Holly Van Vlymen

Position: Assistant Coach (4th season) Alma Mater: Western Illinois University (2000)

Holly Van Vlymen enters her fourth season as an assistant coach with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

As the Hawkeyes' pitching coach, Van Vlymen primarily works with Iowa's hurlers, from mechanics in practice to calling pitches in games.

During her tenue at Iowa, Van Vlymen has guided Iowa pitchers to three Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Awards (Kristi Hanks 2000 and 2001, Lisa Birocci 2003) and helped Hanks to a first-team NFCA All-American award in 2001.

Van Vlymen herself was one of the top pitchers in the nation when she played for the Western Illinois Westerwinds. In 2000, she was a third team NFCA All-American as a senior, when she was second in the country with a 0.58 ERA, seventh in winning percentage (.810) and eighth in strikeouts per seven innings (9.3).

In the Mid-Continent Conference, Van Vlymen was the 2000 Pitcher of the Year, 2000 all-tournament MVP and a three-time first team all-conference selection. She led the league in ERA (0.58), strikeouts (355), wins (30), shutouts (17) and opponent's batting average (.161) her senior year. Van Vlymen was also named the Mid-Continent Conference Pitcher of the Week seven out of 10 weeks her final season.

Van Vlymen is one of only four players in Western Illinois history to have her number retired.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in education, Van Vlymen continued her softball career as a professional with the Ohio Pride, where she helped her team to a second-place finish in the WPSL.

A native of Orion, Illinois, Van Vlymen was married to her husband Jim on October 19, 2002.