Coaching Staff

Rich Wieligman | Associate Head Coach

Rich Wieligman finished his fourth season as associate head coach for Kansas softball in 2021. Wieligman has 11 years of experience as a head coach, including leading Oklahoma State to the Women’s College World Series in 2011.

Wieligman served as the head coach at Oklahoma State for nine seasons (2007-15) and came to KU after a two-year stint at the University of Texas at Dallas (2016-17). He primarily coaches KU’s outfielders and hitters.

In 2021, Wieligman help guide the Jayhawks to 337 hits. The team finished with 56 doubles and 56 home runs, which is the second-most home runs in program history trailing only the 2011 team that finished with 60. Under his guidance, 10 student-athletes finished the season with double-digit hits and 218 RBI. Three Jayhawks, Sydnee Ramsey, Morgyn Wynne and Brittany Jackson, finished the year batting over .355, and the team held a .448 slugging percentage.

During the shortened 2020 season, Wieligman helped coach redshirt sophomore Shelby Gayre to a banner season at the plate. Gayre led the program with a .393 average. The catcher also led the team with 11 home runs, 24 RBIs and 13 walks.

“Having this opportunity to become a Jayhawk is such a great opportunity,” Wieligman said. “I look forward to working with the program and continuing to build progress toward bringing championships to Kansas. At my core, I want to bring out the best in our student-athletes and to help them get better every day. With our first-class facilities and a dedicated coaching staff, there is no place better to pursue those goals than at KU.”

The Kansas City-area native led the Cowgirls to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the 2011 Women’s College World Series. Over those nine seasons, Wieligman won 275 games while coaching 24 all-conference selections, 19 all-region players and one All-American. In addition, he mentored 51 academic all-conference players and two Academic All-Americans.

In his two seasons at UT Dallas, Wieligman led the Comets to a 42-18 conference record, an American Southwest Conference (ASC) title and an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. Wieligman coached the first All-American at UT Dallas and was named the ASC’s Coach of the Year in 2017 after guiding the Comets to best record in school history (36-10).

Wieligman played baseball collegiately at Lubbock (Texas) Christian University, earning his bachelor’s degree in education in 1985. While at Lubbock Christian, Wieligman helped the Chaparrals to an NAIA National Championship in 1983 and was named an NAIA All-American in 1984.

Upon graduation from Lubbock Christian, he spent four years in the farm system of the Detroit Tigers as a first baseman/outfielder, reaching as high as the Triple-A level. Wieligman would later play in both Japan and the Dominican Republic before starting his coaching career.

Wieligman began his coaching career as an assistant baseball coach at his college alma mater before taking over as head baseball coach at Lubbock Christian High School. After working with the Boys & Girls Club of Midland, he began his softball coaching career as the head coach at Midland High School in 1993 before moving to the collegiate ranks.

Wieligman quenched his competitive drive as a player by joining a fast-pitch team, DR Engine, based in Odessa, Texas, and he. DR Engine won a national title in 1995 and 1997, with Wieligman being named the MVP of the 1995 ASA National Tournament. He also earned ASA All-America honors in 1997.

After serving as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for Baylor, he made his first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001 while at Texas Tech and then helped coach Texas A&M to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2003-06, including a trip to the super regionals in 2005. In 2005, the Wieligman-coached Aggie hitters lead the nation in team batting average (.336).

Wieligman is married to the former Jill Hodge. The couple has two children — daughter Ashby (Rowan) and son Ryan. Ashby married Forrest Rowan in 2015.

Meghan Lamberth | Assistant Coach

Meghan Lamberth finished her second season as an assistant coach at the University of Kansas in 2021. Lamberth, a former assistant coach at Maryville University and Northwestern pitcher, was named a Kansas softball assistant coach in July 2019.

Working primarily with the pitchers, Lamberth helped freshman Kasey Hamilton to a solid freshman season in 2021. Hamilton led the Jayhawks with 59 strikeouts and one shutout. Lamberth also guided Hailey Reed to 34 strikeouts and seven win’s during her senior season. Reed (No. 18 Missouri) and Hamilton (No. 23 Wichita State), along with sophomore Tatum Goff (No. 10 Oklahoma State), were also key factors in the circle for KU, as each one recorded a victory over a top-25 ranked opponent.

During the 2020 season, Lamberth helped lead Goff to a strong freshman year in the shortened season where Goff appeared in 15 games and picked up five wins with two saves. Goff also led the team with 43 strikeouts.

Lamberth spent three seasons at Maryville as an assistant softball coach and oversaw a 2019 pitching staff that registered a 1.82 earned run average in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Lamberth also coached Alyssa Callans, the program’s first Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-American (Third Team).

Prior to her time in St. Louis, Lamberth was an assistant coach at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and directly oversaw the pitching staff and three catchers.

Lamberth played four seasons at Northwestern (2010-13) and started 43 games in the circle her final two years in Evanston, Illinois. In her senior season for the Wildcats, she posted a 10-6 record in 94.1 innings of work with 60 strikeouts. The Wildwood, Missouri native also finished the final two years of her career in purple and white with a .208 batting average in 130 at bats.