Kayla Lucas begins her sixth season as the head coach of the Young Harris College softball program.
Lucas has made an immediate impact at Young Harris.
Lucas has propelled the Mountain Lions into the national spotlight as Young Harris has made the NCAA Division II Softball National Tournament in each of her first four seasons, including an appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship in 2019.
Lucas had the Mountain Lions off to a 19-3 start to the 2020 season before it was abruptly ended by CoVID-19. Midway through the season, Young Harris was ranked No. 1 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 poll for the first time in program history and only the second team at YHC to be ranked No. 1. The Mountain Lions finished the season ranked sixth nationally.
Lucas led Young Harris to a program best 44 wins in 2019 along with a NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional Tournament and a trip to the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship as the No. 8 seed in Denver, Colorado. The team finished as a national semifinalist and ranked No. 4 in the NFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.
Lucas and her staff were named the NFCA NCAA Division II Southeast Region Staff of the Year.
Lucas had eight players named to All-Peach Belt teams, including Jill Torres and Nikkie Kovalsky, who were named to D2CCA Division II All-Southeast Region teams.
Lucas led the Mountain Lions to a No. 14 ranking in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division II Coaches Poll in 2018. It was the first national ranking for YHC since 2016 when they were ranked as high as No. 16. The Mountain Lions, who won 35 games, earned the No. 7 seed in the region and won the Hickory regional before they advanced to the program's first-ever appearance in the super regional.
Lucas led the Mountain Lions to a program-best 43 wins in 2017 as the Mountain Lions earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship, earning the No. 6 seed from the Southeast Region. Young Harris also equaled their Peach Belt Conference wins total of 17 in 2017.
In her first season, the Mountain Lions won an NCAA-era record 32 games in 2016 as Young Harris was ranked as high as No. 16 in the NFCA Division II Coaches Poll during the season. The Mountain Lions won a record 17 PBC games as YHC had its highest-ever finish - third place in the league.
The 2014 NFCA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year came to the Enchanted Valley after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Peach Belt-foe Georgia College.
During her stay in Milledgeville, the Bobcats posted a 143-68 mark and were ranked as high as No. 6 in the NFCA national rankings. Lucas helped the Bobcats qualify for the NCAA Division II national tournament the past three seasons, including the 2015 NCAA Southeast Regional No. 2 title and a berth in the institution’s first NCAA Super Regional.
As well as doing position work and working with hitters, Lucas served as the team’s speed and agility coach. In just four years, the Bobcats racked up 442 stolen bases and led the Peach Belt in stolen bases three times.
Lucas played college softball all four years, while receiving NAIA, NCCAA, and NFCA All-American honors in 2010 and 2011. She led Central Baptist College to the NCCAA National Championship in 2010 and was named to the all-region and all-tournament teams in 2010 and 2011 as well. She is third all-time in Mustang history in on-base percentage (.501), fourth in home runs (33), fifth in batting average (.443), runs scored (136), doubles (36), and slugging percentage (.808), sixth in RBI (130), and total bases (299), seventh in hits (164), and eighth in walks (47).
The Marion, Arkansas, native received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Central Baptist after spending her first two years at Henderson State University. She earned her master’s degree in exercise science from Georgia College.
