FHSU Athletics

Lawren McKinney enters her sixth season as assistant coach for FHSU Softball in 2026. She came to FHSU from Winona State University in Minnesota, where she served as a graduate assistant coach for two years from 2019-2020.

McKinney has helped Fort Hays State to four MIAA Tournament appearances (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025). The Tigers have won 129 games over five seasons during McKinney's time as assistant, posting winning records in each of the seasons FHSU competed in the conference tournament. She helped the Tigers to 31 wins in 2023, the first time the program had at least 30 wins in a season since 2013.
 
McKinney helped Winona State capture its second-straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship in 2019, finishing with a spotless 30-0 record in conference play during the regular season. Winona State became the first program to navigate a 30-game NSIC conference season undefeated, setting a new NSIC record for conference wins in a season. The Warriors finished the year at 53-9 overall, making appearances in the NSIC Tournament Final and NCAA Regional Final, and served as an NCAA Central Regional host. McKinney helped coach both the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year (Lani Van Zyl) and D2CCA Region Pitcher of the Year (Jordyn Kleman) during Winona State’s impressive 2019 campaign. In 2020, the Warriors were out to a 13-6 start to the season before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the remainder of the season.
 
Prior to the start of her collegiate coaching career, McKinney played four years at Pittsburg State University. She was an All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection as an outfielder in 2017, when she ranked second in the conference in doubles with 17. Over her four-year career for the Gorillas, McKinney accumulated 43 extra-base hits with 27 doubles, 2 triples, and 14 home runs, while driving in 69 runs and scoring 70 runs. She stole 30 bases in her career, which included a career-high 21 during her senior year of 2018. She also served as a member of Pittsburg State’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
McKinney earned her bachelor’s degree in Education from Pittsburg State University and master’s degree in Sports Management from Winona State University. She is a native of Austin, Texas.