Julie Strand is in her fourth season on the Thunderbird staff. She has had a major roll in helping SUU to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and conference tournament crowns as well as a pair of regular-season conference titles.
She has helped lead the team to NCAA tournament berths the past two seasons and has also helped oversee a squad which has virtually rewritten the Southern Utah record books in the past three years.
A 2002 graduate of Colorado State University-Pueblo, Ms. Strand spent the 2003-04 season as an assistant coach at Denton High School in Denton, Texas, where her squad was second in the nation in academics with a 3.227 GPA. Following the 2004 season she accepted a head coaching position at Cedar Hill HS in Cedar Hill, Texas, but cut short her time there to join the SUU staff. Prior to taking the position at DHS Coach Strand spent one season as an assistant coach at CSUP.
An active member of the NFCA since 2003, Coach Strand earned numerous honors as a player at CSUP, including being twice named first-team all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as well as earning one honorable mention honor. Her senior season she was named the Female Athlete of the Year when she set RMAC records for doubles and total bases in a season. She holds the CSUP records for games played and career at-bats as well.
Coach Strand holds a master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching softball from Texas Woman’s University.
