University of Missouri Athletics

A new era in Mizzou Softball began in the Summer of 2018, as Larissa Anderson was named the 10th head coach to lead the tradition-rich Tiger program on Saturday, May 26, 2018.

As Anderson enters year seven in Mid-Missouri that new era has already gotten off to a successful start, and her ability to change the culture of the program in such a short time was a big reason why. Anderson has led Mizzou to a 217-115 record over her six seasons and owns a career record of 347-189-1 as a head coach.

In her time at the helm of the Tigers, Anderson has steered Missouri to five NCAA Regional appearances and a pair of Super Regionals. She has led the Tigers to 35 or more wins each season at Mizzou — in all but the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

Missouri most recently hosted a Regional and Super Regional in 2024 after home postseason runs in 2021 (Regional and Super Regional) and 2022 (Regional).

Anderson finished her first season in the Black & Gold with a 35-25 record, the most wins for the Tigers in a single season since 2016, when they won 42 games. Anderson's squad was also stellar in her first season as part of the always elite Southeastern Conference, as the Tigers' 12 wins during SEC play, which resulted in a tie for fourth place, were the most conference victories for Mizzou since 2016. The season ended with the Tigers' 13th straight regional appearance, as Anderson's Tigers earned a spot in the Los Angeles Regional, where they went 3-2, pushing host No. 2 UCLA to a winner-take-all game seven.

Her biggest test would come during the 2020 season. With Mizzou Softball’s postseason ban being upheld three months prior to the season, Anderson’s steady leadership guided the Tigers through what would be a turbulent year. Despite the postseason ban, Mizzou lost zero players to transfer, and entered the season with its roster intact.

Mizzou’s postseason ban would prove to be only a minor blip in a season that was ultimately canceled after 26 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers made the most of those 26 games, finishing with a 19-7 record, and being one of only two teams to be undefeated in SEC play. Mizzou ended the season ranked 25th in the NFCA Coaches’ Poll – its first time finishing the season ranked since 2016 – while Cayla Kessinger was named to Softball America’s All-America team.

Anderson returned Mizzou Softball to the national stage in 2021. With an experienced roster but a young pitching staff, she led the Tigers to a 42-17 record and a Super Regional appearance. Mizzou hosted an NCAA Regional and Super Regional for the first time since 2013. The 2021 team finished among the program’s best statistically in fielding percentage (1st), home runs (1st), RBI (2nd), doubles (T-6th), and runs scored (3rd).

In the postseason, Mizzou pitching led the nation in ERA at 1.37 over six games. Two Tiger pitchers, Jordan Weber and Laurin Krings combined to allow only two hits and no runs over three games at the Columbia Regional. Freshman shortstop Jenna Laird earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors while senior outfielder Brooke Wilmes was recognized as an NFCA Third Team All-American. Anderson led the Tigers to a No. 13 final ranking in the NFCA Coaches' Poll and a No. 14 ranking in the USA Softball poll, the program's highest final rankings since 2015.

Mizzou’s memorable 2022 season saw them host an NCAA Regional for the second-consecutive year and made the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship game for the second time in program history. The Tigers notched a 38-22 mark and went 12-11 during SEC play. Mizzou’s pitching staff posted a 2.81 ERA including a 1.00 ERA in the postseason.

In the inaugural year of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, presented by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Jenna Laird and Casidy Chaumont earned the award at shortstop and left field, respectively.

Laird, a 2022 Softball All-SEC Second Team player, finished the year with a .975 fielding percentage, while turning 10 double plays and did not make an error during SEC play.

Chaumont, an All-SEC Defensive Team Selection, has appeared on SportsCenter's Top Ten Plays four times over her career at Mizzou. After beginning her career as an infielder at Louisiana, she converted to the outfield at the start of the 2021 season and finished with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Chaumont has thrown out five runners on the basepaths from left field over her two seasons in the Black and Gold.

Kimberly Wert and Brooke Wilmes were each named First Team All-SEC performers in 2022. Jordan Weber, Jenna Laird, Wert and Wilmes were each tabbed to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Southeast All-Region team. Weber led the Tigers to the SEC Tournament final with a pair of shutouts against No. 17/20 Auburn and No. 13/10 Tennessee. She became the first Mizzou pitcher to record three wins in a single SEC series when she earned the victory in all three games against Kentucky.

Mizzou is coming off a 2023 season that saw the Tigers reach a 16th straight NCAA Regional, finishing the season with a 35-26 record and going 7-17 against SEC foes. The pitching staff proved efficient yet again, registering a cumulative ERA of 3.33, including a strikeout/walk ratio of 2.66.

Alex Honnold became the 26th All-American in program history (31 total All-American honors) after earning Second-Team honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

A Top 25 Finalist for 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Honnold led Mizzou and ranked top six in the SEC for on-base percentage (.539), slugging percentage (.779), runs (52), batting average (.396), and triples (three). Her slugging percentage in 2023 ranked fourth all-time in program history. Honnold also earned NFCA Southeast All-Region honors and was named to the All-SEC Second Team.

Jenna Laird joined Honnold in representing the Tigers on the All-SEC Team, her sixth postseason honor at Mizzou and third-straight appearance on the All-SEC Team. The leadoff hitter paced the Tigers in SEC play with a .291 batting average to go with 14 runs, three doubles, five RBI, .371 on-base percentage, and a .329 slugging percentage.

In 2024, Anderson led the Tigers to a top-10 finish, an NCAA Super Regional appearance and the team’s second Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship appearance in three seasons. The Tigers totaled 48 wins, their highest total in the program’s SEC era and fourth-most in program history.

