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University of MD - Baltimore County

UMBC Retriever Athletics
 Retriever Activities Ctr - 1000 Hilltop Cir Baltimore, MD 21250
Division 1 Maryland Northeast
Public Large National competitor
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Chris Kuhlmeyer

UMBC Director of Athletics Tim Hall announced the hiring of Chris Kuhlmeyer as the Retrievers' new head softball coach on August 16, 2018.


"We are thrilled to have Chris be a part of the UMBC family as our new head softball coach," Hall said. "Chris comes to UMBC with over 15 years of Division I softball coaching experience, and also has a passion for developing student-athletes both on and off the field. We look forward to having him lead our program."


"I'd like to thank Tim Hall, Jessica Hammond-Graf, Kala Andrews and the search committee for allowing me to lead this group of young women at UMBC," Kuhlmeyer said. "It became very apparent early on in the process that this place is filled with people that are very passionate about what they do, who they work with and UMBC as a whole. There is great energy and excitement in the direction of Retriever athletics, and I'm so excited to be a part of it."


The Anacoco, La., native spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Miami (Ohio). In 2017, the RedHawks offense produced some of the highest totals in program history including: most doubles (74), second most runs scored (265) and home runs (47), third-highest runs per game (5.00), RBI (222) and walks (161). The program also set record highs in single semester GPA (Spring 2017 - 3.62) and overall GPA for the year (3.45) that season.


Prior to his time in Oxford, Kuhlmeyer was the winningest head softball coach in Belmont history. During his seven years with the Bruins, the team showed steady improvement each season. While there, he saw Kat Hollingsworth and Lexi Rouse become the program's first two All-Region selections. Academics proved to be a key focus under Kuhlmeyer as the team GPA rose from 2.90 the year he arrived to 3.51 in his final season.


Prior to his time at Belmont, Kuhlmeyer had stints as an assistant coach at Wichita State and Samford. In Wichita from 2006-09, he was the team's recruiting coordinator and also coached the catchers, outfielders and worked with the hitters. At Samford from 2002-06, the Bulldogs produced their best four-year stretch in school history. He was their recruiting coordinator as well, while instructing catchers and corner infielders.


Kuhlmeyer began his coaching career with a pair of volunteer assistant positions at Baylor and his alma mater, LSU. He spent time instructing catchers, taking part in recruiting meetings, scouting opponents and organizing camps. During his season with LSU in 2000, he helped coach the Tigers to the SEC championship and to within one game of the Women's College World Series.


"I am very passionate about what I do and who I work with. Most of all, I am passionate about working with the student-athletes and helping them grow and come to the expectation that they will leave this program in a better place then when they arrived," Kuhlmeyer said. "I cannot wait to meet the team and build relationships with them, as well as helping them be successful on and off the field. I look forward to building this program into a consistent contender in the America East Conference."


Kuhlmeyer earned his bachelor's degree from LSU in sports studies in 1999. He was a four-year student manager for the softball team from 1996-99. He has two children, Addison and Jared.


Kuhlmeyer becomes the Retrievers' seventh head coach since UMBC began competing in softball in 1991.

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Tori Vanderplas

UMBC Softball head coach Chris Kuhlmeyer announced the addition of Retriever softball great Tori Vanderplas (UMBC ‘18) to the coaching staff on 2/21/19.


“I’m excited to have Tori join our staff. She’s a very talented person and was one of the best players to ever come through this program,” said Kuhlmeyer. “She knows the players, the conference and the game. She’s been a big help so far in the short time she’s been here, and i’m looking forward to seeing her grow into and get more comfortable with her position and to see where her career goes.


Vanderplas (née Alexander), the 2018 UMBC co-outstanding senior athlete, is one of only four players in program in history to earn first team all-conference honors multiple times (17-18). She also earned all-rookie and second team all-conference honors in 2015.


She holds numerous program career honors, including: 10th in all-time hits (210), sixth in career runs scored (140), fourth in stolen bases (64), fifth in stolen percentage (.928). Vanderplas also has several single season top-10 honors, including the 10th best single season batting average (.392 in 2015) several single season records


In her freshman season, she finished top-10 in the league in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, total bases, and stolen bases. After a solid sophomore season, she had an outstanding junior campaign, earning America East First Team All conference honors. That year she ranked in the top five of the conference in stolen bases, second in hits, and doubles. Her senior campaign has been her finest to date as she ranked near the top of the America East in average, runs, hits and stolen bases.


She is married to former UMBC Baseball player Joe Vanderplas (UMBC ‘16 (B.S), UMBC ’17 (M.P.S.)). Joe was a pitcher on the 2017 America East Championship team and currently works as a cybersecurity engineer.

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