Tammy Lohmann enters her 15th season with the California softball program in 2020, helping to guide the Golden Bears to the NCAA Softball Tournament in 12 of her 14 previous seasons with the Bears.
On March 3, 2020, Lohmann became the interim head coach after the previous head coach of 32 years, NFCA and Cal Athletics Hall of Famer Diane Ninemire stepped down from the role.
Under Lohmann’s tutelage, Cal student-athletes have garnered 84 all-conference selections and 12 All-America selections. In 12 of her 14 seasons, Lohmann helped guide the Bears into the postseason, producing six super regional and two Women’s College World Series appearances over that span.
Last season, Cal concluded its 25th year at Levine-Fricke Field with a notable win against then fifth-ranked Arizona during senior weekend. Senior Lindsay Rood paced the Pac-12 with 78 hits and 30 stolen bases, and those stats helped Rood pick up her second first-team all-conference honor and second-team all-region honors. The Bears also benefited from the bat of freshman Makena Smith, who topped the Cal ledger with 37 RBI. Smith also recorded a .315 batting average while pulling in double-duty as a starting catcher and first baseman for the Bears. Her efforts were recognized with a selection to Pac-12 All-Freshman team.
The year before in 2018, Cal headed into tournament play in Athens, Ga., after finishing seventh in the Pac-12. Cal, which finished the season 34-19 overall and 7-16 in the Pac-12, was led by first-team All-Pac-12 members Lindsay Rood and Jazmyn Jackson. Rood paced the league with 30 steals and eight triples, while both infielders accumulated 62 base hits. Rood and Zoe Conley were both voted NFCA All-Pacific Region honorees, as well.
In 2017, facing a challenging schedule, Cal opened the year going 16-4 and jumped into the Top 25 in Week 4. Pac-12 play proved as potent as ever as the Bears faced top-25 opponents nearly every weekend. Cal posted victories against No.22 Arizona State and a series win over Oregon State to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Junior Jazmyn Jackson led the Pac-12 with 17 doubles and picked up All-Pac-12 honors along with Kylie Reed and Lindsay Rood. Jackson, the team’s leadoff hitter, also was named to the NFCA All-Pacific Region first team. Cal advanced into the NCAA Tournament at the Auburn Regional, downing Notre Dame twice, but falling to Auburn in the regional final to end the season with a 32-24 overall record.
In 2016, a trip to the NCAA Tournament put the Bears in the postseason for the 28th time in 29 years. The Bears finished 33-24-1 in a year that included eight wins over ranked opponents. Cal’s resilience as a team showed late in the season when, needing a strong finish to extend the campaign, the Bears won 11 of their final 16 regular-season games to solidify their spot in the NCAA field of 64.
In 2015, Lohmann helped guide a Cal offense that set a school record for team batting average, finishing the season at .334. Cheyenne Cordes set a school record for RBI in a single season with 76 while Jazmyn Jackson ranked second all-time in single season batting average at .446. The Bears landed five players on the Pac-12 All-Conference team and six players were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic team.
With Lohmann’s supervision, the 2014 Bears produced strong offensive numbers that saw Cordes lead Cal in nearly every offensive category. Along with Danielle Henderson and Kylie Reed, Cordes was an NFCA All-Region selection. Cal also earned eight All-Conference honors, while four Bears were recognized for their efforts in the classroom as Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention selections.
In 2013, Lohmann helped Cal punched its 26th straight ticket to the postseason, where the team lost to eventual WCWS participant Michigan at the Ann Arbor Regional, failing to advance to Super Regionals for only the second time since the Super Regional format was introduced in 2005. The successful 2013 squad combined for one All-America, one CoSIDA Academic All-America, five All-Region, seven All-Pac-12 and three Pac-12 All-Academic honors.
The 2012 season saw Lohmann and the Bears set program single-season records for most runs scored (422), RBI (376), homers (84), total bases (856) and the highest fielding percentage (.979). Not only do the 58 wins achieved in 2012 set a new team best, but they also top the previous high of 56, which was set by the 2002 NCAA Title-winning team. The Bears won the inaugural Pac-12 title by posting a 21-3 conference record. In 13 of the 2012 season's weeks, Cal was ranked first in at least one national poll and finished the year ranked third after tying ASU for bronze in the Women's College World Series.
In 2011, the Golden Bears returned to the hallowed grounds of Oklahoma City for the 11th time in school history for the Women's College World Series. They got there by notching Cal's first-ever Super Regional series title over an SEC School - going 2-1 against host Kentucky. After starting the 2011 campaign ranked 12th in the polls and slated to finish fourth in the Pac-10, Cal ended the year No. 5 in the country and second in the conference. Cal closed out the year at a 45-13 clip with an impressive 15-6 conference record to take second place, marking the best Pac-10 finish since 2005, when the Bears tied for first. For their stunning work in 2011, the National Fast Pitch Coaches' Association lauded the Cal coaching staff as the Pacific Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
During the 2010 campaign, Lohmann helped direct the Bears to their best Pac-10 Conference finish since 2005 with a 10-11 record in conference play to tie for fourth. Additionally, the Bears were one of the seven Pac-10 teams to earn an at-large bid to the postseason, and shut out the Columbus Regional, sweeping through the three opponents, before falling in Super Regional play to No. 6-seeded Georgia.
In 2009, thanks to Lohmann's assistance in the development of the Cal hitters, the Golden Bears produced team records in home runs (49) and runs (322) in 2007, and RBI (279) in 2008 and broke their home-run record with 55 round-trippers in 2009.
Prior to her arrival in the Bay Area in 2006, Lohmann was an assistant coach at Wisconsin, helping guide the Badgers to a NCAA Regional appearance in 2005. She coached numerous All-Big Ten conference and regional players with the Badgers. Wisconsin hitters posted a record-breaking offensive season in 2005, setting multiple school records.
As a player, Lohmann was a two-time all-conference selection at Arizona State and was team captain for the 1997 season. She was the ASU Freshman of the Year in 1993 and is on ASU's single-season and career record charts in hits, doubles, and stolen bases.
During the summer of 1998, Lohmann was a pitcher and a shortstop for the Arizona Peppers in the Ladies Professional Baseball League. She played the same positions during the 1998 USA Women's Baseball National Tournament, helping the Arizona Angels to a runner-up finish. In 1999, Lohmann played in the Women's Professional Softball League as a member of the North Carolina Diamonds.
She earned her master's degree in human service administration from Bradley in December 2002. Lohmann is also a one-star master coach with the National Fastpitch Coaches College. She was selected as one of 25 coaches to attend the NCAA Women's Coaches Academic Dimension I in Denver, and again for Dimension II in Indianapolis. The Cal Athletic Department recognized her as a Shining Star in January 2009.
