Wichita State outfielder Lauren Lucas started college planning to work on the business side of professional sports. Five years later, she plans to coach softball in college.
She changed course in part due to a shoulder injury that took her off the field and into the dugout as a coach.
In the summer of 2023, she helped coach a youth team in Texas while she took time off from playing to rest her shoulder. In 2024, shoulder surgery sidelined her during Wichita State’s season. She dove into a role as an unofficial assistant coach, specializing in hitting.
Both roles taught her that she enjoyed working with young people and wanted to stay in the game. WSU coach Kristi Bredbenner and associate head coach Elizabeth Economon endorsed the plan.
“I had a conversation with Coach B last year,” Lucas said. “She said ‘You have to coach. I know you. You have to coach.’ If one of the best coaches I’ve ever played for thinks I would be a great coach, that speaks volumes to me.”