Karl Gollan noticed an encouraging sign after the Hawkeyes’ acting head softball coach decided to pinch-hit Echo Matiello for starting outfielder Tatianna Roman.
“I look over and the first person up at the front of the dugout is Tati cheering for her teammate,” Gollan said after the team’s 2-0 doubleheader against St. Thomas. “So that’s a pretty good sign that your team’s close and there’s good things going on.”
It is just one example of how the Hawkeyes are “staying positive” and “having each other’s backs,” as Roman described it, after interim head coach Brian Levin’s sudden in-season departure — and his negative public comments about the team he was tasked with leading.
“Despite whatever happened, we’re in really positive and high vibes,” said Roman, a team captain, in the first set of interviews with Iowa players since Levin’s exit.
Levin told the Daily Iowan in an article published on the same day as his departure that “there’s been a cultural problem in the softball program since I arrived.” He added that “some players are comfortable speaking up and some players are silenced for having different views or opinions.”
“I don’t have any comment about the person who made those type of comments, but our culture is great,” shortstop Soo-Jin Berry said after Wednesday’s doubleheader. “We all love each other with our whole hearts, and we love softball.”
Levin had been on Iowa’s staff since July 2022. He was an assistant coach in 2023 and 2024 and then was promoted to interim head coach after Renee Gillispie stepped away for the 2025 season due to a “personal health matter.”
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“It is unfortunate we needed to make the change in leadership at this time, but providing an environment for our student-athletes to be their best academically and athletically remains our priority,” Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz said in the press release announcing Levin’s departure.
The Daily Iowan reported that Levin tried creating dialogue in a March 1 meeting about some players’ decisions to kneel during the national anthem and became frustrated when athletes who supposedly expressed concerns individually did not share those concerns with the larger group.
“I do kneel for personal reasons, but my teammates have always stressed that they’re always going to support me, no matter what,” said Berry, one of the four Hawkeyes who knelt ahead of Wednesday’s home opener. “I kneeled last weekend in Alabama, and (Brianna Johnson) literally gave me a hug right after.”
Iowa’s acting head coach seems to be taking a much different approach to the matter. Asked about having conversations about kneeling, Gollan said “not at all.”
“We have conversations about softball,” Gollan said. “My job and my knowledge base is understanding how to try to help the girls win ball games. We give the freedom for everybody to be themselves in here, and we focus on softball.”
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“I look over and the first person up at the front of the dugout is Tati cheering for her teammate,” Gollan said after the team’s 2-0 doubleheader against St. Thomas. “So that’s a pretty good sign that your team’s close and there’s good things going on.”
It is just one example of how the Hawkeyes are “staying positive” and “having each other’s backs,” as Roman described it, after interim head coach Brian Levin’s sudden in-season departure — and his negative public comments about the team he was tasked with leading.
“Despite whatever happened, we’re in really positive and high vibes,” said Roman, a team captain, in the first set of interviews with Iowa players since Levin’s exit.
Levin told the Daily Iowan in an article published on the same day as his departure that “there’s been a cultural problem in the softball program since I arrived.” He added that “some players are comfortable speaking up and some players are silenced for having different views or opinions.”
“I don’t have any comment about the person who made those type of comments, but our culture is great,” shortstop Soo-Jin Berry said after Wednesday’s doubleheader. “We all love each other with our whole hearts, and we love softball.”
Levin had been on Iowa’s staff since July 2022. He was an assistant coach in 2023 and 2024 and then was promoted to interim head coach after Renee Gillispie stepped away for the 2025 season due to a “personal health matter.”
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“It is unfortunate we needed to make the change in leadership at this time, but providing an environment for our student-athletes to be their best academically and athletically remains our priority,” Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz said in the press release announcing Levin’s departure.
The Daily Iowan reported that Levin tried creating dialogue in a March 1 meeting about some players’ decisions to kneel during the national anthem and became frustrated when athletes who supposedly expressed concerns individually did not share those concerns with the larger group.
“I do kneel for personal reasons, but my teammates have always stressed that they’re always going to support me, no matter what,” said Berry, one of the four Hawkeyes who knelt ahead of Wednesday’s home opener. “I kneeled last weekend in Alabama, and (Brianna Johnson) literally gave me a hug right after.”
Iowa’s acting head coach seems to be taking a much different approach to the matter. Asked about having conversations about kneeling, Gollan said “not at all.”
“We have conversations about softball,” Gollan said. “My job and my knowledge base is understanding how to try to help the girls win ball games. We give the freedom for everybody to be themselves in here, and we focus on softball.”
Iowa softball ‘staying positive’ after ex-coach disparages program’s culture
Iowa softball players say they “all love each other with our whole hearts” as they move on from interim head coach Brian Levin’s in-season departure — and his negative public comments about the team.
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