Lori Kwiatkowski is Azusa Pacific's fifth softball coach in the program's 21-year history. Kwiatkowski accepted her first-ever head coaching assignment in the summer of 2005 after longtime Cougar mentor Sharon Lehman retired as the Azusa Pacific's all-time winningest coach.
A former All-GSAC performer at Point Loma Nazarene, Kwiatkowski (pronounced "kwit-COW-skee") returned west after spending 3 seasons as assistant softball and women's basketball coaches at NCAA Division III Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham in Madison, N.J. While at Farleigh Dickinson-Florham, she was the hitting and infield coach and assisted in the recruiting. She also served as the third base coach for the Devils, who in 2005 qualified for the postseason play for the first time in 7 years and collected 22 victories, the second most in program history. In basketball, she was a key figure in the Devils tying the school season-record for most victories in a season (16) and in advancing to the 2005 ECAC championship game.
Kwiatkowski was a 4-year standout third baseman during Point Loma Nazarene's emergence as an NAIA power in which the Crusaders went 170-56 (.752) on the diamond. As a 2002 senior she was a key member on the Crusaders' first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) championship team that went 58-10 and advanced to the NAIA title game. As a 2001 junior she was named All-GSAC and NAIA All-Region after batting .322 with 37 runs scored in 53 games and helped the Crusaders to their first ever regional title and a fifth-place finish at the NAIA tournament. As a 2000 sophomore, when she and her Crusaders had their season come to an end in the NAIA regional playoffs by an Azusa Pacific squad that eventually marched to the NAIA championship game, Kwiatkowski batted .333 with a team-high 8 doubles and was second on the team with 23 RBIs while starting all 53 games. For her collegiate career, Kwiatkowski played in over 200 games and by the time she graduated she was then second on Point Loma’s all-time chart for runs scored (117) and third for career hits (200).
Kwiatkowski prepped at Trabuco Hills High in Mission Viejo, Calif., where she was a 4-time all-conference honorable mention pick and was named the team's top defensive player as a 1998 senior.
Following her collegiate career Kwiatkowski played 5 seasons for the New Jersey Divas of the Amateur Softball Association, leading the Divas to the 23&U; national championship and a third-place finish in the Women's A national tournament in 2003. In 2004, Kwiatkowski was named ASA All-American after batting .545 in the Women’s A national tournament.
A 2002 graduate of Point Loma Nazarene, Kwiatkowski is completing clinical hours for her master's degree in clinical counseling psychology from Farleigh Dickinson-Florham.
Born in New Jersey before her family eventually moved to Southern California, Kwiatkowski comes from an athletic family. Her younger sister, Kristy, was a 4-year All-Ivy League catcher at Yale University, and her brother, Mark, and sisters, Kelly and Jill, each currently play baseball/softball at various levels. Her parents, Mark and Karen have been longtime coach and manager on several club softball levels as well.
