Kaleigh Rafter

Kaleigh Rafter enters her second season as the Florida State softball volunteer coach and is the head coach for Team Canada.

Rafter competed with the Women’s National Team since 2007. She is a two-time Olympian, a four-time Pan American Games medallist (one gold; three silver) and represented Canada in five WBSC World Cups, winning three bronze medals. She also won a gold medal at the 2007 Universiade (World University Games) and played two seasons of professional softball in Japan and one in the National Pro Fastpitch League.

While competing with the Canadian National Team, Rafter had the opportunity to coach at the NCAA level, serving as a student assistant coach and volunteer coach in several stints at Florida State University (2009-2010; 2012-2013; 2015 and currently) and as an assistant coach at the University of New York at Buffalo (2015-2016) and the University of Virginia (2016-2019). Rafter is a Competition – Development Certified coach in the Coaching Association of Canada’s National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).

Rafter’s collegiate career was split between the University of Detroit (2005-07) and Florida State University (2009) where she transferred after the 2008 Olympics to join Coach Lonni Alameda who had worked with Team Canada for the Games. She set a Detroit single season homerun record in 2007 while earning Horizon League Player of the Year honours. Rafter played professionally in Japan for Team Honda for two seasons.