CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard softball is excited to welcome back Amelia Varela as a new first assistant coach for the upcoming 2026-27 academic year.

Varela's first season with the Crimson saw her make an immediate impact on the program both on and off the diamond. Varela played a key role in scouting, game planning, practice planning and day-to-day operations for the Crimson throughout a 2026 campaign that saw Harvard advance to the Ivy League Tournament for a fourth consecutive season. Varela also championed Crimson success in the classroom and the Cambridge community during the 2026 season. 

With Varela's guidance, several Crimson enjoyed career-years during the 2026 season. Junior infielder Sophie Sun logged career-bests in hits (60), home runs (13) and RBIs (51), all single-season totals that rank in the top 10 in program history. Along with Sun, senior infielder Finley Payne recorded 10 home runs in the season for the first time in her career to go along with a career-best 44 RBIs. A total of nine Crimson earned All-Ivy League honors, as Sun, Payne and junior pitcher Nicolette Hunter all earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association Northeast All-Region honors. 

Varela also made a sizeable impact and improvement on Harvard's offensive performance. The 2026 campaign saw the Crimson record 392 hits, 242 runs and 31 home runs, all the highest totals of Rohn's tenure as head coach of Harvard's softball program. 

Prior to her arrival in Cambridge, Varela spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons as an assistant coach and director of operations for her alma mater Florida International. A native of Miami, Florida, Varela guided FIU to a stellar 2025 season that saw the Panthers record 29 wins, its highest win total up to that point since the 2018 season. 

Varela was a student-athlete with the Panthers softball program from 2021 to 2023. Alongside her playing career, Varela jumpstarted her coaching career as a head coach of the Florida Power Softball Organization, working with her assistant coaches to produce a positive and supportive environment for youth athletes. 

Varela graduated from FIU with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in business administration.

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