Prather, who has been at Illinois Wesleyan the past three seasons, helped the Titans reach the Division III championship game on Tuesday as the Titans compiled a 40-win season en route to the national runner-up finish. During her tenure at IWU, Prather helped the program to three consecutive CCIW and regional championships and three straight NCAA tournament appearances. The program finished seventh, fifth and second in its three NCAA postseason appearances.

"I'm truly honored to have this incredible opportunity to lead the program at University of the Ozarks," said Prather. " I want to continue to empower the student-athletes to be the best in classroom while creating a competitive winning culture on the field."

Prior to her three-year stint at Illinois Wesleyan, Prather spent three seasons as assistant coach at Lake Land College helping the program to a pair of NJCAA national tournament appearances. She also spent three seasons at Millikin University where the program won a conference championship. In addition to her postseason success at Illinois Wesleyan, Prather helped the 2013 Lake Land team to a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament.

"Denise Prather has been a part of winning programs throughout her career, and has been involved with one of the elite NCAA Division III softball programs for three straight seasons," said Clark. "Every head coach I talked to had outstanding things to say about her coaching and recruiting ability. She knows how to do it all, and will be able to build our program."

A native of Mount Zion, Ill., Prather played at University of Illinois. She received her bachelor's degree in kinesiology with a concentration in athletic training from Illinois (2009) and holds a masters degree in sport management from Illinois State University.

Story and photo courtesy or Ozarks Sports Information