Hampton University Athletics

Michael Pelegrino is entering his third season with the Hampton University softball program, returning to his role as assistant coach after spending 2014 as the interim head coach.
 
As the interim head coach in 2014, Pelegrino led the Lady Pirates to 29 wins and a 15-3 mark in conference play, tying Delaware State atop the MEAC Northern Division standings. As the North’s No. 2 seed in the MEAC Tournament, the Lady Pirates advanced to the semifinal round.
 
Jailynn Jackson was named MEAC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season after winning 19 games and striking out 143 batters, becoming the first Hampton player since Amanda Black in 2007-08 to earn the conference’s top honor for pitchers in back-to-back seasons.
 
In addition, freshman Danielle Budden was a First Team All-MEAC selection after hitting .342 with 11 doubles and five triples, and Margaret Wilkins was named Second Team All-MEAC.

Pelegrino was on the Lady Pirates' staff in 2013, when the Lady Pirates went 34-26, took the MEAC Northern Division regular-season crown, and won the program's first MEAC Tournament title since 1996. The Lady Pirates advanced to the Gainesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Three Lady Pirates earned All-MEAC honors in 2012, led by MEAC Pitcher of the Year Jailynn Jackson, who was named First Team All-MEAC. Junior Margaret Wilkins was also named First Team All-MEAC, while sophomore Kerissa Burruel earned Second Team All-MEAC honors.
 
Wilkins and Jackson were each named to the MEAC All-Tournament Team, and freshman Taylor McCoy was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Jackson was also named to the Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team by the National FastPitch Coaches Association.

Prior to coaching at Hampton, he was the head coach at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, N.J.

In 2005, he was an assistant coach at Saint Peters College, before becoming the head coach in 2006. In 2007, Saint Peter's was picked to come in last in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), but finished second with an 11-5 conference record and qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in eight years.

As a result, Pelegrino finished second in the 2007 MAAC Coach of the Year voting. During the team’s opening-round conference tournament game, Saint Peter’s fell behind 11-1 to Niagara before coming back to win 13-11 in the biggest comeback in MAAC Tournament history.

Pelegrino was also a successful assistant coach on the high school level in New Jersey. In 1998, he helped Saddle Brook High School win its first-ever state sectional championship, before leading them to another title in 2000.

In 2001 and 02, he helped Immaculate Heart Academy win the Bergen County championship, as well as a state sectional championship in 2002.