Vanguard University

Sydney Lahners enters her third season as Head Coach of the Vanguard Softball program.

Coach Lahners got her first win against Simpson on February 4 and her first Golden State Athletic Conference win as part of a sweep of Hope International on March 7.  She rounded the team into shape at the end of the season, as VU caught fire in the GSAC Tournament, winning the Tournament by beating Hope 3-1 to take the trophy for the first time since 2017.  With the automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament, VU made a mark to start the Opening Round by beating the hosting Raiders of Southern Oregon 8-4.  In her second year at the helm, Coach Lahners guided the Lions to another GSAC Tournamet title and 15 more wins, resulting in a trip to Oregon Tech for the Opening Round, where VU won its first two games.

Coach Lahners worked as an assistant coach at VU for two years and came to Vanguard for her first season after serving as a Softball Graduate Assistant for two years at Fresno State. She has an impressive resume as she was a 3x West Coast Conference All-Conference performer for the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. 

In Sydney’s senior campaign at Pacific, she won the Triple Crown, leading the team in batting average, RBI, and home runs. As a four-year starter, Sydney finished ranked in the Top 5 in program history in numerous career offensive categories.

She graduated in May 2018 from the University of the Pacific with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources and Management. Lahners went on to receive her Master's degree in May 2020 from Fresno State University in Sports Administration.