Prairie Star Softball Camps

Head Coach Shannon Guthrie

Shannon Guthrie is in her eleventh season as the head coach of the University of Illinois Springfield softball program in 2024-25. Guthrie is the top coach in program history, and enters the 2025 season with a career coaching mark of 278-220.

Guthrie has led the Prairie Stars to more than 30 wins in each of the last two seasons, including 34 in 2023. UIS advanced to the NCAA Tournament as the 5-seed. UIS ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II in stolen bases. Nine Prairie Stars earned All-GLVC honors while Danielle Dennis earned All-Region honors.

In 2022, UIS had its first 30-win season since 2018, and the fifth in program history. The Prairie Stars improved their ERA by 1.74 over the previous year. Offensively, UIS had one of the top scoring teams in the GLVC with 5.4 runs per game, and it ranked fifth in NCAA Division II in stolen bases per game.

Danielle Dennis, Jillian Mathis, and Carly Chovanec were all all-GLVC selections, and Dennis and Mathis earned all-region honors.

Guthrie helped UIS to a 19-27 record during the 2021 year. The young team improved throughout the year, ending the regular season with 10 wins in its last 14 games, and making the GLVC Tournament field. The Prairie Stars ranked fifth in NCAA Division II with 2.59 stolen bases per game, and were one of the highest scoring teams in the GLVC with nearly five runs a game.

Two players earned All-Region honors for Guthrie in 2021 in Danielle Dennis and Calla Wickenhauser. Those two players, along with Carly Chovanec, were all first-team all-GLVC performers.

During the shortened 2020 season, UIS went 10-8 and had one of the most exciting offenses in NCAA Division II. The Prairie Stars ranked fourth in NCAA Division II with 3.28 stolen bases per game, and led the conference in home runs and slugging percentage.

In 2019, UIS won 29 games despite losing two first-team All-GLVC performers, including the GLVC Pitcher of the Year, and another first-team player to an injury early in the season. The Prairie Stars peaked in the postseason, winning their first two NCAA regional games to advance to the finals for the second straight year.

Guthrie coached four all-GLVC performer, with two second-team honorees and two third-team players. Off the field, the team earned another Team Academic All-GLVC awards, and 13 players were named to the GLVC all-academic team.

In 2018, Guthrie led the Prairie Stars to the top season in program history. UIS set a school record with 40 wins, and it finished the season ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II. The Prairie Stars won their first GLVC Regular Season Championship with a 22-6 overall record. UIS advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship for the second time, and won its NCAA Regional Tournament to advance to the Super Regional for the first time. Guthrie coached seven all-conference players, including three first-team all-GLVC selection. She helped Ali Haesele be named the conference Pitcher of the Year, and Guthrie was tabbed as the GLVC Coach of the Year. Haesele was also named an honorable mention All-American, and was one of three all-region selections.

In 2017, the Prairie Stars recorded their sixth straight 20-win season, and third consecutive season with at least 24 wins under the direction of Guthrie. UIS took a game from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, which was ranked No. 17 in the nation at the time. The Prairie Stars capped off the season with a berth to the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Tournament. Jaycee Craver, Amanda Gosbeth and Katie Wooldridge each received All-GLVC selections.

In 2016, the pitching staff recorded the second fewest walks/7 innings in UIS history and record the second most shutouts with 11.

In her first season, Guthrie saw Ashli King named to the All-GLVC third team honors as well as the Daktronics Midwest Region First team. Junior pitcher Alexandria Smith fanned 141 batters to rank sixth in the league. Under her watch, the Stars earned a No. 9 ranking in the Midwest Regional ranking. The Prairie Stars earned four wins against ranked opponents, including UMSL, which was ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time. UIS qualified for the GLVC Tournament, and won the opening game against No. 10 Indianapolis.

Four-year player Lauren Hollinshead led the league in steals and was named the department's Senior Scholar Athlete as well as Female Athlete of the Year. She helped 10 student-athletes earn Academic All-GLVC honors and graduated two seniors that were named to the GLVC Council of President's Academic Excellence list.

Off the field, Guthrie has also helped the team. In the fall of 2017, the softball program had the highest GPA among all UIS sports programs with a 3.67 mark, and its GPA for the year was the fifth-highest in NCAA Division II softball. UIS has won the GLVC Team Academic All-Conference award in each of her seasons, and her players have won 89 GLVC Academic All-Conference honors. Danielle Dennis earned first-team Academic All-American honors in 2022.

No stranger to the Springfield area, Guthrie is a Chatham native who is returning near her hometown after a six-year stint with the Illinois State softball program, serving as its pitching coach.

One of the most prolific pitchers to ever emerge from the Illinois State softball program, Guthrie first joined the ISU coaching ranks during the 2008 season as a student assistant coach, where she assisted former pitching coach Bill Kennedy in all aspects of coaching the Redbird pitchers.

In 2013, she took a staff with little experience and molded it into one of the Missouri Valley's best. Junior Taylor Baxter emerged as the ace and earned Second-Team All-MVC honors after going 15-8 with a 3.15 ERA. Freshman Regan Romshek flourished under Guthrie's guidance immediately, going 10-9 with a 3.69 ERA, while junior Sophia Perez ranked second in the nation with seven saves.

Previously, Guthrie oversaw the development of Jordan Birch and Megan Warner, with the former being named First-Team All-MVC in 2012 and Second-Team All-Mideast Region in 2011. Warner also earned two Second-Team All-MVC selections under her tutelage.

Guthrie completed her illustrious four-year ISU career with 62 wins - the fourth-most all-time in school history. In her senior season, she became just the second female student-athlete in ISU history to be named the Illinois State Female Student-Athlete and Female Athlete of the Year in the same academic year. She was also selected to the 2007 Easton All-America Second Team - just the second Redbird pitcher all-time to earn All-America second team status. She led the team in earned-run average (1.53) and wins (21), and was picked to the All-MVC First Team.

A consistent performer throughout her Redbird pitching career, Guthrie recorded at least 15 wins in the circle for ISU in each of her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. When she graduated, she ranked fourth all-time for career wins (62), third in opponent batting average (.244), third in career appearances (135), and tied for fifth in career strikeouts (362).

Guthrie took her strong collegiate pitching to the sport's highest level, playing professional softball in summer 2008 as a member of the Akron Racers in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league.

As a standout at Chatham Glenwood, Guthrie was a three-time Central 8 Softball Player of the Year and a three-time honoree to the Illinois High School All-State team. She also owns the IHSA's record for lowest ERA in a season (0.00) in 2001.

Guthrie was a standout in the classroom, earning NFCA Scholar Athlete honors three times as well as MVC All-Academic first team honors as a senior. She earned a Bachelor's of Business - Teacher Education, and a master's degree in Kinesiology and recreation with a concentration in sport management at Illinois State.

Shannon and her husband, Eric, have three children, Colt, Luke, and Beau.