Lynn Curylo was named the program's seventh head coach on July 18, 2016.
Curylo entered the 2023 campaign leading the Flames in their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Flames earned seven conference wins, including a series sweep at home against Evansville. They also had wins against Valparaiso, Bradley and Drake.
Off the diamond, the Flames were recognized for their work in the community and the classroom. They earned its second Mission Driven Service award and Dee Dee Caskey was named among the 12 honorees in the Spring season for the 2023 State Farm MVC Good Neighbor award. Grace Fleming earned academic recognition when she was selected as a member of the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team Honorable Mention.
Curylo claimed her 300th career victory as a collegiate head coach during the 2022 campaign. The Flames trailed by three runs in the late stages of a conference contest at Cleveland State on April 29, 2022. UIC scored four times in the sixth and three more in the seventh to knock off the Vikings in a milestone victory, 7-3. Three Flames earned All-League accolades in Curylo's sixth season at her alma mater. Tara McElligott was named All-Horizon League First Team; Maica Ingles was voted to the All-Horizon League Second Team; newcomer Grace Fleming was named to the conference's All-Freshman Team. Outfielder Dee Dee Caskey earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Academic Team.
As an entire program in 2022, UIC softball won the department's Mission-Driven Service Award after participating in eight service projects in addition to what the collective department did. The squad raised thousands of dollars for Vs. Cancer and also invited Zaelyn, a young athlete with Team Impact, to join the program. The Flames also won the Chancellor's Cup for the highest cumulative GPA for a team with 20 student-athletes or more.
Following the shortened 2020 season, the Flames returned with one of their best seasons to date in 2021. With Curylo at the helm, the Flames finished with a record of 29-23, with a Horizon League record of 23-11, the most conference wins in a single season in UIC history. The Flames finished second in the Horizon League regular season standings, and won the Horizon League Championship, punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in Curylo's tenure. The 2021 season saw five players awarded with All-League Honors, including the 2021 Horizon League Player of the Year, Kayla Wedl, who was also named to the All-Region Team. Wedl also went on to play for Athletes Unlimited, becoming the first professional softball player to come from UIC, a major accolade for Curylo and her staff.
In 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Flames finished the shortened season with a record of 9-11. The Flames ceased play after March 8.
Under Curylo's watch in 2019, the Flames tied the program's single-season Horizon League win record (20), while also setting program records in batting average (.323) and slugging percentage (.497). The Flames captured their fifth-consecutive regular season championship in 2019, and finished as tournament runner-ups in their 15th championship appearance as a program. UIC also took home its second-consecutive Horizon League Player of the Year award in Kayla Wedl, and had three representatives on the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team in Lexi Watts, Skylee James and Wedl. James went on to earn a spot on the NFCA All-America Third Team, becoming just the sixth All-American in UIC's history.
In her second season (2018), Curylo brought the Flames to their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance following the squad's second consecutive Horizon League Championship. She was named Horizon League Coach of the Year for the second year running following a 19-4 conference showing and fourth consecutive regular season championship. Seven players earned All-League honors, including Horizon League Player of the Year Lexi Watts. Watts and Kayla Wedl earned national recognition as members of the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First and Third Teams, respectively.
In her first season at the helm in 2017, she took the Flames back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 after they won the regular season for the third year in a row and then captured the Horizon League Championship for the ninth time in program history. She was awarded the title of Horizon League Coach of the Year as UIC went 20-4 against conference foes, setting a program record for most league wins, and posted 35 regular-season victories for the most since 2005 (38). Seven players earned All-League honors, including Pitcher of the Year Elaine Heflin, as Heflin and Lexi Watts were also selected to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team.
As a UIC student-athlete, Curylo starred as an outfielder from 1994-97. She was a member of the Hall of Fame 1994 squad that posted 56 victories and made it all the way to Oklahoma City with the program’s sole Women’s College World Series berth. All told, she was an integral part of 201 victories over four years and the Flames won nearly 73 percent of the time they took the field during that era. Curylo and her UIC teammates posted an eye-popping 58-3 mark in conference play while winning one Mid-Continent Conference championship (1994) and two Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) crowns (1996 & 1997), which is now the Horizon League.
