Francis Marion University Athletics

10 Years •  Career Record: 135-118 •  2x CC Coach of the Year • 2 CC East Division Titles  •  1 CC Championship •  1 NCAA Tournament Appearance • 2 AVCA All-Americans 
 

Lauren Baufield-Edwards is entering her 10th season as the head coach for the Francis Marion University women's volleyball program in 2026.

Baufield-Edwards guided the Patriots to a 21-10 overall record in 2025, a conference-best 18-2 mark, the Conference Carolinas East Division crown, and the No. 1 overall seed in the league tournament, and was named the Coach of the Year (for the second time). The 21-win campaign matches her highest win total in nine seasons at the helm.

In 2025, Baufield-Edwards coached a pair of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Team honorable mentions in Madilyn Gartner and Caroline Lucas. Gartner delivered a breakout junior campaign coming off a season-ending injury and earned Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year, CSC Third-Team Academic All-American, the Conference Carolinas Elite 26 award, and the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s volleyball. Lucas concluded her decorated career ranking third in points (1441.0), fifth in kills (1179), and 13th in blocks (299).

As a team, the Patriots led the Conference Carolinas in kills per set (13.18), assists per set (12.33), digs per set (19.08), and opponent hitting percentage (.153). Gartner finished 15th in NCAA Division II with 462 total kills while Lucas finished 14th with a .377 hitting percentage in 2025.

She climbed to second in all-time coaching wins in program history in 2025, currently sitting at 135 victories (against 118 losses). For the 10th time in program history and the sixth time under Baufield-Edwards, the 2025 Patriots earned a Team Academic Award presented by the AVCA.

She has coached 17 all-conference selections with the Patriots, including six first-team honorees.

Baufield-Edwards earned the school's 2021-22 Frankie Award for Head Coach of the Year after guiding FMU to a 21-11 record, the Conference Carolinas East Division crown, the Conference Carolinas Tournament championship, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. She was also honored as the conference's Coach of the Year, an honor that arrived only two days after the birth of her second son.

In her first five seasons on the Patriot bench, she compiled 66 wins, including a four-win improvement over the first (2017) season, a five-win improvement over her second (2018) season, and a 16-win improvement between the covid-shortened 2020 season and the 2021 campaign. In 2019, she guided the Patriots to an 18-14 mark and a fifth-place finish during the Peach Belt Conference regular season.

A native of Plymouth, Minn., Baufield-Edwards earned a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in sport and leisure management and a master’s degree in kinesiology and sport studies, both from East Tennessee State University. She was a four-year letterwinner on the Buccaneers volleyball squad, including being captain for three seasons. She was a member of the 2010 team which posted an impressive 26 victories, was a three-time Atlantic Sun Conference All-Academic Team honoree, and earned the annual Buc Heart Award given to the player who shows the most heart, passion, and determination on three occasions.

Following her playing career, she spent three seasons on the ETSU staff, during which time the team went 60-38, including a 23-13 campaign in 2012 that culminated in an NCAA Tournament bid.

She served as assistant coach for both the indoor and sand volleyball programs at Division II Eckerd College for one year before returning to her alma mater in March of 2015.

During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the Buccaneers posted a 41-20 combined mark that included the 2016 Southern Conference regular-season championship. The Bucs garnered AVCA Team Academic Awards in both years.

Altogether during her time on the ETSU bench, she coached 13 All-Conference athletes, including two Player of the Year award winners.

She was part of the panel as the Peach Belt Conference welcomed over 100 attendees on Jan. 31, 2019, to the 10th-annual Women in Athletics Seminar in Evans, Ga.

She married Latwan Edwards in June of 2020. She has three sons, Josiah, Elijah, and Ronin, and step-son, Isaiah.

Baufield-Edwards is the 14th head coach in the 53-year history of the Francis Marion program, which boasts a .549 winning percentage (955-783 all-time record).