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Lance Kingery, the all-time leader in career wins at Nebraska Wesleyan, is entering his eighth season as head softball coach of the Prairie Wolves. Last season Kingery moved past Doug Ahlberg to become the all-time leader in career coaching victories. In seven seasons, Kingery has compiled a 136-125 (.521) career record. He also has the best winning percentage in NWU history among coaches who have more than one season of coaching.
Last season, Kingery led the team to a 22-16 overall record. The Prairie Wolves were ranked as high as No. 5 in the NCAA Regional rankings, which was the highest ranking in school history. Under his leadership, Klancy Nixon became the first NWU softball player to earn NCAA III All-Region honors when she was named to the Third-Team in 2008.
In 2007, the Prairie Wolves produced their second best season in school history, posting a final record of 24-12. Kingery helped the team set new school records for earned run average (2.20) and fielding percentage (.965).
Kingery has now led the Prairie Wolves to four winning seasons and has guided the team to the best two records in school history.
In 2004, Kingery helped guide the Prairie
Wolves to their best record ever as NWU went 28-12, surpassing
the program’s previous best season of 24-19 in 1994.
Nebraska Wesleyan tied for second place in the Great Plains
Athletic Conference standings in 2004, their highest finish
since the league expanded in 2000.
A history teacher at Lincoln East High School,
Kingery also served as the Spartans head softball coach from
1992-02. During his time there, he led his teams to a state
tournament appearance in 2001, four consecutive district championship
appearances, and runner-up finishes in the Heartland Conference
in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
From 1993-98, Kingery held the role of head
coach for the ASA Lincoln Blazers 18-and-under softball team.
While with the Blazers, he guided his squad to regional bids
in 1995, 1996 and 1997, which included top-three finishes
in 1996 and 1997. Additionally, he helped produce 24 collegiate
players.
Kingery achieved his certification for secondary
education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1989
and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice
with an emphasis in youth development from UNL in 1997.
His wife, Missy, is a special education instructor
at Goodrich Middle School in Lincoln. The Kingerys have two
daughters, Norine and Lydia, and a son, Mitchell.
Kingery’s Record
| Year |
Overall |
Conference |
| 2002 |
16-16 |
8-12
(eighth) |
| 2003 |
16-23 |
9-13
(tied for ninth) |
| 2004 |
28-12 |
14-8
(tied for second) |
| 2005 |
10-28 |
8-16
(tenth) |
| 2006 |
20-18 |
10-14 (ninth) |
| 2007 |
24-12 |
13-9 (seventh) |
| 2008 |
22-16 |
12-12 (ninth) |
| Career |
136-125 |
74-84 |
 Butch McLaren
Assistant Coach
Butch McLaren is entering his
eighth season as an assistant softball coach at Nebraska Wesleyan.
McLaren, who joined the staff in August 2001, works extensively
with the pitching staff.
McLaren is currently teaching seventh, eighth,
and ninth grade business and keyboarding classes at Goodrich
Middle School in Lincoln. He is also the head softball coach
at Lincoln East High School, a position he has held since
2003.
Before moving to Nebraska, McLaren lived in
Mesa, Ariz., where he coached high school softball for seven
years, as well as high school football and wrestling. He graduated
from Northern Arizona University in 1993 with a degree in
secondary education. While in college, he played baseball
for four years and football for two.
 Kirk Miller
Assistant Coach
Kirk Miller is in his fourth
season of coaching for the Nebraska Wesleyan softball team.
Miller has 18 years of coaching experience
with the Lincoln Blazers girls select team from 1986 to 2004.
While with the Blazers, he coached both the 16-and-under and
18-and-under teams. During that time, Miller’s teams
had four regional appearances and finished in the top five
at state for 10 straight years.
He graduated from Southeast Community College
in Lincoln with an associate degree in architecture and is
currently employed at Verizon where he works as a customer service representative. He has a son, Noah, and resides in Lincoln.
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