Mark Lumley is in his 19th season as a coach with the Baylor softball program and 22nd as an assistant to head coach Glenn Moore, serving as the team’s hitting instructor and outfield coach.
Following the 2006 season, Lumley was promoted to associate head coach after serving six years as an assistant coach. Lumley came to Baylor in July 2000, following Moore from LSU.
In Lumley’s 18 years at Baylor, the Lady Bears have continually established new career and individual single-season hitting records under his guidance. The 2014 Bears broke the single-season homer mark with 74 surpassing the 2006 squad’s mark of 68, while the 2017 squad set a new single-season batting average record at .321 and matched that mark in 2018.
In 2018, Lumley oversaw another historic offensive output, with the career finales of some of the top hitters and defenders in program history.
Senior outfielder Jessie Scroggins shattered the program’s single-season batting average record, posting a .461 performance at the plate. Scroggins would go on to earn an NFCA All-America first team selection and was drafted No. 15 overall in the National Pro Fastpitch Collegiate Draft by the Chicago Bandits. She did not skip a beat at the next level, named the 2018 NPF Rookie of the Year.
For the third-straight season, Kyla Walker topped the previous year’s record, finishing with a .433 average. Shelby Friudenberg capped off her Baylor career as the program’s all-time record holder in home runs (49) and RBIs (194).
In 2017, Lumley transitioned from coaching infield to outfield, a move that helped lead Jessie Scroggins to earn the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors, the first by a Lady Bear. Scroggins was the first outfielder selected as the conference’s top defensive player since the award’s inception.
After breaking the single-season batting average in 2016, Walker topped her previous mark of .415 with a .418 clip in 2017, setting a new BU record for single-season hits with 89.
Lindsey Cargill topped Walker’s already astronomical hitting clip, setting a new program record for single-season hitting with a Big 12-best .430 average over the season. Cargill was named the ninth All-American in program history, transitioning from outfield to third base for senior season without skipping a beat.
All three of Baylor’s outfielders earned Big 12 postseason awards, with Walker and Scroggins both named to the All-Big 12 first team and Maddison Kettler selected for the Big 12 All Freshman team.
In 2016, Linsey Hays set new single-season and career records in doubles, while then-freshman Kyla Walker broke the school record for single-season batting average set by her older sister, Kayce, and former All-American Ashley Monceaux.
Shelby Friudenberg’s 18 home runs in 2015 stands as the most in Baylor history by a freshman, tying for the second-most by any Lady Bear in a single season. In addition to being a part of the third WCWS team in school history in 2014, Lumley was also inducted into the Flowing Wells Athletics Hall of Fame in Tuscon, Ariz., for his role as a high school coach for 14 years from 1985-1998.
In 2013, while working with infielders, first baseman Holly Holl was named second team All-Central Region by the NFCA, while freshman third baseman Sarah Smith was named to the All-Big 12 Defensive team.
In 2012 Lumley helped develop Holl into a first team All-Big 12 performer and second team All-Region choice. Additionally, center fielder Kathy Shelton earned her second all-conference selection.
Lumley added another All-American to his resume in 2011, as Dani Leal earned third team honors after being one of the Big 12’s most feared hitters. Under Lumley’s guidance, Leal’s 14 home runs became the most from a BU player since 2007 and the fifth-highest all-time. Four non-pitchers picked up All-Big 12 honors, while two more added All-Region awards. His efforts helped earn the staff an NFCA Division I Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year award for the third time in the last six seasons.
In 2009, Lumley was part of a staff that earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year. The Lady Bears again found themselves hitting above .300 for the year (.301). Two outfielders, Kayce Walker and Tiffany Wesley, earned All-Big 12 and NFCA All-Region honors, while Walker tied the program’s single-season batting average record (.413).
Lumley continued to show his offensive teaching prowess in 2008, as the Lady Bear offense led the Big 12 in batting average, hitting .307 on the year.
In 2007, Lumley helped guide Ashley Monceaux to one of the greatest offensive seasons in Baylor history. Monceaux set single-season records in batting average (.413), hits (81), doubles (19), home runs (20), RBI (71), slugging percentage (.816) and OBP (.508). As a team, the 2007 squad hit .310 and ranked second in school history in nearly every offensive category.
Defensively, his outfielders were part of a unit that set a school record with a .969 fielding percentage.
