Eastern Illinois softball co-head coaches Kristi Paulson and Dan Paulson have announced the addition of two members to their staff for the upcoming season.
 
Denise Godwin has been hired as an assistant coach while former EIU softball player Denaed Santini will join the staff as the director of softball operations.
 
Godwin joins the EIU coaching staff after serving as the head softball coach at the University of the Ozarks since 2018.  During that time frame Godwin ran all aspects of the NCAA Division III program.  Prior to that Godwin served as an assistant coach at Illinois Wesleyan from 2015-18 helping the program reach three straight NCAA Division III World Series including a second place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2018.  She was part of three straight NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year.  A former player at the University of Illinois, Godwin began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Millikin University (2010-12) followed by three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Land College in Mattoon.   From 2012-17 she coached travel softball for Premier Fastpitch coaching the 18U Gold team.  Godwin holds her bachelor's degree from Illinois and master's degree from Illinois State. 
 
Santini played four years for the Panthers and then served one year as a graduate assistant working in EIU Athletic Operations.  Santini was a member of the Panthers 2023 NCAA Tournament softball team.  She holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from EIU.
 
EIU softball won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles in 2025 under the Paulson's making the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance.