COACHING STAFF
Monique White
Monique White was named Director of Player Development for the Howard University Softball team in 2024.
White is an accomplished and highly motivated professional with over 15 years of coaching and player development experience.
With a Master of Science in Leadership and a proven track record of academic excellence, White is a values-based leader who uses emotional intelligence and mindfulness to cultivate optimal performance in her athletes. She is dedicated to a holistic approach that addresses players' physical, mental, and emotional development, which is in line with the growth of the Bison program.
Her extensive coaching career includes roles as head coach at Hampton University, where she led the team to multiple CAA Team Academic Excellence Awards, underscoring her commitment to academic excellence alongside athletic achievement.
As an assistant coach for the Texas Smoke Women's Professional Fastpitch team, she guided them to the first-ever WPF championship title. White's innovative mental training techniques, particularly her implementation of Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE), empower athletes to build mindfulness skills essential for consistent and high-level performance.
White's career highlights include managing all operational, fiscal, and recruiting activities for various programs, establishing successful recruiting pipelines, and consistently improving team GPAs across her coaching roles. She has also been actively involved in community service outreach and fundraising efforts, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in athletics, and mentoring the next generation of athletes and coaches.
In addition to her professional coaching expertise, White has served as a Program Mentor at Western Governors University, guiding students to success in their cybersecurity and information assurance programs. Her collegiate and professional playing experience further solidifies her credentials, as she set records and led teams in batting at Florida International University and the Gryphons in the Netherlands.
White is known for fostering an environment of excellence, growth, and holistic player development. Her leadership style, which emphasizes the importance of both on-field success and personal growth, has been instrumental in preparing her athletes for success both on and off the field.
Tori Tyson
Tori Tyson is the head coach of the Howard University softball program. Tyson came to Howard from the University of Maryland College Park where she was the pitching coach.
In 2022, Tyson guided the program to its second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship after defeating long-time rival Morgan State. After the tourney, she was named the tournament’s outstanding coach. Howard wrapped up MEAC play with a 17-4 mark, the program’s best finish since winning the back-to-back MEAC Northern Division titles (2009 & 2010). Along the way, she coached a program-best eight Bison to All-MEAC honors: Victoria Brown (All-MEAC Second Team); Analise De La Roca (All-MEAC Second Team); Kalita Dennis (All-MEAC First Team); Camille Navarro (All-MEAC Second Team); Payton Quinonez (All-MEAC Second Team); Lealani Ricks (All-MEAC First Team); Alyssa Vasquez (All-MEAC Second Team) and Alyssa Watson (All-MEAC Third Team).
In her third season (2021), Tyson witnessed Camille Navarro earn MEAC Player of the Year and Kiana Carr take home MEAC Pitcher of the Year.
Before the 2020 season was shutdown due to COVID-19, Kalita Dennis made the 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List, becoming the first Bison in program history to be honored for this achievement.
In her first season (2019), Coach Tyson revitalized the program with several victories throughout the year. HU reached the postseason for the first time since 2015 while grabbing their first tourney win in eight seasons (2011). Additionally, the Bison's 19 victories are the most since 2012. The conference unveiled its softball postseason honors where Kalita Dennis (MEAC Rookie of the Year; All-MEAC), Xzarria Simmons (All-MEAC) and Camille Navarro (All-MEAC) received recognition.
Before joining the Bison, Tyson was named an assistant coach for the Chicago Bandits franchise of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league. In this position, she produced two undefeated pitchers in the NPF league. Additionally, the team had the second lowest staff ERA posted in franchise history.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications Studies in 2012.
Camise Patterson
Alabama State University Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the hiring of Camise Patterson as the school’s eighth head coach on Friday, July 19, 2024.
Patterson, who replaces Todd Bradley, who stepped away after five seasons for personal reasons, spent the last two seasons at the helm of SWAC East Division rival Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, native was named the 2024 SWAC Coach of the Year while guiding the Rattlers to the 2024 SWAC East Division. Pitcher Zoryana Hughes nabbed SWAC Pitcher of the Year honors while five players overall earned All-SWAC laurels.
Overall, FAMU had nine players earn All-SWAC honors and one Pitcher of the Year during her two years in Tallahassee. Six of her players have received invitations to the Minority Prospects HBCU All-Star Game. In June 2024, Patterson was named the weCOACH Coach of the Month.
Patterson has spent most of her career at Florida A&M, except for a brief stop at Bethune Cookman University (2020). During her career at FAMU, she was elevated from a volunteer to assistant coach in 2016 before taking over her current role with the Rattlers in 2022-23. Patterson served as an assistant at FAMU under the legendary Veronica Wiggins, the only HBCU coach to eclipse 700 wins and has the most wins across all of the university’s sports.
As the top assistant, Patterson oversaw the Rattlers’ hitters and outfielders and assisted with day-to-day team operations as Florida A&M won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship in 2016 and 2017.
Patterson played Division I softball at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., where she led the Camels with 12 home runs and a .561 slugging percentage as a senior. She graduated from Campbell with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2015