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Lipscomb University

Lipscomb Athletics
 One University Park Drive Nashville, TN 37204
Division 1 Tennessee Southeast
Private Small National competitor
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Coaches

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Kristin Ryman

Kristin Ryman was named the head coach of Lipscomb ahead of the 2006 season after a Hall of Honor career at Lipscomb as a member of the softball and volleyball teams. She also spent the 2005 season as a graduate assistant coach for both programs.


The 2022 season saw Ryman earn her 500th career win in a 4-2 victory over Nicholls at the Mardi Gras Mambo Tournament - only the 10th game of a 52 game season. Ryman steered her team on to 16 more wins for an overall 20-32 season. The Bisons faced a rigorous preseason slate including opponents such as Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, George Washington, Northwestern State, and #15 Louisiana.


In just her third year in charge of the softball program Ryman led the Bisons to a 15-6 conference record to earn the program’s first shared ASUN regular season title. Two years later, Ryman’s squad clinched its first outright ASUN regular season title and carried their momentum to an ASUN Conference Championship, resulting in the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance.


Since 2008 Ryman’s teams have won two ASUN regular season titles, appeared in five ASUN Championship Finals, and secured two ASUN Championships. She has also guided her teams to three NCAA Regional appearances and become the first Lipscomb team to secure an at-large bid to an NCAA Tournament in any sport (one of two ASUN softball programs to accomplish the feat). In that span Ryman has been named ASUN Coach of the Year three times (2019, 2010, 2008).


In her tenure Ryman has coached two ASUN Players of the Year including Hannah DeVault (2019) and Whitney Kiihnl (2010); Kiihnl was also named ASUN Pitcher of the Year in 2010. Her Bisons have also landed 51 All-ASUN selections and 23 ASUN All-Freshmen.


Under Ryman the Bisons have not only enjoyed success on the field, but in the classroom as well. In 2015 the Bisons ranked first overall in the nation with a 3.645 team grade point average. The team has also ranked 10th, 13th and 32nd in the nation since 2010.


On the softball field Ryman became one of the most decorated players in program history. As a shortstop and centerfielder she led the Bisons to 122 wins and was named All-Conference and All-Region. She posted a career batting average of .300, a .400 on-base percentage, 187 hits and 69 runs batted in.


She is married to Brian Ryman, director of operations for Lipscomb’s baseball program. They have one child, Porter.

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Ally Ivey

Ally Ivey joined the Lipscomb softball coaching staff in August of 2023 as the squad's pitching coach. Ivey joined the staff from Northwestern where she spent the previous season as a graduate manager for the Wildcats.


A Hamilton, Ohio native, Ivey herself spent time in the collegiate softball arena at Loyola Chicago where she recorded 128 RBIs and 22 career home runs. She earned a place in Ramblers' history with a .375 career batting average – the second-best mark in program history – as well as leading her team in batting average (.398), doubles (10), home runs (7), RBI (27), and hits (49) in her senior season.


For her contributions to the Ramblers, Ivey earned distinction as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Third Team All-Midwest Region selection, the squad's second-ever NFCA First Team All-Midwest Region selection, a Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selection, a Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team honoree, and a two-time First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection.


In her time off the field, Ivey has spent time with Regensburg Legionäere Softball in Regensburg, Germany – first as a Bundesliga International Athlete, then later as a head coach – before returning to Northwestern where she worked as an Athletic Equipment Manager Liaison and Graduate Assistant Coach in addition to her role as a Yakkertech Tagger with Athletes Unlimited. These roles offered Ivey the opportunity to oversee aspects of the game from creating practice plans, developing mental strategies for her players, and identifying key fundamentals to increase the skills of players under her instruction.

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