Boo Gillette De Oliveira (pronounced day OH-lee-VAIR-uh), an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Arkansas, Arizona State and North Carolina during her career, returned to Purdue as head softball coach Aug. 4, 2016. De Oliviera was an assistant coach for the Boilermakers under Kim Maher from 2007 to 2010, during which the program made two NCAA Regional appearances.
In her first season leading Purdue, the Boilermakers finished 20-36 and clinched a berth in the Big Ten Tournament following a sweep of Nebraska in the final series of the season. Maya Hughes and Mallory Baker each enjoyed breakthrough seasons in order to lead Purdue offensively as they hit .335 and .350 respectively. Baker was named First Team All-Big Ten.
"I want to thank the administration for this amazing opportunity to once again be part of the Boilermaker family," De Oliveira said. "I am excited to return to Purdue University where my core values align and the desire to help student-athletes reach their full potential as students, leaders, and athletes is a shared vision. I am honored to be a Boilermaker.
"The team has a wealth of talent on the current roster and I truly believe Purdue is a place that attracts top student-athletes who want an elite education, to compete for championships, and to continue the tradition of integrity that comes with being a Boilermaker. The future is bright for Purdue softball."
De Oliveira returned to Purdue after one season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Arkansas, where she recruited a Top 25-ranked class according to Flo Softball as well as two All-Americans, two Gatorade Players of the Year and the 2016 MaxPreps National Player of the Year.
Prior to her stint at Arkansas, De Oliveira was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Arizona State, where she helped guide the Sun Devils to an 80-32-1 record and two NCAA regional final appearances. During her two years in Tempe, she coached a pair of All-Americans (catcher Amber Freeman and pitcher Dallas Escobedo) as well as 21 All-Pac 12 selections and 11 NFCA All-Region honorees.
After leaving Purdue in 2010, De Oliveira spent three seasons as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator at North Carolina as the TarHeels went 117-57, including the 2012 regular season ACC title and a pair of NCAA berths. During her time in Chapel Hill, the TarHeels garnered three NFCA All-Region and 11 All-ACC accolades, including 2012 ACC Pitcher of the Year (Lori Spingola).
"Boo has a proven record of success and experience in four of the five power conferences," associate athletics director and softball sport administrator Calvin Williams said. "She has a track record of signing Top 25 recruiting classes wherever she has been. Also serving as the second vice president of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Boo brings a level of leadership, maturity and focus that will be conducive to taking our program to a championship level."
De Oliveira joined the Division I coaching ranks when she came to Purdue in the fall of 2007. During her three-year stay in West Lafayette as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, the Boilermakers made their first-ever NCAA appearance in 2008 and advanced to the NCAA regional final in 2009. The Purdue staff was named as the 2008 NFCA Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
After a four-year playing career at the University of Wisconsin, De Oliveira got her coaching start as an assistant coach at Edgewood College in 2006, before going on to be head coach at Madison Area Technical College in 2007. At Edgewood, she was part of the Lake Michigan Conference Coaching Staff of the Year and guided the program to 30 wins and the first undefeated season (16-0) in conference history en route to the league title. At MATC, she revived a dormant program and led the WolfPack to a top 10 national ranking and coached two All-Region team members, three Region XIIIA All-Tournament members, two All-America nominees and five All-Academic team winners.
At Wisconsin, De Oliviera was a three-time team captain and three-time All-Big Ten catcher, leading the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and 2005. In addition to earning third team All-Big Ten honors each of her final three seasons, she was named as UW's Most Defensive Player in 2002. In 2004, she was named the team's Most Offensive Player and co-MVP. De Oliviera rounded out her career with team MVP honors as a senior in 2005 and still ranks among the Badger career top 10 in total bases (4th, 299), hits (5th, 196), home runs (T7th, 20) and RBI (9th, 95). Off the field, she was named as a Coca-Cola Community All-American nominee, earned the UW Community All-American award and was honored as the Big Ten Conference's Sportsmanship Award winner in 2005.
A 2001 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, De Oliveira was Florida Softball Player of the Year and her school's Most Athletic Girl in 2001 and led her team to the conference and district titles and the state championship tournament all four years.
De Oliveira, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native, graduated from Wisconsin in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in biological aspects of conservation. She completed her master's degree in educational administration from Purdue in 2010. De Oliveira and husband, Emerson, have a daughter, Mila.