Lori Meyer is an American former

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

coach who served as the head coach for the

Minnesota State Mavericks softball The Minnesota State Mavericks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Minnesota State University, Mankato. The school's athletic program includes 21 varsity sports teams. More than 600 students participate each year in athletics ...

team for 41 years. She compiled a record of 1,444–769–3 at Minnesota State, and is the winningest coach in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

history.

Early life

Meyer attended

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa, United States. It enrolls around 3,000 students and offers distance education programs that include centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, an ...

and played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

. She then attended

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

where she graduated with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in physical education in 1985.

Coaching career

Meyer began her coaching career at Minnesota State in 1985. She helped lead the Mavericks to three

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

championships (1987, 1989, 2007) and five

Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Upper Midwest of the United States. Nine of ...

titles (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017). The Mavericks also advanced to the NCAA Division II softball tournament 18 times, with three appearances in the NCAA National Championship (1987, 2011 and 2017). In 2013, she was inducted into the

National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame was established in 1991 to recognize sports coach, coaches who have made extraordinary contributions to the sport of softpitch softball. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association ("NFCA") is ...

. On April 18, 2014, she earned her 1,000th career win, becoming the 26th coach in softball history to reach the milestone. During the 2017 season, she led the Mavericks to a 64–7 record, and the NCAA Division II National Championship, their first championship in program history. Their 64 wins are a program record, and the second most wins in

history by a national champion. On March 1, 2023, she became the winningest coach in NCAA Division II history with 1,341 wins, surpassing the previous record of 1,340 wins held by Gary Bryce. On May 16, 2025, Meyer announced her retirement as head coach of Minnesota State after 41 seasons. She finished her career with a 1,444-769-3 record and is the winningest coach in NCAA Division II history, and ranks sixth in wins in the history of college softball, regardless of division. Following her retirement she was named Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at Minnesota State.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Lori Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American softball coaches Minnesota State Mavericks softball coaches Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni

Early life

Coaching career

Head coaching record

See also

References