Laura North has announced her resignation as the head coach of the Upper Iowa University softball program. North is leaving the Peacocks to return home to Oskaloosa, Iowa and lead the William Penn University softball program.
"This has been a very tough week emotionally," said North. "I love my players like my own kids and this has been one of the toughest decisions, knowing that hearts would be broken. We were all so excited about the future and the progress that we had made this season. We were building a great foundation for the Peacocks, and were excited about bringing our returning players together with the incoming recruits for next season. But I cannot pass up the opportunity to coach this game in Oskaloosa, where my family and I have been rooted for the past 20-plus years. I am confident that the next coach will have a great group to work with and continue what we started."
North served as the head softball coach at UIU this past year helping the Peacocks through a rebuilding campaign. North along with the Peacock coaching staff led Upper Iowa to a record of 17-26 overall and a 12th-place finish in the NSIC with a mark of 9-16.
"I want to thank Laura for all that she has sacrificed this year to be the leader of the Peacock softball program," said UIU Vice President for Athletics Rick Hartzell. "She has spent long periods of time away from her family this year to begin the rebuilding process of our program, and I am happy for her and her family that this opportunity presented itself. While it is a big loss for our program, I am confident that we will find the next great leader of our softball program soon and keep the successful trajectory that has been established this year moving forward. Our softball student-athletes have been through a lot over the last few years and they deserve the best."
North coached All-NSIC Second Team performer Laila Pelds this season. Pelds was 13th in conference in batting average (.395), sixth in on-base percentage (.500) and seventh in walks drawn (15). Pelds started all 25 conference games this season and tallied 30 hits in those games including three doubles and four home runs. She also recorded 19 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
At the conclusion of the 2023 season, the Pleasant Hill, Iowa native etched her name into the Peacock record books. She is now 11th on the leader board for batting average in a single season (.396 in 43 games).
North added, "I would like to thank Upper Iowa, President Duffy and AD Rick Hartzell for the opportunity to coach at UIU. I would especially like to thank Sarah Swanson for all the support, guidance and work she has done for me, my staff and the softball program. It was a challenging year, and Sarah worked extremely hard to help us through. I'd like to thank my staff, Erin, Katie and Taylor, as well as all the players and their families. It was such a fun year together, despite the challenges. We all grew together, and I am so proud of everyone. Finally, I'd like to thank the fans and donors that supported us this year by donating to our program and watching us play. Go Peacocks!"
Prior to joining the Peacock softball program, North was the President of the Oskaloosa Indoor Sports Complex and the founder of Diamond Life, LLC which provided lessons, camps, clinics and mentoring for youth softball players.
The Peacocks return five players that all hit above .300 this past season for the 2023-24 campaign. In addition to Pelds, the Peacock non-seniors include Ari Charles (.382, .474 slugging, 58 hits, 36 SB, 33 runs), Kylie Doty (.355, 39 hits, 18 RBI), Taylor Sedam (.320, .448 slugging, 40 hits, 20 RBI), and Rae VanMilligan (.303, .402 slugging, 37 hits, 28 RBI). UIU will also return a ton of experience in the circle with no seniors among the four pitchers that toed the rubber this season.
A national search for the new head coach will begin immediately.