A trio of Tigers earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region while 13 student-athletes secured Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors for earning a 3.5 GPA and above.

Freshman Abby Hay was listed on the NFCA Southeast Second Team All-Region, while seniors Laurin Krings and Alex Honnold were tabbed to the Southeast Third Team All-Region.

Jenna Laird, Honnold and Hay were also named to the All-SEC Second Team while Krings (pitcher) and right fielder Kayley Lenger nabbed spots on the SEC All-Defensive Team.

Anderson joined Mizzou after a 17-year run at Hofstra, the final four as the head coach.

In four seasons at Hofstra, Anderson fashioned a 130-73-1 (.640) record with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles and four winning seasons. She picked up her 100th career win with the Pride's 7-2 win over Boston University, March 17, 2018, and posted seven career wins over nationally-ranked opponents, including three in 2018—a 1-0 victory over then-No. 13 Florida State on March 2 and a pair at No. 22 James Madison to claim the CAA Tournament crown.

The 2018 campaign was a historic one for Hofstra Softball, as Anderson led the 24th-ranked Pride to a 41-14 record, the CAA Tournament title and the NCAA Columbia Regional. Hofstra earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating CAA regular-season champion and 22nd-ranked James Madison, 7-4, to claim its 12th CAA title in the sport since joining the league in 2002 and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.

Anderson's 2018 squad reached the 40-win mark for the 11th time in program history (and first since a school-record 46 wins in 2013), while setting school records for runs scored (334), home runs (70) and RBI (315). Hofstra owned an RPI of 19 against the nation's 29th-toughest schedule in 2018. Hofstra also garnered a league-high eight CAA postseason honors headlined by Sarah Cornell's selection as the CAA Pitcher of the Year—the Pride's 10th such honor all-time and first since 2013, all of which were tutored by Anderson.

In 2017, Hofstra returned to the CAA championship game, as the program registered its 28th-straight winning season (27-23) and earned the No. 2 seed in the CAA Tournament. Anderson picked up her first win over a Top 10 opponent as head coach with a 5-2 victory over No. 10 James Madison. Under Anderson's direction, Cornell was named first-team NFCA All-Northeast Region as a rookie, while also earning a spot on the All-CAA second team and All-Rookie team.

The Pride posted another winning record in her second season (24-22) and had six student-athletes earn CAA postseason honors and two garner NFCA All-Northeast Region recognition.

In her first season as the storied program's head coach in 2015, Anderson led Hofstra to the CAA championship and an NCAA Tournament berth, guiding Hofstra to a 38-14-1 record and a spot in the NCAA Gainesville Regional. Anderson and her assistants were named the NFCA Northeast Region's Coaching Staff of the Year after Hofstra posted a collective 2.05 ERA, smashed 56 home runs and out-scored opponents, 277-129.

Anderson has been part of eight NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year award winners, including seven as an assistant or associate head coach and one as the head coach. In 17 seasons at Hofstra, she helped the Pride to a 610-267-2 (.695) record). Before taking over as head coach from Hall of Famer Bill Edwards, Anderson spent 13 seasons on the Hofstra staff as an assistant, including the last 10 as the associate head coach, helping the program to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and 10 CAA titles. As associate head coach, she helped Hofstra win 24 NCAA Tournament games and make six appearances in the regional finals.

Under Anderson's guidance, Hofstra hurlers won nine CAA Pitcher of the Year awards in 10 seasons, including four consecutive wins by Olivia Galati from 2010-13 and three from Kayleigh Lotti from 2007-09. Galati was twice named an All-America by the NFCA and was the program's first-ever first-team pick in 2012 after leading Division I with a 0.95 ERA and a 34-7 record. Anderson helped guide Galati to a NCAA-best 40 wins and 22 shutouts in 2013.

A hallmark of the Hofstra Softball program during Anderson's tenure was the Pride's stellar defense. From 2008-13, Hofstra consistently ranked among the nation's elite in fielding percentage as the Pride was among the Top 20 nationally in five of those seasons. Hofstra ranked first in Division I in fielding percentage during the 2011 season and was fourth in 2008 and 2010, and 16th in 2012 and 2013. Her 2018 team currently ranks sixth nationally with an .979 mark.

An active NFCA member, she chaired its Ethics Committee from 2009-13, and previously served as the fourth Vice President on the NFCA executive board and as a member of the NFCA Recruiting Committee and the NFCA Hall of Fame Committee. Anderson is currently the Vice President of the Awards Committee. She was elected NFCA President on Oct. 25, 2022, and was one of eight members who were voted to the NFCA’s Board of Directors for 2023. Anderson officially began her three-year term on January 1, 2023.

Prior to joining the Hofstra staff, Anderson served as an assistant coach for two seasons at LIU Post, where she helped the Pioneers to a combined 75-33 record, including a school-record 42 wins during the 2000 season. She assisted in all facets of the program at LIU Post and was in charge of coaching the pitchers and catchers. Her efforts helped the Pioneers to the 13th-best team earned run average in Division II (1.11) in 2001. She was also part of a C.W. Post staff that received the Northeast Region Division II Coaching Staff of the Year award from the NFCA in 2000.

Anderson spent one season as an assistant coach at Gannon University in 1998, after being named a regional All-American outfielder in 1997. She graduated from Gannon in 1997 with a bachelor's of science degree in therapeutic recreation.

She is married to former Hofstra Baseball Coach Patrick Anderson, who manages the St. Louis Cardinals' Class AA affiliate in Springfield, Missouri. Prior to his elevation in 2025, Patrick Anderson spent three seasons as the head coach in Peoria, Illinois, with the Cardinals' Class A affiliate.