Cobbers Add Division I Assistants

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/13/17)---Concordia head coach Chad Slyter announced that he has added a pair of former NCAA Division players as assistant coaches for the 2018 season.

Former North Dakota State record-setting pitcher Krista Menke and Bonnie (Belin) Carrete.

"To add coaches with their playing background is a huge boost for the program," said Slyter. "They have played at the highest level and will be able to help our student/athletes in every phase of the game. They will have a huge impact on the program and I couldn't be happier to have them join the staff"

Menke was one of the all-time great pitchers in NDSU history. She pitched in 156 games for the Bison and finished with 938 strikeouts and an earned run average of 2.34. She set an NDSU, and Summit League, record for strikeouts in a single season in her senior year when she fanned 391 batters.

Menke also completed her career at NDSU with a 97-35 record which included 34 victories in her senior season. In that 2015 campaign she went 34-6 and had a 2.11 ERA. She also had four no-hitters during her senior season and recorded double-digit strikeout totals in 23 games.

Menke was named the Summit League Pitcher of the Year and Summit League Tournament Most Vaulable Player in 2015. She also earned All-Summit League first team, NFCA All-Midwest Region first team and the NCAA Eugene Regional all-tournament team honors. Menke was named the Summit League April Female Athlete of the Month and was a finalist for NDSU Female Athlete of the Year in 2015.

Menke was also a top performer in the classroom as she earned CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors in 2015.  Menke was also a two-time Summit League Softball All-Academic team selection and was placed on league's Commissioner's List and Honor Roll. Menke was a candidate for the NCAA Senior CLASS Award in 2015 and was also an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete.

After her college playing career, Menke went on to play professionally in Europe. She played for DSS Haarlem in the Netherlands in 2015 and then with ASD Thunders Castellana of the Italian League in 2016.

Carrete (Belin) played collegiately for Troy State in Troy, Ala. from 2002-05. She was an infielder on the Troy team that won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season championship in 2005.

Carrete is still in the Top 10 in the Troy career record book for Troy in six different statistical categories. She is fourth in career games played (256), sixth in walks (73), seventh in at-bats (712), eighth in doubles (38) and RBI (108) and 10th in hits (209).

Carrete is originally from Port St. Joe, Florida. She lettered all four seasons at Port St. Joe High School as a third baseman and first baseman.    

Carrete is married to Dr. Angel Carrete who is a professor of Finance at Concordia.