Van Zanic - Head Coach
The 2026 season is Head Coach Van Zanic's 24th season as the head coach for Geneva's softball team. Zanic reached 500 career wins with a doubleheader sweep at Saint Vincent on April 25, 2023, and he now owns a 565-384 career record as Geneva's head coach.
Last season, in 2025, the Golden Tornadoes earned the No. 3 seed in the PAC Tournament after a successful regular season in which they went 28-11. They wound up falling one game short of a conference championship berth, losing in the semifinal round. Zanic and his team then made their second consecutive trip to the NCCAA World Series, hosted in Grapevine, TX, where they eventually fell to No. 3 seed MACU after winning one tournament game.
The 2024 season saw the Golden Tornadoes tie for first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference in the regular season, once again advancing to the postseason. After falling short in the PAC Tournament, the Golden Tornadoes accepted a bid to the NCCAA Regional Tournament where Geneva eventually advanced on to the NCCAA National Tournament in Kansas City, MO, where the team made it all the way to the semifinals before falling to eventual national champion Concordia.
The 2021 season under Zanic's direction proved to be one of the best in school history. Geneva finished the year 36-5 overall, finishing first in the PAC regular season standings with 16-2 conference record, the first time the Golden Tornadoes finished atop the PAC regular season standings. Geneva hosted the PAC Championship and won all three games to win its second PAC Championship since joining the conference.
Zanic began his coaching career at Geneva as an assistant during the years of 2000 and 2001. He served as Geneva's full-time sports information director for 15 years before taking over as athletic director in the summer of 2013. Zanic has also served on the NCAA Division III National Softball Committee for the past two seasons.
Zanic has led the Golden Tornadoes to the post-season in 16 of his 20 years (not including the 2020 season that was cut short due to COVID-19), including five regional tournament appearances and four NCCAA national tournament stints. The Golden Tornadoes won the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship in 2012, in addition to their championship in 2021. During his tenure, 91 student-athletes have received All-Conference recognition. In addition, 91 student-athletes have received academic honors, while 13 players have been named NCCAA All-Americans. “I think more than anything else that we have accomplished, I am most proud of the work that has been done in the classroom,” Zanic said. “Our ladies are dedicated student-athletes, who take great pride in their academic career. This past spring our women registered a 3.4 team GPA, which is a great testament to the dedication our ladies have in the classroom.”
A Geneva graduate himself, Zanic completed his studies at Geneva in 1992 with a degree in Broadcast Communications. While with the Golden Tornadoes, Zanic spent four years playing baseball. A four-year starter at Geneva, he helped guide Geneva to four consecutive post-season appearances.
Zanic started his coaching career at the high school level as an assistant at Woodland Hills High School in the mid-90's, alongside his father George Zanic. During his three years as an assistant, Woodland Hills qualified for the WPIAL play-offs in each of those seasons.
Zanic returned to his alma mater six years after graduating and has never looked back. “It is hard to imagine that I first stepped foot on Geneva’s campus in the summer of 1988 and that I have had the opportunity for all these years to live out my dream. Getting the opportunity to coach so many incredible young women and now to have the great thrill of coaching my own daughter is something that not very many people get the chance to do. I am truly blessed.”
Zanic and his wife Becky reside on College Hill. They have two children, Zach and Lexi, and welcomed their first grandchild (Zeke) last year.
