Karen Baird was named Lawrence Tech’s second head coach in program history on July 31, 2017.
In the 2023 season, the Blue Devils went 24-25 and reached the WHAC Tournament. The Blue Devils faced No. 3 ranked Georgia Gwinnett in the NCFA Leadoff Classic Tournament, winning 5-4 in a thriller.
Entering the 2022 season, Baird's young talented squad ended their season with an overall record of 13-31 and 10-12 in conference. Baird was honored to have coached one All-Conference First Team member and one All-Conference Second Team member.
In Baird's fourth season, the Blue Devils completed their season with a 17-20 overall record and 8-12 in conference. Baird was able to coach one All-Conference First Team member, and four All-Conference Second Team members. LTU ranked 15th in the NAIA in chances per game with 30.19, 17th in putouts per game with 20.97, 18th in innings pitched per game with 6.78, 24th in at-bats per game with 27.93, and top-50 in assists per game with 8.16.
After the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Blue Devils finished with an 11-11 (.500) overall record.
The 2019 season was a special one for the Blue Devils as they went 34-9-1 overall and 16-5-1 in the WHAC to finish the regular season in second place.
Her first season in 2018 saw Baird led LTU to a 22-18 mark, at the time the best record in program history while leading the Blue Devils to the WHAC Championship game for the first time.
Baird spent the 2016-17 season as an assistant coach at Oakland University and brings over 16 years of head coaching experience to the Lawrence Tech softball program. At Oakland, she coached a Horizon League Co-Freshman of the Year along with two first-team and three second-team honorees.
Before Oakland, Baird was the head coach at Eastern Michigan University for 10 seasons (2003-2013). Her teams consistently ranked Top-10 nationally in Division I in GPA including first in 2004 (3.55), third in 2007 (3.52), sixth in 2005 (3.46), eighth in 2006 (3.41), and ninth in2012 (3.55). She also led the team to a Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division title and first-ever MAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth in 2007 while being named the MAC Coach of the Year.
Prior to her tenure at EMU, Baird spent six years as the head softball coach at Albion (1998-2002) guiding the Britons to three consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate (MIAA) Tournament appearances including a title in 2001.
Baird earned a master's degree in sports administration from Wayne State University in 2000. She earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education and recreation in 1994 from Adrian College where she was a three-time MIAA softball all-league selection and league MVP in 1993.
