Panita Thanatharn, an associate head coach at Long Beach State, was named the fourth head coach of the University of Hawaii softball program, acting athletics director Lois Manin announced on Wednesday.
Thanatharn replaces Bob Coolen, who coached the Rainbow Wahine for 34 seasons and retired following the 2025 season.
“I’m just super pumped to get this position and be the head coach at Hawaii and can’t wait to meet everyone,” Thanatharn said in a Zoom interview Wednesday. “I have a lot of respect for Hawaii. It was an opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up so super, super excited.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Panita to our athletics ‘Ohana,” Manin said in a press statement. “She has a deep passion for the game and the competitive spirit to build a winning culture. We are confident that her integrity-based leadership and unmatched work ethic will inspire our student-athletes to grow on and off the field. She brings excitement to the future of our softball program.”
“I am so pumped and honored to be the Head Softball Coach at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa,” Thanatharn said in a press statement. “I’m grateful for the trust and confidence and I’m looking forward to the journey ahead! I can’t wait to meet the team and learn about them and their families. Academically, Hawai‘i is one of the top universities in the world, and paired with its breathtaking beauty, I’m confident we’ll attract outstanding student-athletes who are just exceptional off the field as they are on it. I’m ready to get to work and start building relationships and am committed to winning in the classroom, in the community, and on the field. Let’s go Bows!”
Thanatharn spent 16 seasons in two stints at Long Beach State (2008, ’11-25), where she served as associate head coach since 2016. She began her coaching career with the Beach in 2008 as director of operations/assistant coach before joining UNLV’s coaching staff as assistant coach for two seasons (2009-10). She returned to Long Beach State in 2011 and has served as the primary recruiter and hitting coach as well as handling all administrative duties and the conditioning program for the team.
Under Thanatharn’s guidance, the Beach posted the 10 highest batting averages in program history, including a .320 mark in 2021 which ranked No. 15 nationally.
“We’re going to recruit the best athletes and fit for our program,” Thanatharn said.
Thanatharn replaces Coolen, who went 33-20 in his final season at UH and led the Rainbow Wahine to two wins in the inaugural Big West Championship in Fullerton, Calif.
Coolen, who finished his career with a 1,133-736-1 record, had publicly voiced his support for longtime associate head coach Deirdre Wisneski to replace him as head coach.
Wisneski, a Rainbow Wahine alumna who led Hawaii to its first Big West title and first two NCAA postseason appearances in the mid-1990s, had been with the program for more than three decades and was the first associate head coach.
Coolen’s retirement was forced upon him as part of signing a two-year extension given to him by then-athletics director David Matlin in 2023.
“A job like this doesn’t come up very often,” Thanatharn said. “Definitely going to build on what Bob has done and continue to elevate it and make it the best experience I can for the student athletes.”
The Beach ranked 20th in 2018 with a .306 average and set single-season records for hits (486) and doubles (91).
In 2013, the team hit a program-best 53 home runs led by Darian Tautalafua, who set Big West career records for home runs and RBI and program career marks for runs scored and walks.
In 18 seasons as an assistant coach, Thanatharn has been a part of nine NCAA Regional teams – eight with LBSU and one with UNLV – and five Big West championship teams (2008, ’12, ’14, ’21, ’23). During her time with LBSU, the Beach never finished conference play lower than fourth place. She helped coach 16 all-region players, including All-Americans Brooke Turner and Taylor Rowland as well as Big West Player of the Year Shayna Kimbrough and three Big West Freshmen of the Year.
Thanatharn worked and played under two legendary coaches – Pete Manarino at UNLV and Kim Sowder at LBSU. Manarino is the Beach’s all-time winningest coach with 843 wins while Sowder is second with 579.
A four-year letterwinner for the Beach (2002, ’05-07), Thanatharn earned the school’s Todd Hart Courage Award in 2003 and was honorable mention all-Big West in 2007. She still holds the school record for most hits in a game with five against Siena in 2007. Following her senior season, she was one of 20 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award, presented annually to a senior softball player who excels both on and off the field.
A four-year letterwinner for the Beach (2002, ’05-07), Thanatharn double-majored from LBSU in exercise science and sport psychology and coaching in 2006 and received a master’s in kinesiology with an option in sports management from LBSU in 2008.
