Julie Lenhart began coaching at Cortland in 1995 and is the most successful head coach in Red Dragon softball history with a 14-year combined record of 435-191-1 (.695). She also posted a 120-77 record at Wisconsin-Platteville from 1990-94 for a career mark of 555-268-1. In 2007 she became the 16th coach in Division III softball history to reach the career 500-win mark.
Lenhart's Cortland teams have qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs eight times -- two three-year stretches from 1997-99 and 2003-05 as well as both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Cortland made World Series appearances under Lenhart in 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2008. Lenhart has been named State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coach of the Year three times (1997, 2005, 2007), while she and her staff have earned regional coaching honors five times (East region in 1997, Northeast region in 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2008).
In 2008, Lenhart's squad finished 39-13, tied for the SUNYAC regular-season title and won the league tournament crown for the fifth time during her tenure. The Red Dragons then went 4-0 to capture an NCAA regional championship and added another win at the World Series to match the best finish in school history with a tie for fifth place. The Red Dragons' 39-win season marked the second-highest win total in school history and was the program's seventh straight year with more than 30 wins.
In 2007, Lenhart led the Red Dragons to a 38-10 record, including a 20-0 mark in the SUNYAC regular season. Cortland also claimed the SUNYAC tournament title and placed second in NCAA regional play to finish tied for ninth nationally. In 2006, Lenhart guided the team to a 34-11 record and a runner-up finish in both the conference regular season and tournament. In 2005, Cortland won the SUNYAC regular-season and tournament titles to earn a trip to the NCAA playoffs. The team finished the season 31-11.
In 2004, the Red Dragons tied for seventh nationally after their second straight trip to the World Series and finished the season with a 37-9 record. In 2003, Cortland fashioned a 42-8-1 record, establishing a school mark for wins in a season. The Red Dragons captured the SUNYAC title and posted a 3-0 record in NCAA regional play to advance to the World Series. Cortland finished 1-2 at the Series and tied for fifth nationally.
The Red Dragons posted a 34-11 record in 2002, a 28-17 mark in 2001, a 27-18 record in 2000 and a 29-19 record in 1999. Cortland finished second in the SUNYAC tournament each of those years. The Red Dragons were SUNYAC regular-season co-champions in 2000, while the 1999 squad earned an at-large national bid and played in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional in Iowa.
In 1998, the Red Dragons finished 37-13, captured their first SUNYAC crown since 1992 and earned their first trip to the NCAA Division III World Series since 1985 by winning the NCAA Northeast Regional. The previous season, Lenhart's squad finished 30-14 and earned the school’s first NCAA playoff spot since 1992.
At Wisconsin-Platteville, Lenhart was named the Wisconsin Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) “Coach of the Year” in both 1990 and 1992, with her team winning a league title in the latter season.
A native of Findlay, Ohio, Lenhart is a 1980 graduate of Ohio Northern University. A Dean’s List student, she lettered in basketball, softball and volleyball. She is a member of the ONU Athletic Hall of Fame. She has also taught and coached at the North Central Schools in Pioneer, Ohio, and at Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio.
