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Lucas Gardner Hired as Pitching CoachLucas Gardner Hired as Pitching Coach
Chris Lyons/Purdue Athletics

Lucas Gardner Hired as Pitching Coach

by Jenna Geffert

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Head coach Maggie Frezzotti announced the addition of Lucas Gardner as the program’s new pitching coach for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Gardner joins the Boilers after having previously served as a graduate assistant for the eight-time softball national champions, the Oklahoma Sooners. In 2026, Gardner graduated with his Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education from Oklahoma.

Coach Gardner is intelligent, driven, organized, and eager to make an impact. He comes to us with a strong pedigree, after 6 years being around high level cultures and programs. I look forward to seeing how his detail orientation and strong sense for the game impact our bullpen and program immediately.

Maggie FrezzottiHead Softball Coach

In his two seasons with the Sooners, Gardner worked directly with OU pitching coach and associate head coach, Jennifer Rocha, to help lead the pitching staff to a 52-9 record in 2025 and a 52-10 record in 2026. 

During the 2025 season, the OU staff held hitters to a .219 batting average, producing a 2.66 team ERA, 340 strikeouts and 14 shutouts while also earning a top 3.09 ERA in 2026. The Sooner pitching staff clinched the SEC regular season title in 2025, and a co-share of the tournament title with ace Sam Landry earning SEC Newcomer of the Year.

Gardner was responsible for the operation of Trackman, Rapsodo, Synergy, and other pitch charting systems for the Sooners, using data metrics to give real time improvements to Coach Rocha and the staff. 

In 2025, Gardner also served as one of the assistant coaches for the Chicago Bandits, a professional softball organization in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. With the Bandits, Gardner continued his work with data tracking systems to impact the five pitchers on staff as well as also helping with the defensive operations. 

Gardner is a native of Bloomington, Ind. and will return to his home state after six years with the Sooners and the LSU Tigers.

Garder earned his Bachelor of Science in Sports Administration from LSU in 2024 while working under Beth Torina as a four-year manager of the softball program.

During his tenure with the Tigers, he worked as the head of the manager staff, earning a leading role amongst the group of 10. He was charged with mentoring the new staff each year and performing and delegating duties such as the set up and take down of practice as well as operating charting technology. 

I am incredibly thankful and excited for the opportunity to help bring Coach Frezzotti’s vision for the future of Purdue softball to life. I want to sincerely thank my mom (Coach Gardner), my dad and my sisters for being my abiggest supporters. I also want to thank Coach Gasso, Coach Rocha, and Coach Torina for the invaluable experiences and mentorship. I look forward to helping Purdue remain successful and competitive. I can’t express how honored I am to be a part of the Boilermaker family and ready to get to work. Boiler Up!

Lucas GardnerAssistant Coach

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