Jean Melo Fernandez is entering his third season at Highland and his first season as the Head Softball Coach. He moved from Carolina, Puerto Rico to New Rochelle, NY in 2011 to attend Monroe College; a Division 1 JUCO. He joined the Athletic Department as a Student Worker and was then promoted to Student Equipment Manager for the Football Program. The following year, he was given the opportunity to be the Equipment Manager for all sports, a position for which Monroe College officially hired him upon graduating in 2014 with a Bachelors in Business Administration/Business Management. It was in this position that Fernandez met Gregory Cary, then the Head Softball Coach at Monroe.
Greg Cary introduced him to the logistics of softball and invited him to assist with coaching a travel softball (14U) organization called ProSwing out of Port Chester, NY. Fernandez continued to work full time with Monroe College for five additional years while he completed his Master's in Business Management. In addition to his participation in two bowl games, The Graphic Edge Bowl Opening Game and The Salt City Bowl Game, he also made the time to work with two other travel softball organizations.
After moving to Lindsborg, Kansas, he rejoined Cary as a volunteer assistant coach for the Bethany College's Softball Program. His primary role at Bethany was to assist with team operations, even accompanying the team to the NAIA World Series where they finished in 4th place. Coach Fernandez is excited for the 2024 season in his new role as the Head Softball Coach at Highland, alongside his assistant coach Morgan Russell.
