Title: Head coach, Kentucky
Sport: Fastpitch Softball
Career Record: 215-187

Rachel Lawson is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Kentucky softball program after being tabbed to the post in July 2007. Lawson has successfully transformed the UK softball program into a national contender in four short seasons. She has guided the UK program to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and three straight winning seasons for the first time in school history. In 2011, Lawson directed the Wildcats to their first NCAA Super Regional appearance and finished the season ranked No.12 in the country.

The 2011 team earned a 40-16 overall record to set a new single-season standard for wins in a season. UK appeared in the national rankings for a school-record 14 consecutive weeks, defeated 12 top-25 ranked opponents, captured a school-best five Southeastern Conference series and became one of just 31 teams in the country to advance to the NCAA Tournament for three straight seasons.

Furthermore, in the Wildcats late-season dramatic run which included a seventh-inning rally to knock off the nation’s No. 2 team in Michigan in Ann Arbor to advance to the Super Regionals, the Wildcats shattered 12 single-season UK records. Kentucky’s records included home runs (65), RBI (275) and batting average (.275).

Following the end of the impressive 2011 season, Lawson was rewarded with a five-year contract extension keeping her at the helm of the Wildcat program through 2016.

In 2010, the Wildcats charted a 32-27 record and entered into the national rankings for the first time in school allure, while also knocking off five top-seven ranked opponents on the year. Kentucky’s offense continued to make strides as well with improvements in batting average, home runs, RBI and sacrifice hits for the third consecutive season under the direction of Lawson.

Lawson led the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance and charted the school’s first postseason victories in 2009, just her second season leading the Blue and White. UK notched a 34-23 record and the first winning season in UK allure in nearly 10 seasons. Kentucky upset three ranked opponents on the year, including No. 7 Georgia in a 2-0 victory in the SEC Tournament. Molly Johnson became the school’s first All-America selection when she was voted to the second team in 2009.

In her first season at the helm, the Wildcats had numerous season highlights. Johnson blasted a two-run home run to knock off No. 6 Tennessee in extra innings, helping Lawson claim a victory in her first career game in the Southeastern Conference. Three players were named to All-SEC teams, while two freshmen were tabbed All-Freshman team performers.

Lawson became just the third head coach in the history of the Kentucky softball program after spending three seasons at Western Kentucky. She also served as an assistant coach at Maryland from 1996-2002 and was the associate head coach of the Philadelphia Force professional team in 2006.

Lawson tallied a record of 92-84 (.523) during her tenure with the Hilltoppers. In her first season at WKU, she led the Toppers to a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game. Picked to finish last in the preseason poll, WKU tied for second in the conference standings after setting a school record with 12 Sun Belt victories. The Billings, Mont., native led WKU to a 33-24 record in 2005 and reached the 30-win plateau again in 2007.

Lawson was a two-time all-conference player at Massachusetts, where she was part of a program that advanced to the 1992 Women’s College World Series, and has seven years experience as an assistant coach at Maryland.

A 1994 graduate of Massachusetts with a degree in exercise science, Lawson also earned her master’s degree in sports management from UMass in 1998. She is the daughter of Elaine and Gerald Lawson and has 12 siblings.