseason field. UWS capped its season with a record of 26-15 after the NCAA Division III Tournament in Pella, Iowa. On Apr. 9, Fracker picked up her 100th victory at the helm, defeating UW-Stout by a score of 8-6.
Fracker led UWS to its first-ever UMAC regular season championship in 2022 and the right to host the four-team conference tournament. Superior finished 33-10 overall and 18-3 in the league, just one win shy of tying the school record. Fracker was the second fastest in school history to 20 wins (26 games) and was the second coach in history to reach 30 wins with a sweep of Northland and Martin Luther on April 29. Her 55 wins are the most in the first two seasons as head coach in the 40-year history of the program. UWS won its first eight games to begin the season, a stretch that included knocking off then-No. 12 UW-Oshkosh, 7-6 in eight innings, on the Titans' home turf on March 6. It was the second time Superior defeated a team ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association top 25 poll in Fracker's tenure.
Fracker guided shortstop Kaela Kraemer to NCAA Division III statistical championships in stolen bases (71) and stolen bases per game (1.69). Kaela Kraemer (.453, 56 runs scored, nine doubles, four triples) also earned the 2022 NCAA Division III New Balance/NFCA Golden Shoe Award, given annually to the top base stealer among member institutions, and a spot on the NFCA All-Region IX Second Team. Kaela Kraemer, who was also named UMAC Player of the Year, led a group of six Yellowjackets on the All-UMAC Team, with three on the first team, including UMAC Pitcher of the Year Tayler Kraemer (20-7, 2.12 ERA, 21 complete games, 101 Ks).
Fracker skippered the Yellowjackets on an improbable run through the 2021 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed and to the NCAA tournament in her first season. UWS won its way into the field of 48 by beating all of the UMAC tournament teams at least once over the course of the three-day event, including winning three games on championship Saturday to secure the title. Along the way, Superior handed 23rd-ranked St. Scholastica its first loss of the tournament on the Saints' home field, while also eliminating second-seeded Bethany Lutheran, 6-4, in nine innings and avenging its only defeat of the week against Northwestern with a championship-clinching sweep of the Eagles.
The NCAA tournament bid was the fourth all-time for the Yellowjackets, who also earned the UMAC's automatic qualification in 2016 while also taking WIAC titles in 2002 and 2004. Fracker's squad finished 22-16 overall, having reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2016 and just the 12th time in the last 34 seasons.
Fracker came to UW-Superior after serving as an assistant coach at Western Connecticut State since 2013. During her time there, Fracker assisted the head coach with the overall operation of the program and worked extensively in the recruitment of student-athletes. Fracker helped the Colonials to a pair of Little East Conference (LEC) championships and two NCAA tournament appearances. She has also coached a local travel team, the Bethel Blast, for eight years.
Away from the field, Fracker served as the executive director of the Danbury Police Activities League since 2017.
Fracker spent four years as a player at WCSU, where she broke into the top 10 in all-time games played. A native of Sandy Hook, Conn., Fracker graduated from WCSU in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education with a focus on history.
| Fracker at UW-Superior |
| Year |
W |
L |
Pct. |
| 2021 |
22 |
16 |
.579 |
| 2022 |
33 |
10 |
.767 |
| 2023 |
31 |
13 |
.705 |
| 2024 |
26 |
15 |
.634 |
| 2025 |
31 |
12 |
.721 |
| Total |
143 |
66 |
.684 |
