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Michelle Lenard
Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades announced the hiring of Michelle Lenard as the sixth head coach in Baylor soccer history on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021.
In her first season at the helm of Baylor soccer, she helped shape the team into an attacking style of play that gave the Bears more chances. She helped the team defeat six-time NCAA tournament team LSU and UTSA in preseason exhibition matches before taking over a high caliber schedule that included a nonconference matchup against North Carolina who has won 21 national titles. BU also played host to reigning Big 12 champion TCU. The Bears defeated Florida, future Big 12 foe Houston and picked up Big 12 Conference wins over Kansas and Iowa State.
Lenard joined the Bears following 14 years as head coach at Dallas Baptist University.
"We are excited to announce Michelle Lenard as our next Head Women's Soccer coach," Rhoades said. "Michelle is a proven transformational leader with a track record of success both on and off the field. She is fiercely competitive and a person of tremendous faith - two qualities essential to the program's overall success. Michelle's commitment to student-athlete development academically, athletically and personally aligns with our vision of Preparing Champions for Life. Michelle is a demonstrated winner in all areas of life, and we welcome she and her husband Len, and children, Keaton and Wyatt, to the Baylor family."
In 14 seasons at DBU, Lenard amassed a 200-77-26 record while leading the Patriots to 13 conference championships, including seven regular-season titles and six conference tournament championships. The Patriots produced nine All-Americans and 91 players were recognized as All-Conference performers during her tenure.
“I am humbled and honored to be chosen as the next Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Baylor University,” Lenard said. “This school and this soccer program have such a tremendous reputation and tradition of excellence and I cannot wait to join the team! Thank you to Mack Rhoades and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me to lead this great program. The moment I stepped foot on campus I knew that God was calling my family and I to Waco to lead this team and build on the foundation that Coach Jobson and his staff have laid. Thank you to DBU for the last fourteen wonderful years! I will be eternally grateful for my time as a Patriot and all that God has done in my life and the life of my family during that time. Baylor is an exceptional school with all the resources to be a top tier women’s soccer program and we will strive every day to make all the Baylor supporters proud of who we are on and off the field. Sic ‘Em!”
A four-time Conference Coach of the Year and the 2015 South Central Region Coach of the Year, Lenard guided DBU to the NCAA postseason nine times, including a South-Central Regional title and a trip to the Elite Eight in 2015.
Most recently, Lenard led her 2021 squad to their first Final Four appearance and picked up her 200th career win. Over the past three seasons, Lenard has only suffered six total losses, amassing a 49-6-4 record since 2019.
Lenard and her staff were named the United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year, as well as picking up National Coaching Staff of the Year honors for leading the Patriots to a 20-4 record this season. This is the third time she and her staff have garnered the honor and the second time since 2019.
With the 2021 regular season title for DBU, Lenard led the Patriots to seven-straight regular season or tournament titles.
In a 2020 season marked by the COVID-19 pandemic that saw the NCAA cancel the fall championships, DBU won their second consecutive Lone Star Conference regular-season title after posting a 5-0-1 record in conference play. Since joining the Lone Star in 2019, DBU has remained undefeated in conference play, boasting a record of 17-0-2 in their first two years in the LSC. The 2020 regular-season was highlighted with a road win over NCAA Division I foe LSU on March 12. After falling behind 1-0 through the first 60 minutes, the Patriots rallied to score a pair of goals and triumphed over the Tigers with a 2-1 win in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Following their LSC regular-season title, DBU entered the Lone Star Conference Tournament as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. After wins over Midwestern State and West Texas A&M, the Patriots dropped their only match of the season in a 2-1 loss in overtime in the the championship to then-ranked No. 12 Angelo State. At season’s end, DBU matched the program’s highest end of season ranking, finishing at No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
In the Patriots’ first season in the Lone Star Conference in 2019, DBU posted the school’s first-ever undefeated season, winning both the LSC regular-season and tournament titles. Lenard’s squad secured the No. 2 seed in the South Central Regional, marking their sixth consecutive trip to the postseason, and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Following the 2019 season, Lenard was named the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year. DBU finished the year with a 17-1-3 record and ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll.
DBU made their fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 after winning the Heartland Conference Tournament and securing the league's automatic bid. The Patriots went on to defeat a pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 25 Westminster and No. 4 Colorado School of Mines en route to a trip to the South Central Regional Final.
The 2017 season saw Lenard and the Patriots clinch the Heartland Conference regular-season and tournament titles, lifting DBU to their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Patriots also earned the No. 1 seed in the South Central Regional and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
In 2016, DBU won the Heartland Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament where they defeated Colorado State-Pueblo in the first round.
The 2015 season was a banner year for the Patriots as Lenard led DBU to both the regular-season and tournament titles in the Heartland Conference. The Patriots would host the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament, where they clinched the regional title and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. Following the 2015 season, Lenard was recognized as the Heartland Coach of the Year, South Central Region Coach of the Year and was honored by the NCCAA with the Frank Jewel Award. The Patriots capped off the 2015 season with the program’s highest ranking in school history, checking in at No. 7 in the final NSCAA national poll.
In 2014, Lenard guided the Patriots to a 14-5-1 record and their third trip to the NCAA postseason in the last four years, as DBU advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament in Golden, Colorado. DBU also finished as the runner-up in both the Heartland Conference regular season and the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship.
In 2013, her team finished with an overall record of 17-7-1 and boasted an 8-1 mark in conference play. After narrowly missing advancing to the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row, the Lady Patriots advanced to the NCCAA Regional and National Championships. Following a very successful post-season run with five consecutive wins, scoring twelve goals, and holding the opponents scoreless, the Lady Patriots eventually fell in overtime of the NCCAA National Championship Game to Azusa Pacific. The team posted a program-best 16 shutouts over the season.
The 2012 season proved to be another record-setting year for the Patriots, as DBU captured their second consecutive Heartland Conference Championship as well as their first Heartland Conference Tournament title. The team received an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament where they were the No. 1 seed in the South Central Region and hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The team finished the season with a historic 18-3 record and received a post season ranking of No. 17 in the country.
In 2011, Lenard led DBU to their first-ever Heartland Conference Championship and the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament, where the Patriots advanced to the round of 16. DBU finished the season with a 16-6-1 record and a postseason ranking of No. 15 in the nation. Lenard was also named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year for the first time in her career.
Prior to DBU, Lenard spent two seasons as assistant coach at North Texas. While at UNT, Lenard helped lead the Mean Green to Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships in 2004 and 2005. Before her coaching stint at UNT, she served as the assistant coach at Texas Women’s University from 2003-04.
Lenard, originally from Lubbock, Texas, received her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from UNT in 2003 and her Master’s of Education in Kinesiology from DBU in 2011. During her playing days, Lenard played center midfield for the Mean Green from 1999-2002. As a student-athlete, Lenard helped lead her team to the 2001 Sun Belt Conference Championship and was named to the Sun Belt All-Conference team. Lenard also played semi-pro soccer for the Ft. Collins Force in 2002 and the Everton FC America in 2005.
Michelle and her husband, Len E., married in 2003 and have two sons, Keaton and Wyatt.
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