VSA is very excited to announce Lakyn Wagoner as their new Director of Softball with an emphasis on Player Development. Prior, she was an assistant coach for the University of Evansville for two years. Her first year she assisted with hitting and coached outfield; her second year she was the sole hitting coach. During Lakyn’s time, she increased almost every offensive statistical category during the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) season: batting average increased fifty-four points (.196 to .250), on-base percentage raised thirty-one points (.312), finished 2nd in the MVC in doubles (35), increased total bases by sixty-four (265), and reduced strikeouts by ninety over the course of the season. In addition, she helped coach a 2nd Team All-Conference Player, two MVC Players of the Week, one Outfield All-Defensive team, and one Outfield All-Tournament Team member. Last, the staff won the first University of Evansville MVC softball post-season game in eleven years; they defeated the Drake Bulldogs 4-1.
As for her playing career, she started at the University of Illinois at Springfield in 2017 where she helped the Prairie Stars win a GLVC Conference Title as well as a Regional Title. Lakyn was a First-Team All-Region and First-Team All-GLVC selection in 2018. In 2020, she was a CoSIDA Academic All-District team selection as well.
During her two complete years at UIS, she left as the program’s all-time leader in batting average (.375), slugging percentage (.619), doubles (35), triples (15), and total bases (279), while also collecting 169 hits, 99 runs, 15 homers, 102 RBI, 52 stolen bases, and a .414 on-base percentage.
In 2019, she received a redshirt-year due to a knee injury, and another redshirt-year in 2020 due to COVID-19. She finished her career (21-22) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where her team finished 3rd in the Big Ten and contended in the 2022 University of Missouri Regional. Unfortunately, due to two more surgeries, she was not able to complete her last two years but garnered the Big Ten Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year Award in 2022.
Lakyn completed her Master’s Degree at the University of Illinois in Recreation, Sports, and Tourism in 2022 and completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Illinois at Springfield in 2020.