Nevada softball head coach Josh Taylor announced the hiring of in October 2017 Lisa McKinney as the Wolf Pack’s new assistant coach. McKinney joins the Wolf Pack coaching staff following a two-year stint as the head coach at San Francisco State.
“Lisa provides a wealth of experience to our coaching staff,” Taylor said. She was an All-Pac-10 catcher at Oregon State and qualified all four years for the NCAA regionals, including an appearance in the 2006 Women’s College World Series. Lisa has been where this program wants to go. Those experiences are things that we want to rub off on our players. She is a vocal leader that will be an instrumental part of the future of Wolf Pack softball.”
Known for making a quick impact on programs, McKinney guided San Francisco State to back-to-back 20-win seasons after taking over a program that won just 12 games in 2015. In her first season at the helm of Gator softball, McKinney led San Francisco State to a sixth place finish in the CCAA Conference, which was an improvement of four spots from the previous season.
“I’m really fortunate to have the opportunity to join such a great program,” McKinney said. “I think what Coach Taylor has done in just the short amount of time he’s been the head coach here is really remarkable and I’m excited to be part of the continued growth of Nevada softball.”
The 25 wins, along with 19 conference victories, that San Francisco State won in 2016 were the most wins since the 2009 and 2007 seasons, respectfully. Under her direction, McKinney coached Jennifer Lewis to the program’s lone First Team All-CCAA selection since the 2007 campaign. Additionally, the Canby, Oregon native propelled five student-athletes to All-CCAA Academic honors and 13 players to the Spring Athletic Directors Honor Roll.
Prior to her tenure in San Francisco, McKinney served as the head coach at Montana State-Billings (MSUB) for four seasons, where in her first full year in charge, led the Yellowjackets to a 32-18 overall record and a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) title. As a result of winning the conference championship in 2012, McKinney led MSUB to the program’s first NCAA Division II berth since 2009.
In 2015, she directed the Yellowjackets to 31 wins and another GNAC championship, where the team made its second NCAA berth in four years, advancing as far as the regional championship game in the process. Before her time at MSUB, McKinney spent time as an assistant at Middle Tennessee State and Linfield College (OR), winning the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2006.
McKinney graduated from Oregon State in 2006 with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science, where she played softball with current Nevada assistant coach Brianne Durfee. During her playing career, McKinney competed in four consecutive NCAA regionals, including an appearance in the NCAA Women’s College World Series. While at Oregon State, McKinney earned All-Pac 10 honors twice and finished her career ranked amongst the top 10 in home runs.