For his efforts, Lumley and the rest of the staff were recognized as the 2007 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
In 2005 and 2006, his outstanding work was recognized by USA Softball, as he was chosen for coaching consideration for events during the 2005 and 2006 Women’s National Team’s seasons. As an assistant coach with Team USA in 2006, Lumley helped lead the team to a gold medal at the 2006 World University Games. The team was made up of elite collegiate players from around the country. After the Games, USA took on the Chicago Bandits of the NPF, defeating them three out of four games.
The success continued for the Baylor program under Lumley in 2006. The squad shattered the home run mark set by the 2005 team, blasting 68 on the season to lead the Big 12 Conference and rank sixth in the country with 1.13 home runs per game and ranked ninth with a .486 slugging percentage. Chelsi Lake led the offensive output, belting a school record 18 home runs to break her school record set the previous season as she ranked second in the conference with a .741 slugging percentage. For the season, Baylor ranked second in the conference with a .296 batting average and ranked among the top three in every offensive category.
The progress the Baylor hitters made in his first four seasons as an assistant coach was only a sign of things to come for the Lady Bear hitters in 2005. On the way to advancing to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament and claiming the first regional title in program history, Baylor shattered nearly every single-season and individual school record.
Among the 15 team hitting records Baylor set in 2005, the Lady Bears established new single-season records in batting average (.318), home runs (57), runs scored (384) and runs batted in (319). The .318 team batting average ranked fifth nationally and third in the Big 12 Conference as Baylor also finished in the Top 10 nationally in runs (5th, 5.91 per game), doubles per game (8th, 1.57), triples per game (5th, 0.4) and slugging percentage (8th, .502).
In 2004, Lumley and the Baylor hitters as the Lady Bears advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Once again, Baylor finished the season third in the Big 12 Conference in batting average as two Lady Bears finished in the top five in the conference for average. Carrie Leerberg led the way for BU in 2004 with a .372 average to finish second in the conference, and Harmony Schwethelm was not far behind with a .355 average to finish fifth in the conference.
On the season, Baylor established a new school record with 599 total bases as eight Baylor players established new school records in several hitting categories.
In 2003, the team records continued to fall under Lumley as Baylor established a school record with 27 home runs. The total was three more than the previous mark set in 2001, Lumley’s first season with the program.
BU finished third in the Big 12 in team batting average in 2003, tied for the highest the Lady Bears finished in the league’s 10-year history. Kelly Osburn led the conference in on base percentage, Kim Wilmoth tied for the conference lead in triples and Sarah Caudle finished third in RBI.
The offensive success continued and increased in 2002 as Baylor established school records for RBI, doubles, triples, slugging percentage, walks, on base percentage, and stolen bases. Baylor also tied or broke 14 single-game team offensive records in 2002 as several individuals established single-game and single-season school records at the plate.
In 2002, all three Baylor outfielders received postseason accolades. Caudle was named to the Big 12 Conference all-tournament team, Kelly Levesque earned first team All-Big 12 and second team NFCA All-Midwest Region honors and Nan Wilkins was an All-Region selection.
At season’s end, Lumley was named a National Assistant Coach of the Year by Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director magazine. Lumley was one of just 14 Division I coaches so honored, and he joined Lori Sippel from Nebraska as the only recipients from the Big 12 Conference.
Lumley’s influence on the Baylor program was felt immediately. In 2001, several Lady Bears saw drastic improvements in their offensive numbers. First team All-Big 12 Conference selection Stacey Hundley raised her batting average 80 points, and Holly Fields raised her average by 37 points. Fields also smashed six home runs, matching her total for her first two seasons.
In two seasons at LSU, Lumley guided his hitters, known for their power and aggressiveness, to a final ranking of 21st in the NCAA in 1999 and No. 8 in 2000. The 2000 squad finished the season with a batting average of .310 and ranked 13th nationally in slugging percentage (.430) and 20th in scoring with 5.07 runs a game.
Lumley, a native of Tucson, Ariz., joined Moore at LSU after a 12-year stint at Flowing Wells High School in Tucson where he led the team to a No. 5 final national ranking by USA Today. In 2014, Lumley and Ashley Monceaux were both inducted into the Flowing Wells High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Lumley has received numerous honors for his coaching accomplishments. He was named the 1998 Arizona Coaches Association Coach of the Year, and the 1998 Arizona All-Star Game was dedicated to Lumley for his outstanding tenure as a high school coach. He was also named the 1993 and 1997 Coach of the Year by the Daily Star-Tucson Citizen.
A 1985 graduate of the University of Arizona, Lumley is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Lumley married his wife, Stacey, on Dec. 28, 2012. The couple have three sons, Trey, Mason and D.J.