The Hofstra University softball team has a new face on the diamond this season: Head Coach Susan Cassidy-Lyke. The Hicksville native has put together an illustrious 35-year coaching career and has found success at every level.
Cassidy-Lyke grew up as a multi-sport athlete on Long Island, playing softball and basketball throughout her childhood and into college. She took her talents to Molloy University, previously Molloy College, to play both sports.
“I did look at a bunch of schools,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “I decided to play [at Molloy] because, obviously, it was a Catholic school which I was looking for, and secondly for my family to watch me play. Since when I was younger, my father had coached me.”
Cassidy-Lyke had success on the diamond as a player, hitting .426 as a junior and .406 as a senior, earning her an induction into the Molloy University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.
After playing for Molloy and earning her master’s degree in criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Cassidy-Lyke entered the New York Police Academy.
“I had always wanted to [join the police academy], probably since I was like six or seven,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “That was always going to be the main goal, but obviously, I knew I had to graduate from college.”
In 2001, Cassidy-Lyke earned the rank of captain in the police academy. Her time in the academy was very routine-oriented, but it helped her grow.
“[It was] a lot of regimen, a lot of organization [and] learning … a lot of new things that we don’t do every day,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “Everything was a lot different, but it was definitely a good experience. We were all going through it together.”
After graduating from the police academy, Cassidy-Lyke began her coaching career.
“When I graduated [from] the police academy, I had the hours that I did, [and they] allowed me to have time to coach,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “So, my high school called me up and asked me if I would be interested in coaching there, which I said I would be.”
At her alma mater, Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Cassidy-Lyke found success at the helm of the softball program, posting a 287-85 record. Across 15 years, she coached three different sports – softball, volleyball and basketball – and earned four New York State Championships. This success earned her another Hall of Fame induction and several Long Island coaching accolades.
Cassidy-Lyke got the call to coach at the collegiate level from Molloy in 2006.
“I wanted to go back [to Molloy] to influence the program, and obviously, I had stayed in contact with them over the years because when I was coaching in high school, I would send a lot of kids to play there,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “So, I had a good relationship with my mentor, who was also my coach [and] the athletic director and the vice president of student affairs at Molloy. It was good to go back there, and, actually, when I went back to coach, is when I also became the director of athletics.”
At Molloy, Cassidy-Lyke had an notable coaching career, posting a .560 winning percentage. The Lions appeared in multiple East Coast Conference Tournaments and won four titles. She earned respect around the league, earning four consecutive East Coast Conference Coach of the Year awards. Under Cassidy-Lyke’s leadership, Molloy earned a No. 10 national ranking at the Division II level.
The philosophy behind Cassidy-Lyke’s success is getting the small details right, preparing the team for success on the field and preparing for success in the athlete’s future.
“We just got to draw from the kids – all their talents,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “I think, sometimes, kids don’t see it within themselves, and, for me, I’m very focused on the preparation and making sure that we get the little details right; accountability is big for me. I think you got to do a lot of everything – with academics and what you do in the community, how you socially present yourself – all that stuff is important … I just want to make sure that the kids are all prepared to do anything that they see in a situation; they will practice for that. Any lessons that you learn here are gonna be the ones that are gonna make you stronger and help you move further into your real job after softball.”
This past summer, the role of head coach at Hofstra opened. After 20 years at Molloy, Cassidy-Lyke made the move to Hempstead.
“It was an opportunity where I could move to a higher level and then put aside my duties as an athletic director and just concentrate full-time as a coach, which would be the first time ever for me because I’d always worked before in another job,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “This was a great opportunity. Obviously, I was familiar with the success of the program of the years prior, and I was intrigued by the opportunity to bring it back to that success and have sustained success. I also was obviously very impressed with the administration and all the work that the athletic director, Rick Cole, had done with the programs there. I was familiar with him prior, when he was at other institutions [from] when we were both athletic directors in the same conference.”
Another draw to Hofstra for Cassidy-Lyke was staying on Long Island, where she grew up, went to college and built a family.
“The opportunity to be able to stay here and still have to change my job and not have to move has been great, and that’s really always been a point for me, the people that live here still,” Cassidy-Lyke said.
Despite Hofstra being just three miles down the road from Molloy, the programs are much different. Cassidy-Lyke had to make the jump from coaching a Division II school to a Division I program upon entering her job at Hofstra. However, Cassidy-Lyke kept the same coaching mindset.
“I treated the kids over in [the] Division II leagues the way I do here,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “I want to have a relationship with [the athletes] first [because] I’m gonna be a tough coach, and I want them to answer that; that’s my goal. I have my expectations for them, and I always think that my expectations should not ever be higher than theirs. They should want to have goals for themselves, and so definitely the exact same, and [I’m] big on accountability, expectations, follow through – all that stuff. Make sure the little details [are] taken care of because that’s how you’re gonna achieve the big details.”
While the coaching style doesn’t change, Cassidy-Lyke sees a difference in the makeup of the program as a whole at the Division I level.
“The amount of support that you get in terms of staff [is the biggest difference],” Cassidy-Lyke said. “The fact that it’s a full-time staff, the fact that you have more than just you coaching – you have other assistant coaches that are also full-time … I just feel like the amount of extras that they get here, with the strength programs and the conditioning that they get to do with full-time people – that is their specialty in that area. I think it allows them to tap into all their athletic skills at a higher level.”
At Hofstra, Cassidy-Lyke is coaching alongside one of her former players, Carla Campagna-Pessoa, who entered the Pride’s coaching staff as an associate head coach in Aug. 2025. Cassidy-Lyke coached Campagna-Pessoa at both the high school and college levels.
“Whoever would have thought that was gonna happen, right?” Cassidy-Lyke said. “I’m very impressed with what she’s been able to do with all the programs she was in previously – at [Long Island University-Post] and Iona [University]. She is looked at as a major asset for us.”
Cassidy-Lyke has had an exciting start to her Hofstra coaching career, posting an 11-1 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record.
“Everybody’s been very supportive [and] welcoming,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “I think that’s made the transition awesome. I also appreciate how welcoming the team has been, because, obviously, any transition, it always takes time, and I feel like they have acclimated very well, and [I’m] really excited about how they have responded to our coaching style … I’m very impressed with the kids and how they’ve been resilient thus far.”
Coach Cassidy-Lyke and the Pride take a pitstop in CAA play with a mid-week game against Fairfield University on Tuesday, April 14, before taking on Long Island rival Stony Brook University for a weekend slate. Cassidy-Lyke notched her first CAA win and series sweep earlier this season against the Seawolves during the opening weekend of conference play.