Individually, Curylo’s name remains prominently dotted throughout the UIC record book today. She was a two-time All-MCC First Team selection as an outfielder, earning back-to-back recognitions in 1996 and 1997. She played in all 80 of the team’s games in 1997, which ties Curylo for eighth on the program’s single-season list. She hit 12 triples in four seasons for the Flames, good for sixth on the all-time list. Half of those three-base hits (6) came in 1996, placing her tied for seventh on that single-season chart.
Curylo comes to UIC with a strong familiarity of the Horizon League. For the last six seasons, Curylo has served as the head coach of the Wright State Raiders. Since 2011, she was at the helm for 147 victories including 77 in Horizon League play. No other head softball coach in WSU history won more conference games than Curylo. The Raiders won 18 Horizon League games in 2016, the most in one season by any group on the diamond. The team’s 37 total victories also marked the best single-season output in program history.
In each of the last two seasons, the native Chicagoan positioned Wright State within one win of an NCAA Tournament berth by reaching the championship of the Horizon League Tournament. During her tenure five Raiders earned All-Horizon League First Team recognition, while 14 student-athletes received Second Team nods.
Prior to her arrival in Dayton, Ohio, Curylo worked for two years as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois. The Fighting Illini went 74-25 during her time in Champaign from 2009-10, and the club won 28 Big Ten games. In Curylo’s second season, Illinois won 45 games overall while posting a 16-2 mark in conference play. That group finished second at the NCAA Columbia Regional.
Curylo’s first stint as a collegiate coach came when she worked as an assistant coach at Tennessee State from 2007-08. She helped make an immediate impact on that program as the Tigers won 35 games en route to the first winning season in program history.
She cut her coaching teeth at the high school level as the head coach at Milikan High School in Long Beach, Calif., from 2001-06. Curylo was named the Coach of the Year in 2005 after the Rams won the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship.
Curylo, who was born and raised a Cubs fan on Chicago’s northwest side, graduated from UIC in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. Prior to her matriculation she attended Resurrection College Prep High School in the city’s Norwood Park neighborhood. In 2015 she was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2022, Curylo earned Master of Legal Studies degree from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
What Others are Saying about Lynn Curylo…
Terri Sullivan
Head Coach, University of Illinois (2000-15)
Assistant Coach, UIC (1993-1999)
"Of the many special student-athletes I have had the privilege of coaching, as well as the talented people I have met in college athletics, Lynn is as competitive, driven, and hard-working as ANY of them!
"Because of such qualities, she excels at helping student-athletes realize their own potential in all areas of their lives. Lynn personally thrives on the opportunity to be challenged to be at her best, so no one EVER out-worked her as a player, and no one will as a coach!
"This unwavering enthusiasm, as well as her love of the game and passion to teach it, is contagious to everyone lucky enough to be a part of her “team”. Lynn will lead UIC with great pride into historic, championship caliber play and I know that her fellow alum, colleagues, boosters, fans, and I will be on the edge of our seats watching!"
Jim Schmidt
Athletic Director, UIC
“Bringing Lynn back to UIC was a priority. She is a rising star who has proven she can lead a program. Lynn played for a great coach at UIC in Mike McGovern at the beginning of a run of excellence that is unparalleled in our history. Her work with Coach Terri Sullivan at Illinois added to her skillset.
“Lynn Curylo has great energy and is the ultimate competitor,” said Schmidt. “UIC alumni, fans and our excellent group of returning players won’t find a more dedicated FLAME than Lynn.”
CAREER RECORD
| Year |
University |
Overall Record |
Conference Record |
| 2023 |
UIC |
9-43 |
9-20 |
| 2022 |
UIC |
13-32 |
10-15 |
| 2021 |
UIC |
29-23 |
23-11 |
| 2020* |
UIC |
9-11 |
--- |
| 2019 |
UIC |
32-23 |
20-4 |
| 2018 |
UIC |
33-21 |
19-4 |
| 2017 |
UIC |
39-22 |
20-4 |
|
Seven Seasons |
164-175 (.483) |
101-58 (.632) |
| 2016 |
Wright State |
37-23 |
18-6 |
| 2015 |
Wright State |
23-33 |
13-7 |
| 2014 |
Wright State |
19-32 |
10-13 |
| 2013 |
Wright State |
19-37 |
10-11 |
| 2012 |
Wright State |
23-31 |
10-13 |
| 2011 |
Wright State |
26-29 |
13-11 |
|
Six Seasons |
147-185 (.443) |
74-61 (.548) |
| TOTAL |
13 Seasons |
311-360 (.463) |
175-119 (.592) |
