Quick Facts
Biography
Holly Bruder is an American college softball coach. She currently serves as head coach of NCAA Division I Lamar University softball team. She has been head coach as Lamar since the program was restarted in 2012. From 2008 to 2011, she served as head coach at NCAA Division I Morehead State. Prior to the seasons at Morehead State, she served as head coach at NCAA Division III Denison University for six years (2002–2007). Before her head coaching assignments, Bruder was assistant coach at Bluffton College in 2001 after beginning her college coaching career as an assistant coach at Albion College (1999–2000).
Playing career
Bruder played softball for Rogers City High School located in Rogers City, Michigan. She was a four-year letterman at Alma College. In 1999, her team advanced to the NCAA Division III College World Series finishing in third place.
Coaching career
Assistant Coach
Bruder served as Assistant Coach for 2 years (1999–2000) on the Albion College staff serving as assistant softball coach. In 2001, she moved to Bluffton College where she served as Head Coach for the tennis team and Assistant Coach for the softball team.
Denison University
Bruder served as Head Coach for the Denison University Big Red softball team from 2002 to 2007. She compiled a record of 145-105 at Denison leading the Big Red to four conference regular season titles and two appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Morehead State
In 2008, Bruder took over head coaching duties for the Morehead State Eagles softball team. Her first Eagles team finished in 2nd place in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Eagles's highest finish in the history of the program. Her first two teams at Morehead State set school overall winning records of 34 in 2008 and 35 in 2009. Bruder's overall record at Morehead State from 2008 to 2011 was 115-96.
Lamar University
On April 22, 2011, Athletic Director Larry Tidwell announced plans to reinstate college softball as a NCAA Division I sport at Lamar University. On August 1, 2011 former Morehead State head coach Holly Bruder was announced as the finalist to fill the head coaching position at Lamar after over 20 years without a program. The Lady Cardinals finished fifth in the Southland Conference in their first season of competition (2012–13) following the restart of the program. The team also earned a berth in the Southland Conference softball tournament.
Head coaching record
Source:
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denison University (North Coast Athletic Conference) (2002–2007) | |||||||||
| 2002 | Denison University | 27-14 | 12-3 | 1st | NCAA Division III Regional | ||||
| 2003 | Denison University | 24-18 | 12-2 | 1st | |||||
| 2004 | Denison University | 10-26 | 4-10 | 7th | |||||
| 2005 | Denison University | 21-19 | 8-8 | 4th | |||||
| 2006 | Denison University | 33-13 | 11-3 | 1st | NCAA Division III Regional | ||||
| 2007 | Denison University | 30-15 | 13-1 | 1st | |||||
| Denison: | 145-105 (.580) | 60-27 (.690) | |||||||
| Morehead State (Ohio Valley Conference) (2008–2011) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Morehead State | 34-16 | 16-9 | 2nd | |||||
| 2009 | Morehead State | 35–20 | 15–8 | 3rd | |||||
| 2010 | Morehead State | 27–24 | 14–9 | 3rd | |||||
| 2011 | Morehead State | 19–36 | 10–19 | 9th | |||||
| Morehead State: | 115–96 (.545) | 55-45 (.550) | |||||||
| Lamar (Southland Conference) (2013–Present) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Lamar | 24–35 | 14–13 | 5th | 2013 Southland Conference Softball Tournament | ||||
| 2014 | Lamar | 20–30 | 12–14 | 8th | |||||
| 2015 | Lamar | 26–28 | 14–10 | 5th | 2015 Southland Conference Softball Tournament, 3rd place | ||||
| 2016 | Lamar | 35–22 | 18–9 | 4th | 2016 Southland Conference Softball Tournament, Championship game | ||||
| Lamar: | 105–115 (.477) | 58-46 (.558) | |||||||
| Total: | 365-315 (.537) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
(Records reflect game results through May 13, 2016.)