| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | Livermore, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1980-1981 | Kirkwood Community College |
| 1982–1983 | West Texas A&M |
| Position(s) | Pitcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1991–1992 | Joliet Junior College |
| 1993–1995 | Bradley University |
| 1996–1999 | Texas Tech |
| 2002–2018 | UCF |
| 2019–2025 | Iowa |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 880–667–2 (.569) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| C-USA Tournament Champions (2005, 2008) American Regular Season Champions (2014) NISC Champions (2023) | |
| Awards | |
| N4C Coach of the Year (1992) Conference (AAC) Coach of the Year (2017) NCAA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year (2017) | |
Renee Luers-Gillispie is an American college softball coach and a former college player. Luers-Gillispie was the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes softball team of the University of Iowa. [1] [2]
Luers-Gillispie first attended Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she played for the softball team in 1981. After her freshman year, she transferred to West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas, where she was a three-year starter. As a player, she set nine career pitching records including most wins, most strikeouts and most saves at West Texas A&M. [2]
In 2005, Luers-Gillispie was inducted into the West Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame. [2]
Luers-Gillispie began her coaching career at Joliet Junior College in 1991. She became the head coach at Bradley University in 1993, and was named to the same position at Texas Tech in 1996. [3]
In 2000, Luers-Gillispie was hired by UCF to start the Knights softball program. [4] The UCF softball team began play in 2002. [5] The Knights played their first games on February 2, losing the first contest 2–3 to Bethune–Cookman, and winning their second game against Arkansas, 6–5. [6] In 2005 and 2008, Luers-Gillispie led the Knights to conference tournament championships, and the program has appeared in the NCAA Tournament five times, in 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. [6] [7]
On December 17, 2024, Gillispie took a medical leave of absence from her head coaching duties at Iowa for the 2025 season. [8] On April 29, 2025, Iowa announced that Gillispie would not return as head coach, she did not coach a game during the 2025 season. [9] [10]
Gillispie currently reside in Iowa City, Iowa. [2]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech Red Raiders (Big 12 Conference)(1996–1999) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Texas Tech | 4–44 | 1–20 | 8th | |||||
| 1997 | Texas Tech | 34–29–1 | 1–13 | T-9th | |||||
| 1998 | Texas Tech | 45–19 | 10–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1999 | Texas Tech | 36–31 | 6–7 | 6th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| Texas Tech: | 119–123–1 (.492) | 18–47 (.277) | |||||||
| UCF Knights (Atlantic Sun Conference)(2002–2005) | |||||||||
| 2002 | UCF | 46–19 | 12–6 | T-3rd | |||||
| 2003 | UCF | 37–31 | 13–7 | 4th | |||||
| 2004 | UCF | 42–21 | 16–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 2005 | UCF | 47–29–1 | 13–7 | T-3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| UCF Knights (Conference USA)(2006–2013) | |||||||||
| 2006 | UCF | 19–37 | 4–20 | 9th | |||||
| 2007 | UCF | 38–26 | 11–13 | T-4th | |||||
| 2008 | UCF | 49–20 | 16–7 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2009 | UCF | 27–27 | 11–12 | 5th | |||||
| 2010 | UCF | 36–23 | 16–7 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2011 | UCF | 22–32 | 11–13 | 5th | |||||
| 2012 | UCF | 39–19 | 15–9 | T-3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2013 | UCF | 29–25 | 10–14 | 6th | |||||
| UCF Knights (American Athletic Conference)(2014–2018) | |||||||||
| 2014 | UCF | 43–18 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2015 | UCF | 50–9 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2016 | UCF | 38–22 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2017 | UCF | 29–23 | 11–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 2018 | UCF | 34–22 | 12–9 | T-3rd | |||||
| UCF: | 625–403–1 (.608) | 214–144 (.598) | |||||||
| Iowa Hawkeyes (Big Ten Conference)(2019–2024) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Iowa | 19–32 | 5–18 | 12th | |||||
| 2020 | Iowa | 17–5 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2021 | Iowa | 26–18 | 26–18 | 4th | |||||
| 2022 | Iowa | 21–31 | 3–20 | 14th | |||||
| 2023 | Iowa | 35–27 | 10–13 | 9th | NISC Champions | ||||
| 2024 | Iowa | 18–28 | 6–17 | 14th | |||||
| Iowa: | 136–141 (.491) | 50–86 (.368) | |||||||
| Total: | 880–667–2 (.569) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||