DILL UP CLOSE

PERSONAL

Hometown: LaGrange, Ohio
Alma Mater: Kentucky, 2013

COACHING HISTORY

2014: Kentucky (volunteer assistant coach)
2015-16: LSU (volunteer assistant coach)
2016: Scrapyard Dawgs (NPF/assistant coach)
2017-: Texas A&M (assistant coach/pitching)

Former Kentucky All-SEC selection Kara Dill enters her sixth season at Texas A&M as the pitching coach.

With a knack for developing pitchers, the Aggie pitching staff has seen dramatic improvements under Dill.
During the 2021 season, Dill helped the Aggies to their 19^th consecutive regional. The Maroon & White pitching staff recorded two no-hitters on the season with Kelsey Broadus and Makinzy Herzog both recording the first of their careers. It marked the first time the Aggies have recorded multiple no-hitters in a season since 2013.

Dill worked closely with two-way player Herzog who earned NFCA All-South Region honors and was an All-SEC First Team selection. Herzog paced the pitching with 12 wins and fanned a career-high 13 strikeouts against Sam Houston during the 2021 season. Kayla Poynter also finished the campaign with double-digit wins after registering 10 wins in the circle to lead the team with a 2.33 ERA. As a whole, the pitching staff combined for 13 shutouts and 298 strikeouts.

In 2018, Texas A&M was one of three SEC schools to have three pitchers record 10 or more wins as Samantha Show and Trinity Harrington earned NFCA All-Region honors. The pitching staff led the Aggies to their second-consecutive NCAA Super Regional appearance as the group posted a 2.22 ERA, which ranked 30^th nationally against one of the nation’s toughest schedules.

In her first season in Aggieland, Dill’s pitching staff lowered its ERA from 3.86 in 2016 to 2.08 in 2017 and propelled the Aggies to a Women’s College World Series berth. Show and Harrington improved mightily under Dill as Show’s ERA fell from 3.67 to 2.20 and Harrington’s dipped from 3.86 to 2.13.

Dill, who also served as an assistant coach with the Scrapyard Dawgs in the National Pro Fastpitch League in 2016, spent two years at LSU (2015-16), assisting in all aspects of the program, with a primary focus on slap hitters. In 2016, Bailey Landry was tied for third on the team with 69 hits, while fellow slapper Emily Griggs had 63.

During her first season in Baton Rouge, Dill led the talented group to a prolific season at the plate, led by Landry, who earned second team NFCA All-America honors and paced the Tigers with a .421 batting average and 89 hits.

Prior to her time at LSU, Dill was a member of the coaching staff that led the Wildcats to their first trip to the Women’s College World Series in 2014. Dill was one of the most feared leadoff hitters in the SEC while at UK (2009-13), kicking off her career with a 15-game hitting streak en route to a freshman season that saw her earn 71 hits, which was the fifth most for any Kentucky player in a single-season. By the time she ended her career, she finished eighth in hits with 201, sixth in stolen bases with 57, fifth in batting average at .330 and seventh in runs scored with 119 to go along with two All-SEC selections.

The LaGrange, Ohio native graduated from Kentucky with her bachelor’s degree three semesters early, eventually completing her masters while concluding her stellar career on the diamond. After her senior year, where she led the team in batting average, Dill was named to the SEC Community Service Team for her work with various groups, as well as being a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District selection.

Dill was named to the Frank G. Ham Society of Character, which annually honors Kentucky athletes who have shown an extraordinary commitment to academic excellence, athletic participation, personal development, career preparation and serving as a role model. She was also a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes who utilize their complete athletic eligibility while honoring the four core attributes of the award in community, classroom, character and competition.