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.
She inherits a program that has posted four 30-win seasons in its first five years of existence, including a 35-23 record in 2004. The Hilltoppers were 10-9 in the Sun Belt Conference, the first time that Western recorded a winning ledger in league action.
“We feel as if we have landed another young coaching super star in Rachel Lawson,” said Selig. “She has experienced intercollegiate softball competition at a very high level in the ACC where she had to be creative and innovative to compete at the top of a very strong conference. We anticipate her assisting Western take the next step in the evolution of our program in our quest for national prominence.”
“This is a great opportunity, Western has a strong athletic department and the softball program is well-supported,“ Lawson said. “We’re in a great area, I think we can do a lot of great things here.
“Our goal is to win the Sun Belt Conference, do well in the region and reach the NCAA Tournament. With all of the facilities — the softball field, the hitting complex and upgraded weight room in Diddle Arena — I believe we can recruit the type of student-athletes who can help us achieve our goals.”
During her four-year career at UMass, Lawson helped the Minutewomen post a combined record of 142-68 (67.6%) including a 39-3 (92.9%) Atlantic 10 mark. In addition to the ’92 WCWS appearance, she was a part of squads that also advanced to the NCAA Tournament her freshman season, won three A-10 Tournament titles and claimed the league regular-season championship four straight years.
Lawson was honored individually for her accomplishments on and off the field. She was both an all-conference and all-Atlantic 10 Tournament performer in 1992 and ’94, and was also named to the A-10 Academic all-conference squad following each of her final two seasons.
Maryland was coming off a 15-33 season when Lawson joined Gina LaMandre’s staff at Maryland, however, the Terrapins would go on to post six winning seasons in her seven years in College Park. Her responsibilities included recruiting, scheduling, organizing practice and travel as well as running camps and clinics.
UM led the nation in earned run average her first season while posting a 33-24-1 mark, and would post two more plus-.500 records — including sharing the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 1997 — before the ’99 season. That year, Lawson and LaMandre were selected the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the Terrapins to a 51-23 record, their first ACC regular-season title and the championship game of the NCAA Region II Tournament.
UM would go on to win 39 games in 2001 and finished 31-21 in her final year on the staff.
During her time at Maryland, Lawson helped eight individuals earn NFCA all-region accolades — with an All-America honoree in 1999 — and nine players collect all-conference honors.
“We are very excited to have Rachel as our next coach. She brings a lot of experience both as a coach and a player to our program,” said Western Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman’s Administrator Pam Herriford, chair of the search committee. “We are looking forward to her continuing the winning ways of coach (Leslie) Phelan and moving the program to the next level of competition.”
Lawson left Maryland to become President of the New England Softball Academy, where she was responsible for instruction as well as coordinating player and team development training programs while overseeing the program’s daily operations.
A 1994 graduate of Massachusetts, Lawson also earned her master’s degree from UMass in 1998. She originally hails from Billings, Mont.
