About

Jen Pawol

Jen Pawol is the founder of Evolve 2 Excellence Baseball and Softball Training, LLC. Her passion for sports, art, and umpiring were cultivated during her high school experience in West Milford, NJ. During her education, Jen greatly benefited from exposure to a wide variety of skill building activities in art, charity, sports, and leadership.

Evolve 2 Excellence Baseball and Softball, LLC is proud to offer development programs to today’s youth with dynamic training for hitters, catchers, and umpires!

EDUCATION & TEACHING: Jen Pawol offers more than 30 years of teaching and coaching experience through classroom instruction, coaching teams, private lessons, camps, clinics, and events. She specializes in creating new programs for catching, hitting, and umpiring to promote learning and development while meeting the individual needs of each student.

Jen earned her Master’s degree in Painting from Hunter College. Pawol is a former New York State K-12 Certified Art Educator with teaching experience in public schools and not-for-profit organizations in urban, rural, and suburban school districts. Her programs follow state standards for physical education requirements. Jen is trained to work with special needs student-athletes and implements IEP learning modifications with diversified teaching strategies. Pawol is American Red Cross CPR and AED certified, and has completed state and national background checks to work with youth participants.

Jen catching for the West Milford Highlanders Varsity Softball team.

Pawol hitting on athletic scholarship with Hofstra University,

NCAA Division 1 Top 25 nationally ranked program, 1998

TRAILBLAZER: In 2016, Jen Pawol was hired by Minor League Baseball and became the 7th woman in the history of men’s baseball to umpire professionally. Jen is currently working in the AAA classification as a Crew Chief and MLB Call-Up. She has umpired for MiLB in the Pacific Coast League, International League, Eastern League, High-A Central League, South Atlantic League, Midwest League, New York-Penn League, and the Gulf Coast League with multiple post-season selections during her career. She has also completed two Arizona Fall League assignments. Pawol was an umpire instructor at the new four week MLB Umpire Prospect Development Camp at The Jackie Robinson Training Center in Vero Beach, FL in 2023.

Pawol is a graduate of the 2016 Umpire Training Academy and Advanced Course. She was one of the first women to earn a Major League Baseball Umpire Camp scholarship to professional umpire school. Pawol was a former National Professional Fastpitch umpire and an NCAA Division 1 softball conference umpire in the BIG 10 and others, having worked multiple post-season conference championships for the Atlantic-10, OVC, and Ivy League. In 2017, Pawol’s umpire mask was placed on display in The Diamond Dreams exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The exhibit features equipment and memorabilia highlighting the accomplishments of professional women umpires throughout baseball's history.

Group photo with World Series Champion teammates from the inaugural USA Women's Baseball Team, in Toronto, Canada, 2001

ATHLETIC CAREER: As a post Title IX generation athlete, Jen had the chance to participate in a wide variety of sports during her childhood. Her favorite sports were baseball and softball. She graduated high school with a .538 career batting average as the starting catcher on the West Milford Varsity Softball Team from 1991-1995. She generated 153 RBIs, 118 runs, and 17 homeruns. Jen was a highly decorated three-sport varsity athlete in softball, soccer, and winter track. During her junior year, Pawol was selected to compete in Levels 1 and 2 of the USA Olympic Softball Team Trials in 1994. In 2000, The New Jersey Sunday Record recognized her among the The Best of The Century for NJ high school softball. At the beginning of 2020, Pawol was inducted into the West Milford High School Hall of Fame.

Pawol pursued opportunities for higher education and earned an athletic scholarship with the NCAA Division 1 Hofstra University Women’s Softball Team. She hit .332 for her college career and collected numerous All-Conference and All-Region honors.

After college, Pawol spent 10 seasons in ASA Women’s Major Fastpitch with the Stratford Brakettes, Topton VIPs, New York Raiders, and Montclair Majestics. In 2004, she earned an ASA Women’s Major National Championship with the historic Stratford Brakettes. Pawol also competed at the highest level in women’s baseball winning a World Championship with the inaugural USA Women’s Baseball Team in 2001.

Stratford Brakette's team photo

2004 Women's Major National Champions

Play at the plate in MiLB, 2017

Conference Presenter

Vero Beach, FL

June 9, 2018

“Career Opportunities in Baseball, Panel Discussion with Kim Ng, Jen Pawol, and Raquel Wagner” Girls’ Baseball Breakthrough Series. Sponsored by Major League Baseball.

Austin, TX

October 19, 2017

“Title IX From Firsthand Experience” Keynote Speaker, Title IX Administrators Conference hosted by Eichelbaum Wardell Hansen Powell & Mehl, P.C.

Atlantic City, NJ

January 26, 2017

Atlantic City, NJ

January 27, 2017

Atlantic City, NJ

January 28, 2017

“Why in the World Would Anyone Want to Become an Umpire?,"

"The Most Commonly Called Rules in Baseball and Softball: Part 1,"

"Secrets to Mutually Beneficial Communication With an Umpire,"

Be The Best Coaches Convention.

"How to Get the Most Out of Your Strike Zone: No Matter Who is Pitching, Hitting, Catching, or Umpiring," "Teaching Catchers the Art of Communicating with an Umpire,"

Be The Best Coaches Convention.

"Plays at the Plate: Better Protecting Your Catcher Through a Careful Look at the Rule Book,"

"The Most Commonly Called Rules in Baseball and Softball: Part 2,"

"Lineup Card Management: Critical Paperwork Mistakes That Cost Coaches a Win,"

Be The Best Coaches Convention.

Albany, NY

January 29, 2011

“The Art of Catching,” NYSPHSAA Coaches Conference.