A 26-year collegiate coaching veteran with tracks of success throughout each stop of his storied career, Chris Kuhlmeyer was announced as the ninth head coach in the history of the Mercer softball program on June 7, 2025.

Kuhlmeyer, who logged more than 250 victories across head coaching stops at both Belmont and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, also led UMBC to three America East Conference regular season championships and four league tournament crowns from 2019-25. The Retrievers made four NCAA Tournament appearances under his guidance as well.

UMBC amassed nearly 160 victories and four NCAA postseason appearances under Kuhlmeyer’s watch. The energetic mentor led the Retrievers on a 12-1/2 game turnaround in just his first season in Baltimore in 2019 as UMBC rattled off a perfect 4-0 run en route to raking in its first America East Tournament title and its first NCAA postseason berth in more than two decades as well. Despite returning just one arm from their 2018 pitching rotation, the Retrievers tallied a 2.81 team earned run average (68^th NCAA), while also accumulating the nation’s 17^th-best shutout total (17).

The magical run would signal a golden era for the UMBC program which brought home its first America East regular season crown in 2021, while also capturing the second of four-straight America East tournament championships. The Retrievers also bought home the conference’s regular season crown to accentuate the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

Kuhlmeyer logged his first stint as a collegiate head coach at Belmont from 2010-16, skippering the Bruins to 96 victories across seven seasons. He mentored five all-conference and a pair of all-region players amid his time in Nashville, while also sending nine student-athletes to National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar Athlete accolades.

After serving the program as its student manager for four seasons, Kuhlmeyer transitioned into the coaching world as a volunteer assistant coach for LSU during a phenomenal 2000 campaign that saw the Tigers capture the Southeastern Conference championship and fight to within a game of qualifying for the NCAA Women’s College World Series. He was a volunteer assistant coach amid a 38-win campaign at Baylor in 2001.

Kuhlmeyer was in the dugout as a full-time assistant coach at Samford from 2002-06 and played a key coaching role as the Bulldogs amassed 123 wins across five seasons, including a 27-17-1 clip in 2003. He made the move to southeast Kansas in 2007 to be an assistant coach at Wichita State for three years (2007-09). He also has an additional stint as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

A native of Pensacola, Fla., Kuhlmeyer earned his bachelor’s degree in sports studies from LSU in 1999. He is the proud father of two children, Addison and Jared.

THE KUHLMEYER FILE
Coaching Experience
2000	LSU (Volunteer Assistant Coach)
2001	Baylor (Volunteer Assistant Coach)
2002-06	Samford (Assistant Coach)
2007-09	Wichita State (Assistant Coach)
2010-16	Belmont (Head Coach)
2017-18	Miami, Ohio (Assistant Coach)
2019-25	UMBC (Head Coach)
2025-Present	Mercer (Head Coach)

Education
Bachelor's degree in sports studies (LSU, 1999)

Family
Two children, Addison and Jared

Updated: June 2025

Name	Title	Phone	Email Address
Chris Kuhlmeyer	Head Coach	(478) 301-5216	kuhlmeyer_c@mercer.edu
Morgan Edmondson	Assistant Coach	(478) 301-2263	edmondson_m@mercer.edu
Katheryn Rearley	Graduate Assistant	(478) 301-2263	katheryn.elizabeth.rearley@live.mercer.edu
Sydney Lewis	Graduate Assistant	(478) 301-2263	sydney.carolashley.lewis@live.mercer.edu

2027 Softball Coaching Staff

Coaching Staff

Sponsors

Footer