Iona College Director of Athletics Matthew Glovaski announced the appointment of Alyssa Tiumalu as head coach of the softball program in September of 2021. Tiumalu, a former four-year letterwinner at UCLA, joined the Maroon & Gold after most recently serving as an assistant on the St. John’s University coaching staff.

In Tiumalu’s first season as head coach in 2022, Iona posted a 23-26 overall record and a 10-10 mark in league play. The Gaels earned the No. 6 seed in the 2022 MAAC Championship, earning upset wins over No. 3 Siena and No. 2 Fairfield to advance to the semifinals. Iona was eliminated after a run as the underdog, suffering losses to the eventual MAAC Champion Canisius Golden Griffins and Siena. Seniors Jessica Chilcott and Kara Zazzaro were selected to the All-MAAC First Team, while Emma Capuano (Second Team), Jamie Sheeran (Second Team) and Maddy Lowry (All-Rookie Team) earned postseason honors as well. 14 student-athletes were named to the MAAC All-Academic Team in 2022.
Tiumalu helped guide the Red Storm to two Big East Regular Season Championships and was a part of the conference’s Coaching Staff of the Year in 2017 and 2019. St. John’s qualified for the Big East Tournament in three of Tiumalu’s four full seasons as an assistant, appearing in the title game in the 2017 season.

Tiumalu assisted in the mentorship of more than 20 All-Big East honorees, including four major award winners. St. John’s set numerous single-season program records during Tiumalu’s tenure, including wins, home runs, runs scored and runs batted in.

Prior to her time at St. John’s, Tiumalu served as an assistant at Canyon View High School during the 2015 spring season before joining Southern Utah University.

As a student-athlete with UCLA, Tiumalu appeared in the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons. The Bruins made a trip to the NCAA Super Regional during her senior season. She was an All-PAC-10 Freshman Team selection in 2011, finishing her rookie campaign with a .302 batting average and nine homers. Overall, Tiumalu started 151 games across six different positions, hitting 18 bombs, driving in 64 runs and scoring 49 times.

The Elk Grove, California native graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.