Lakeland University named Kayla Bryant as its new head softball coach in Aug. 2024, and she enters her first year as the Muskies' coach.
Bryant brings a variety of coaching experience at levels from the NAIA to NCAA Division I and also takes the torch for a program coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history, after the Muskies won a school record 35 games in 2024.
Bryant came to Lakeland after serving as head coach at Mount Marty University in Yankton, S.D., the past three years. She won 72 games at the NAIA school, and in her first season led the Lancers to the most successful season in program history. Mount Marty posted a 32-16 record, won its first Great Plains Athletic Conference championship, and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.
Bryant also was an assistant coach at Mount Marty prior to taking the head coaching reins, including two years as a graduate assistant with the program from 2018-20. In between her stints with the Lancers, she also was a volunteer assistant at the University of Memphis for a semester, assisting in all aspects of the program with the NCAA Division I Tigers.
"Thank you to athletic director Dan Artamenko and Vice President for Advancement Greg Rutzen for entrusting me to take over as head coach for Lakeland University softball," said Bryant. "I am honored to build upon and continue down the successful path laid before me. I am excited to get on campus to work with a great group of student athletes and assistant coaches. Go Muskies!"
Bryant is a graduate of Cincinnati Christian University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she played for two years and also gained her first athletic administrative experience as a student assistant with the athletic department. Bryant was a two-year starter at first base and a two-year captain at Cincinnati Christian, and as a senior led the Golden Eagles to the National Christian College Athletic Associaton (NCCAA) Midwest Region title and a spot in the NCCAA World Series.
A native of Martin, Tenn., Bryant began her collegiate career at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis. She hit 13 home runs and drove in 77 runs over two years and as a sophomore received all-NJCAA Region 7 recognition.
Bryant received her master's degree from Mount Marty in leadership and coaching, her bachelor's degree from Cincinnati Christian in humanities with a minor in history and her associate's degree from Southwest Tennessee.
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