Sippel, Miller Named Finalists for D1 Softball Assistant Coach of the Year

Nebraska softball’s Lori Sippel and Diane Miller were tabbed top 25 finalists for the D1 Softball 2026 Assistant Coach of the Year, the organization announced on Wednesday. 

 

Sippel retired this offseason after leading Jordy Frahm and Alexis Jensen to a pair of All-America honors. Miller was promoted to associate head coach, as her offense finished the 2026 season ranked in the top 25 in seven different stat categories. 

 

The coaches led NU to one of the best seasons in program history, as the Huskers finished with a 52-8 record and went 23-1 in Big Ten play. The 52 victories tied a program record for wins in a season, and included a school-record 27-game win streak that spanned two months of the year. The Big Red’s 23-1 mark in conference competition was the most in program history and tied a Big Ten record for conference wins in a season.  

 

Under Sippel, Frahm received her fourth First-Team All-America honor and Jensen earned a spot on the third team. Frahm was also the NFCA and USA Softball Player of the Year. Nebraska’s pitchers ranked second nationally in strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio, fourth in ERA, fifth in WHIP, seventh in hits allowed per seven innings and ninth in shutouts. They ended the season atop the Husker record charts in six different team or individual categories.  

 

Nebraska’s offense, captained by Miller, garnered top-three finishes in school history in batting average (.325), hits (539), runs scored (407), doubles (99), home runs (97), extra-base hits (210), RBIs (383), slugging percentage (.577), total bases (957) and on-base percentage (.405). 

 

The D1Softball National Assistant Coach of the Year, as well as the Pitching Coach of the Year, presented by PitchCom, will be announced on August 31st.