Laina Holmgren - Softball Coach - George Washington University Athletics

Laina Holmgren

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
lholmgren@gwu.edu
Phone:
242-3906

Laina Holmgren joined George Washington softball as an assistant coach in August 2018 ahead of its inaugural season under head coach Shane Winkler.

The Colonials won a program-record 44 games in their first season under the new staff en route to a share of their first Atlantic 10 title and an appearance in the National Invitational Softball Championship Liberty Regional.

GW's historic run was sparked by a nationally-ranked offense led by Jenna Cone, who hit .381 with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs on the way to being named A-10 Player of the Year and a Softball America Honorable Mention All-American.

The Colonials ranked third in the country with a .341 batting average, piling up 582 hits over 64 games, 89 more than the previous program record set last season. The Buff and Blue ended the spring among the national leaders in doubles per game (1.68, eighth), triples per game (0.31, 21th), on-base percentage (.405, 15th), scoring (6.02, 20th) and slugging percentage (.502, 22nd).

Holmgren is a 2018 graduate of Charleston Southern where she played the past two seasons under Winkler.

Holmgren began working as a volunteer assistant at Charleston Southern upon her graduation and helped organize its summer camps. The Oregon native played two seasons for Winkler as an infielder with the Buccaneers after starting her collegiate career at Boise State.

Holmgren shined in the classroom, garnering the Christenberry Award as a senior, the Big South Conference’s highest academic honor. She was also recognized last year with an award for having the highest grade point average among Charleston Southern’s female student-athletes. She posted a perfect 4.0 in each semester before graduating with a bachelor's degree in Sociology and a double minor in Psychology and Natural Sciences.

Throughout her collegiate career, Holmgren stayed busy coaching during the offseason. She served as an instructor for camps at Boise State and Charleston Southern and through the Packaged Deal and the Softball Performance Workshop in California. She also worked with the South Valley Storm youth club in her native Oregon.