For the second summer in a row, Louisiana Tech is on the prowl for a new head coach. Maria Winn spent a single season in Ruston, guiding the team through the abbreviated 2020 season before stepping down from her post in late July. The Lady Techsters are in the process of building an eye-popping new softball facility, which is sure to be one of the major selling points for a new coach.
Louisiana Tech finished the 2020 season with an 8-16 record and were 2-1 in conference play, having won their first Conference USA series of the year before the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended the campaign. During their last full season of play in 2019, the squad posted a 45-16 overall record with a 19-5 conference showing, representing Conference USA in the NCAA tournament.
Could one of these candidates be the program’s next head coach?
Mike Reed | Head Coach | UT-Tyler
Reed was said to be the Lady Techsters’ top choice a year ago, and he figures to be held in a similar regard this time around. Reed has led UT-Tyler to tremendous success during his tenure with the program, including a seamless transition from Division III to Division II. The biggest issue that might stand in the way of Reed’s candidacy is a financial one; UT-Tyler has rewarded him for his success through the years, and a step up to Division I is not necessarily the major promotion that it would be for some other Division II coaches.
Bianca Duran | Assistant Coach | Louisiana Tech
Duran is the sole remaining member of the Lady Techsters’ full-time staff, and is also the lone holdover from Mark Montgomery’s tenure as head coach. Duran may get a look for the head coaching role, but is most likely to remain on staff as the team’s pitching coach and maintain some continuity for the returning players. A Louisiana Tech alum, Duran now enters her fifth season on the Lady Techsters’ staff after beginning her coaching career at Stanislaus State in 2016.
Amber Barker | Head Coach | Texas Woman’s
One of the more recognizable players in Lady Techster program history, Barker previously spent five seasons on staff at the school at the beginning of her coaching career. Since that time, she spent a couple of years in a coaching and academic role at UT-Dallas before head coaching stints at Darton State College and Albany State, as well as her current position at Texas Woman’s University. Barker has had relative success as a head coach, and as a program alum with head coaching experience, it could make her an intriguing candidate.
Mike Smith | Former Head Coach | Ole Miss
Despite an inauspicious exit from Ole Miss, Smith is going to get back into collegiate coaching at some point; the only question is when and where. Louisiana Tech is relatively close to his most recent coaching spot at Ole Miss, and he is familiar with the state of Louisiana from his time at McNeese State. While questions will be raised about the nature of his exit at Ole Miss, there aren’t a lot of SEC champion head coaches on the free agent market. Smith has expressed interest in some head coaching positions this summer, and it would be rather surprising not to see him take a run here.
Andy Lott | Assistant Coach | Memphis
Lott’s name has surfaced in a few different searches over the last two years, including Louisiana Tech’s search last summer. Lott spent three years on staff at McNeese State with Natalie Poole at the turn of the last decade, and that tenure with the Cowgirls happened to occur during Tommy McLelland’s time as that program’s athletic director; McLelland is now the AD at Louisiana Tech. Lott is an intellectual in addition to his softball knowledge, and would help the Lady Techsters return to a similar feel as they had under Montgomery’s guidance.
Annie Smith | Volunteer Assistant Coach | Arkansas
The 2020 season was Smith’s first as the Razorbacks’ volunteer assistant coach, but is neither a stranger to coaching in the SEC or to being a head coach. Assistant coaching stints at multiple SEC schools bookended a 6-year tenure as the head coach at Georgia Southern, when she twice led the program to an NCAA tournament berth. The Eagles did not perform to expectations after realignment to the Sun Belt Conference, but Smith nevertheless departed the program with a winning record during her tenure. She also spent a few months on staff at LSU and, while a brief stint, it does qualify her for the oft-heralded Beth Torina coaching tree.
Andy Lee | Head Coach | Northwest Florida
One of the most successful softball coaches to come out of the state of Louisiana, Lee established a junior college dynasty during his 11-year run at LSU-Eunice. He led that program to six national championships and nearly 600 wins during his tenure, and earned three National Coach of the Year awards for his efforts. Now the head coach at Northwest Florida State College, Lee led that program to a 27-8 showing in his first season at the helm, prior to the season’s abrupt end.
Christi Musser | Former Assistant Coach | Grand Canyon
Assuredly a wild-card in this race, Musser stands near the top of the list of coaches remaining on the free agent market. She departed Grand Canyon after the 2020 season, and her name has surfaced for several other positions since that time. Musser is not known as a job-jumper, with the GCU position just her third across seventeen years of collegiate coaching, which is sure to be a mark in her favor; a coach with potential longevity is likely to be near the top of Louisiana Tech’s wish-list.
