Mary Yori enters her tenth season as the head softball coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2025. She was hired in June 2015 as the first full-time head softball coach at NWU.
Coach Yori has compiled a 151-128 overall record in eight seasons with the Prairie Wolves. She was the 2016 AD3I All-Independent Co-Coach of the Year in her first season leading the Prairie Wolves program. Coach Yori surpassed the 800-career win total in 2019 and collected her 100 career victory as the head coach at NWU this past season with an 8-2 victory over Luther College on April 17
th. Coach Yori has qualified for the NCAA Tournament as a head coach at all three NCAA Divisions: Colorado State (NCAA Division I), Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA Division II), and Nebraska Wesleyan (NCAA Division III).
In 2023, Nebraska Wesleyan reach the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in the Yori era. The Prairie Wolves earned one ranked win on the season defeating #21 Central College (4-3). Elise Warneke, who was selected to the A-R-C First Team and the NFCA Third Team All-Region, was a crucial member of the 2023 squad. Under coach Yori, 10 student athletes have earned the NFCA/NCAA III scholar athlete honors.
The team took a huge jump in 2022 as NWU reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Prairie Wolves went 23-16, placed sixth in the A-R-C and finished runner-up in the league tournament. Kailey Meyer was named A-R-C Pitcher of the Year and is the first person in program history to have four first-team all-conference honors. Additionally, Val Gerlach and Taylor Styskal picked up All-Conference second-team honors and Hanna Roth was named honorable mention. Emma Alfieri and Kailey Meyer were named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team. Meyer and Gerlach were also named to the All-Region team. Under coach Yori, nine student athletes have earned the NFCA/NCAA III scholar athlete honors.
The 2021 season was limited and adjusted due to the COVID-19 global health pandemic but the team was able to still play 37 games. The Prairie Wolves gained great momentum in the second half of the season and concluded the season at the American Rivers Conference Softball Championships with a second place finish, losing the final two games in the championship series by one run each. Kailey Meyer became the only player in program history to be named first-team all-conference for three consecutive years. Emma Alfieri and Alycin Braun were also named to the A-R-C All-Conference team with Braun also being selected NFCA All-Region. Additionally, Braun earned CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition. In total, eleven players were named NFCA/NCAA III Scholar-Athletes.
The 2020 season was cut short with NWU going 8-4 in the 12 games that were played before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 global health pandemic. Nine players were named NFCA/NCAA III Scholar Athletes during the shortened season.
Yori's 2019 team ended the season with a 22-14 overall record, the best winning percentage she has compiled during her tenure at NWU. The Prairie Wolves finished tied for sixth in the A-R-C standings and just missed out on the postseason conference tournament due to a tiebreaker. Kailey Meyer was named first-team all-conference and Morgan Shipley garnered second-team honors. Payton Swanson was named NFCA All-Region and nine players were named NFCA/NCAA III Scholar-Athletes.
During the 2018 season, Yori guided NWU to a 22-18 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (now named American Rivers Conference). NWU qualified for the conference postseason tournament, advancing to the semifinal round. The 22 victories were the most for a Prairie Wolf softball team since 2010. Jordan Arndt, Nicole Vana, and Kailey Meyer were first-team all-conference selections as Meyer was named NFCA All-Region and 10 players were named NFCA/NCAA III Scholar-Athletes.
In 2017, the Prairie Wolves posted an 18-18 record in their first season competing exclusively as an NCAA Division III program. The team posted a 15-6 non-conference record, including an upset victory over 14th-ranked Moravian on their trip to Florida. Yori had Madi Francis earn CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition and had 11 players named NFCA/NCAA III Scholar-Athletes.
Yori's first season with the Prairie Wolves was 2016, and she led NWU to a 21-19 overall record and came up just one game shy of qualifying for the national tournament. NWU earned a spot in the GPAC Postseason Tournament and won three games before being eliminated one game before the title game. It was the eighth time a Nebraska Wesleyan softball team posted a 20-win season. That season, six players earned GPAC All-Conference recognition, including first-team selection Rachel Kubik who, at that time, was only the third player in NWU history to become a two-time first-team honoree.
Overall at Nebraska Wesleyan, Yori has coached six first-team all-conference selections, 16 total all-conference players and had five of her players have receive NFCA All-Region accolades.
Yori has an extensive softball coaching background at all levels of play. Prior to coming to NWU, Yori served as the Director of Coach and Player Development for the youth sport’s organization, TEAM-Nebraska Softball.
For 10 years, she was the head coach at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and amassed a record of 276-242, which made her the program’s all-time winningest coach. During her tenure at CSU, she earned two Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year awards and guided the Rams to the 2003 MWC tournament title and 2004 regular-season championship. This team also qualified in the NCAA Tournament in 2003.
Prior to Colorado State, Yori served as head softball coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha putting together a winning record of 459-158 from 1988-99. During that time, she guided the program to 10 consecutive NCAA regional tournament appearances and UNO won the North Central Conference championship in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. At UNO, she won nearly 75 percent of the games she coached, the fifth highest figure in NCAA Division II history. She was inducted into the UNO Hall of Fame in 2007 for her coaching accomplishments.
Yori started her coaching career as an assistant at her alma mater, Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She played for the Bluejays, earning All-America honors twice and was inducted into the Creighton Hall of Fame in 1992.
Yori also serves as the Director of Intramural Sports at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Coach Yori's Record at NWU
| Year |
Overall Record |
Conference Record (Finish) |
| 2016 |
21-19 |
10-12 (T-7th, GPAC) |
| 2017 |
18-18 |
3-11 (7th, IIAC) |
| 2018 |
22-18 |
8-8 (4th, IIAC) |
| 2019 |
22-14 |
7-9 (T-6th, A-R-C) |
| 2020 |
8-4 |
No Conferenece Games Played |
| 2021 |
16-21 |
11-13 (6th, A-R-C) |
| 2022 |
23-16 |
8-8 (6th, A-R-C) |
| 2023 |
21-18 |
6-10 (6th, A-R-C) |
| Career |
151-128 |
53-71 |
*The 2020 Season Was Cut Short Due To The COVID-19 Global Health Pandemic
Coach Yori's Record at Four-Year Institutions
| Nebraska-Omaha (1988-99) |
459-158 |
| Colorado State (2001-10) |
276-242 |
| Nebraska Wesleyan (2016-Present) |
151-28 |
| Career |
886-538 |
