UNM filled one of its recent coaching vacancies Tuesday with the hiring of Washburn University head softball coach Kim Newbern.
Newbern becomes only the third softball head coach at UNM, following Susan Craig, who spent 26 years at the program's helm. She also was co-head coach with Ken Johnson from 1988 to 1997.
"I am very excited for this opportunity," Newbern said in a press release. "There is a good nucleus of returning players at UNM and I'm looking forward to getting the team excited for softball again."
Craig's contract was not renewed after the 2002 season. She finished with a 672-586-2 career record with the Lobos.
Newbern compiled a 209-111 record in six seasons. She leaves Washburn with the most wins in the program's history as well as the school's second-highest winning percentage. Newbern also led the Lady Blues to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 1999, the school's only post-season appearance.
In 2002, the Lady Blues finished with a 48-11 overall record, the best winning percentage in school history. Washburn won the 2002 Mid-America Intercoll-egiate Athletics Association regular season championship with a 16-2 record.
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Despite the regular season success, the team failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, finishing third place in the MAIA's post-season tournament.
Newbern takes over a UNM program that finished 18-29-1 this past season, including a 9-10 mark in the Mountain West Conference. UNM struggled to its second straight fourth place finish in conference play and ended the season with two straight losses in the conference tournament.
The program also was plagued by claims of discrimination by the coaching staff from two players who were dismissed from the team by Craig in April.
Lauren McCoy, who is black, and Krystal Mejia, who is Hispanic, asked the University to investigate the reasons for their dismissal. The duo alleged that the coaching staff discriminated against them throughout the season.
Assistant coach Bill Gracey was placed on paid administrative leave while the University investigated McCoy's and Mejia's dismissal days before the team left for the conference tournament.
Newbern was an assistant coach at Kansas University in 1996 and at Oklahoma State University in 1995.
She was the starting third baseman at Kansas in 1993 and 1994 and helped the Jayhawks to a 68-35-1 record. She was second on the team and finished in the top ten in the Big Eight in hitting her senior season.
Newbern was an academic all-Big Eight selection in 1994 and a 1993 Phillips 66 Classroom Champion. Her 1999 Lady Blues team finished the academic year with a GPA of 3.25, which was the best team cumulative GPA in the athletic department.
Staff Report
