Renee Luers-Gillispie is an American college

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 and a former college player. Luers-Gillispie was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

Iowa Hawkeyes softball The Iowa Hawkeyes softball team represents University of Iowa in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Confer ...

team of the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Playing career

Luers-Gillispie first attended

Kirkwood Community College Kirkwood Community College is a public community college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with several additional regional and county centers located in Belle Plaine, Coralville, Hiawatha, Monticello, Tipton, Vinton, Washington and Williamsburg. Histo ...

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

, where she played for the softball team in 1981. After her freshman year, she transferred to

West Texas A&M West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...

Canyon, Texas Canyon is a city in and the county seat of Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area ...

, where she was a three-year starter. As a player, she set nine career pitching records including most wins, most strikeouts and most saves at West Texas A&M. In 2005, Luers-Gillispie was inducted into the West Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

Luers-Gillispie began her coaching career at

Joliet Junior College Joliet Junior College (JJC) is a public community college in Joliet, Illinois. Founded in 1901, it was the first public community college founded in the United States. In Spring 2014, the college enrolled 16,375 students. Every year, 48,000 st ...

in 1991. She became the head coach at

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,200 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in fiv ...

in 1993, and was named to the same position at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

in 1996. In 2000, Luers-Gillispie was hired by UCF to start the Knights softball program. The UCF softball team began play in 2002. The Knights played their first games on February 2, losing the first contest 2–3 to Bethune–Cookman, and winning their second game against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, 6–5.UCF Knights Softball History and Records
In 2005 and 2008, Luers-Gillispie led the Knights to conference tournament championships, and the program has appeared in the NCAA Tournament five times, in 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. On December 17, 2024, Gillispie took a medical leave of absence from her head coaching duties at Iowa for the 2025 season. On April 29, 2025, Iowa announced that Gillispie would not return as head coach, she did not coach a game during the 2025 season.

Personal life

Gillispie currently reside in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* – Official biography at UCFAthletics.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Luers-Gillispie, Renee Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American female sports coaches American softball coaches UCF Knights softball coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders softball coaches Bradley Braves softball coaches Joliet Wolves softball coaches People from Livermore, California Sportspeople from Oviedo, Florida Iowa Hawkeyes softball coaches