Missy McCaughey Steiger is in her eighth season as the head softball coach at Texas Lutheran University. Steiger is the all-time wins leader in TLU softball history, with 145 wins over her first seven seasons. Under Steiger, the Bulldogs have won at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006).
Steiger led TLU to the ASC Championship Tournament in 2004 and 2005. The Bulldogs went 2-2 in the 2005 conference tournament in advancing to the tournament's semifinal round. She guided TLU to the 2004 American Southwest Conference West Division title as the Bulldogs went 29-11-1 and 22-4-1 in the ASC and advanced to the ASC Championship Tournament semifinal. The ASC tournament berth was the Bulldogs' first postseason tournament since 1992.
Steiger was named the 2004 ASC West Division Coach of the Year.
In 2004, Steiger guided Texas Lutheran to the best overall and conference winning percentages in school history. Texas Lutheran also tied the school record for consecutive wins in a season (9) and set or tied seven other individual player marks.
Steiger's record at Texas Lutheran now stands at 145-125-1 through seven seasons (2001-07). Under Steiger, the Bulldogs are 91-59-1 against conference teams.
In 2003, Steiger coached the Bulldogs as they smashed or tied 13 school records in arguably the finest offensive season in the TLU softball era. Team records were set for doubles (51), home runs (13), batting average (.321), consecutive wins (9) and home runs in a game (4).
Individual records were established for single-season home runs (6, Tiffany Haines), batting average (.443, Amy Behlen), slugging percentage (.730, Behlen), home runs in a game (2, Behlen and Haines), home runs in a doubleheader (3, Behlen), home runs in a series (3, Behlen), total bases in a game (9, Behlen and Haines) and RBIs in a game (6, Behlen).
Steiger arrived at Texas Lutheran in the fall of 2000 after a coaching stint at MacMurray College, a NCAA Division III school in Jacksonville, Ill., where she was the head softball coach for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. She also served as the MacMurray senior woman's administrator and as an instructor in the department of physical education.
Steiger has had a profound effect on the Texas Lutheran athletics program as well. She is in her seventh year as TLU's senior woman's administrator and NCAA compliance officer. She is also a part-time instructor in the university's department of kinesiology.
Coach Steiger also works closely with Director of Athletics Bill Miller on the university's relationship with the NCAA. She attends the NCAA national conventions and assists the university in the interpretation of NCAA rules and regulations.
Steiger has been a member of the NCAA Division III Softball Midwest Regional Committee and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Administrative Council. Prior to her head coaching job at MacMurray, Steiger was an assistant softball coach at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Steiger holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a master of science degree from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
Steiger was a four-year letterwinner and a team captain for the Wisconsin-Platteville softball team. She was a member of the Pioneers 1992 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship team. She played on the conference runner-up squad in 1994 and on two third-place WIAC teams, in 1993 and 1995.
A three-year starter at second base, Steiger had a career batting average of .302. She drove in 54 runs and had 15 doubles, three triples and five home runs. She struck out just 25 times in 325 career at-bats. She drove in 22 runs in 1994 and hit .357 over 40 games in 1993. She was a tri-captain in her senior season. In 1995, Steiger drove in the winning run in a 1-0 win over nationally-ranked Illinois Benedictine.
Steiger is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Since 1998, she has been a certified strength and conditioning coach.
Coach Steiger enjoys lifting weights and working out, watching and playing sports and watching movies. She and her family were involved in the sport of drag racing when she was a teenager. She raced for six years.
Coach Steiger married Chris Steiger in the summer of 2007. The couple reside in Seguin. Coach Steiger is the daughter of Bill and Donna McCaughey of Chetek, Wis.