Bushnell University

The Julie Strand File

2013-2017

7 All-Conference 33 Academic All-Conference 14 NAIA Scholar-Athletes

Julie Strand has been the head coach for the NCU softball program since 2013.  A former NCAA Division I head coach, Strand brings a high standard to the position as the second head coach in program history. 

The Beacons won 17 games in 2016, the highest win total in Strand's career with NCU and the most the program had seen since 2010. She has coached 33 academic all-conference selections, seven All-CCC selections and 14 NAIA-Daktronics Scholar Athletes.

In 2011, Strand worked as a volunteer assistant with a University of Oregon team that took third in the Pac-10, won a regional championship and advanced to the Super-Regional.

Strand joined the Ducks after she served the previous two seasons as the head coach at  NCAA Division I Southern Utah University (2009-2010) and four seasons as the top assistant (2005-08). In that stretch she helped the Thunderbirds advance twice to the NCAA Tournament (2006-07) after three Mid-Con Conference tournament championships and a pair of regular season league titles.

Strand has been coaching softball at all levels for over ten years including a stint as the Head Coach at NCAA D.II University of Southern Colorado. She has been an active member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) since 2003 and currently works as a private instructor and works extensively with the Northwest Bullets 14a Summer travel team.

Strand brings to the table an aggressive coaching style. At the plate her first season at the helm, Southern Utah ranked seventh in the nation in triples and also stood in the NCAA Top-100 in doubles, home runs, slugging percentage, and scoring.

After graduating from Churchill High School in Eugene, Coach Strand spent her playing days at Colorado State University-Pueblo where she earned numerous honors including being twice named first-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Her senior season she was named the Female Athlete of the Year when she set RMAC records for doubles and total bases in a season. To this day she holds the CSUP records for games played and career at-bats.

She graduated from CSUP with a degree Biology and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University.