Tammy Utley has resigned as Lakeland University's head softball coach to pursue future opportunities, Director of Athletics April Arvan announced today.
 
Utley recently completed her 10th season overall with the Muskies and went out in record-setting fashion. The 2024 softball team set a school record for wins in a season with a thrilling 35-10 finish that included second place in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference and falling just short in the NACC Tournament.
 
Arvan said a national search for a successor will begin shortly.
 
"The imprint Coach Utley has left on our Muskies softball program will remain in our record books and throughout history," Arvan said. "We are thankful to Coach for a decade of service to our softball program, athletics department and to the institution, and we wish her nothing but the best as she begins this new chapter in her life."
 
Utley posted a 109-124-1 record in her seven seasons as head coach, becoming the third coach in the program's history to break the 100-win milestone. The Muskies qualified for NACC postseason tournament in three of her last four seasons, and the 2021 team finished 18-15 overall.
 
"I want to thank April Arvan for giving me the opportunity and also for believing in me to lead Lakeland's softball program," Utley said. "I also want to thank the Lakeland community and fans for all of their support. Lakeland is a special place and one that I will miss."
 
Utley, who also managed the Wehr Center facility, was named head coach in June 2017 after assisting with the team the previous three years, serving as the team's hitting coach. She also was Lakeland's head women's tennis coach from 2015-18, leading the Muskies from a winless mark to a spot in the six-team NACC Tournament two years later.
 
An Iowa native, Utley is a former NCAA Division I athlete, playing collegiate softball at the University of Iowa, and has more than 20 years of coaching experience at the college and high school levels.