Lebanon, IL - Lauren Harris is one of the most decorated athletes in McKendree University history. Over a four-year softball career, the Woodlawn, Illinois native racked up four All-American honors, three GLVC Players of the Year, and even a National Player of the year during her sophomore campaign in 2024, and that's just scratching the surface of the list of accomplishments. Although this legendary career saw the books close just under two months ago in the National Championship Series, Harris's time in Lebanon is not done quite yet. While working on her master's degree, Harris will stay on staff as a Graduate Assistant Coach in advance of the 2027 season, giving the Bearcat Softball faithful one more year with one of its all-time greats still around, just in a slightly different capacity.

In the first few years of her career, Harris was quite unspoken. In fact, it at times got to the point of making sixth-year head coach Heather Tarter nervous as to why she wasn't talking much. Well, fast forward to her senior year, and Harris had taken on a much larger vocal leadership role, and excelled in that spot, just as much as her prowess on the field. She thinks that will help sooth the transition from player to coach that much more.

"Especially my senior year, I took more of a vocal leadership role. My first two years, I was just leading by example. Get in, get out, do what I have to do."

Considering all the intricate strategic, recruiting, and budgetary decisions Coach Tarter has had to make since her arrival to Lebanon before the 2021-22 academic year, it's needless to say that the decision to add Harris was and will be one of the easiest ones she's gotten to make.

"It's a privilege to have someone of her caliber on staff who already knows our philosophies, expectations, and systems we have used to develop our athletes and create a championship culture. She embodies everything we want a Bearcat softball player to be and we are excited to see her legacy continue in this program while making an impact on our current and future student-athletes."

One of the biggest adjustments, especially with more than 10 players returning from last year's historic National Runner-Up team, will be those players adjusting from #11 Lauren Harris to Coach Lauren Harris. Although, Harris says, she doesn't think there's too much cause for concern when it comes to that.

"Honestly, I think it's still going to be like that a lot. I've heard a lot of the girls say it won't be much different besides the fact that I'm not going to be on the field."

McKendree Softball lost five seniors from their Runner-Up season, Harris included. Harris was the only one that had been a Bearcat all four years of her collegiate career. That being said, she thinks that the length of her time on the playing field, that experience, is going to bode well for the advice she can share towards the 2027 Bearcats.

"It's going to be really fun. My main thing is I want to try and make infield life as easy as possible. There's a lot behind it. Defense is very mental. We have things to do in specific situations. It can be confusing and a lot to remember. I have four years of that under my belt. I'm used to it."

McKendree will need to replace their one and two pitching rotation of Sami Huck and Ellie Vetter, along with Harris, Ali Grenzebach at third base, and Laynee Tapp in center field, all who played critical roles in the wildly successful season. Noteworthy transfers and incoming freshmen are aplenty, so there is certainly no reason for any optimism to fade or any doubt to creep in, as tall a ceiling as 2026 may have created. It's simply a reload, as unfortunate as it is to lose a group such as the Class of 2026.

THE LAUREN HARRIS AWARD PROFILE
2026 - Senior Year
NCAA Division II National Runner-Up
NCAA Division II Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team
NFCA National Player of the Year Watchlist
NFCA First Team All-American
CSC First Team Academic All-American
NFCA First Team All-Region
CSC Academic All-District
D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year
GLVC Player of the Year
First Team All-GLVC
Academic All-GLVC

2025 - Junior Year
NFCA National Player of the Year Watchlist
NFCA Third Team All-American
D2CCA All-American
D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year
First Team All-GLVC
Academic All-GLVC
GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award

2024 - Sophomore Year
NCAA Division II National Player of the Year
D2CCA National Player of the Year
NFCA First Team All-American
D2CCA All-American
NCAA DII Batting Title (.511 AVG)
D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year
GLVC Player of the Year
First Team All-GLVC
Academic All-GLVC

2023 - Freshman Year
NFCA Third Team Al-American
GLVC Player of the Year
GLVC Freshman of the Year
First Team All-GLVC
Academic All-GLVC