Lisa Allen begins her first season as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee after serving as an assistant last season at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. Allen completed a stellar collegiate career at Oregon State in 2006.

Linfield won the Northwest Conference title and the Division III national championship in 2007. The staff was honored as the D-III Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

While at Linfield Allen analyzed video of offensive and defensive fundamentals of future prospects, organized drills for practice, and developed specific individual drills for players.

The Tigard, Ore., native was an Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 selection as a senior, leading the Beavers to the Women's College World Series. She was voted Pac-10 Player of the Week in 2006 and OSU won the Pac-10 championship during her junior season.

She was a Second Team Academic All-Pac-10 selection her final three years in Corvallis, making the Honor Roll all four years and the Dean's List in 2003.

After her playing career, she was drafted by the Professional Fastpitch X-Treme Tour and the National Professional Fastpitch League. She chose the NPFL, helping the New England Riptides to a league championship in the summer of 2006. Allen played professionally in Austria during the summer of 2007.

She has previous coaching experience as an assistant for the N.W. Extreme Gold in Canby, Ore., from 2003-05. Allen received her bachelor's in Exercise and Sports Science from Oregon State in June 2006.

"Lisa has made some wonderful changes in our pitchers in a short time," Nevar said. "Her main purpose in being hired was to develop Lindsay Vander Lugt and to work with our freshmen, and then to help in the recruiting scene as far as bringing in very good pitchers who need a little tweaking. She's well-rounded and has made a tremendous impact in her short time here."