Coach Laura Tucker comes to Webber after experiencing major success as the head coach at another NAIA institution, William Baptist College (Walnut Ridge, Ark.). In two years as the Head Softball Coach at WBC, Tucker finished with a 74-34 overall coaching record (36-12 conference coaching record) while leading the Lady Eagles to back-to-back NAIA National Championship appearances. Tucker's 2017 WBC squad was ranked as high as fifth in the NAIA during the season while her 2016 team ended its season with a ranking of seventh. In addition to her coaching duties, Tucker also taught and advised in the Health and Physical Education department at WBC.
In 2016, Coach Tucker and the WBC Lady Eagles won the American Midwest Conference Tournament before sweeping through the LSU-A Opening Round Bracket to earn an appearance at the NAIA World Series, where it matched up with Webber International University. Williams Baptist would go on to win two games at the World Series in 2016, including a 10-4 decision over the Warriors, before falling to the top-ranked team in the NAIA and current back-to-back National Champion, Oklahoma City University. In all, WBC finished 2016 with a top-six finish at the NAIA World Series and also reached the 40-win mark for only the third time in program history. The 40 wins (40-21 overall) for Coach Tucker were also the most games won for any first-year coach in the history of WBC softball.
During her time at Williams Baptist, Coach Tucker mentored one All-World team selection, one AMC Freshman of the Year, five First-Team All-AMC selections, four Second-Team All-AMC selections, and 32 academic all-conference selections.
Before becoming the head coach at Williams Baptist, Tucker served as a graduate assistant coach at Colorado Christian University (Lakewood, Colo.). A left-handed slap hitter and outfielder, Tucker played collegiate softball at the NCAA Division-II (University of Arkansas-Monticello), NJCAA (Three Rivers C.C.) and NAIA (Williams Baptist) levels.
In college, Tucker was selected as a MCCAC All-Conference player in 2010, a NJCAA All-Region team member in 2009 and 2010, and an NJCAA All-American in 2010 for Three Rivers Community College. Tucker broke the batting average and on-base percentage records at Three Rivers in 2010.
As a player at Williams Baptist, Tucker was part of the 2012 Lady Eagles squad which won the American Midwest Conference Championship and led Williams to its first ever National Tournament appearance, where it again played against Webber and defeated the Warriors 2-0 in the opening game. Tucker was also selected as an AMC All-Conference player for Williams Baptist College in 2012.
She was a part of three conference championships, one NCAA Regional Tournament appearance and one NAIA National Tournament appearance throughout her four years. Tucker holds a college career batting average of .426.
A native of Beebe, Arkansas, Coach Tucker earned her Bachelor of Science in health and physical education from Williams Baptist College in 2013, and earned her Master of Arts in curriculum and instruction from Colorado Christian in 2015.
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