Illinois softball head coach Tyra Perry has been terminated following 11 total seasons as the Illini’s second-ever coach in the sport that a 58-98 overall record over the last three years.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 4, 2026

Tyra Perry has been fired after 11 seasons of being the head coach of the University of Illinois softball program.

The university announced the move immediately following Perry having a meeting with Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman on Monday evening. Perry’s tenure ends with a 301-264 overall record, including a 109-134 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Illini finished the 2026 season at 15-39 overall with a last-place finish in a 17-team Big Ten Conference after a 3-20 league mark.

“Tyra is a wonderful person who served admirably in the role of head coach,” Whitman stated in a university release announcing Perry’s dismissal. “We experienced many high points during the early years of her tenure, including multiple NCAA postseason appearances. However, we have been unable to build upon that early success in recent years, leading me to conclude that a change in leadership is needed. We will always be grateful to Tyra for her hard work on behalf of our program and our student-athletes, and we wish her nothing but the best.”

Perry was hired as the Illini’s second-ever softball head coach in June 2015 by then-athletics director Mike Thomas after back-to-back seasons winning the Mid-American Conference regular season title while leading the Ball State softball program. Through 26 seasons as a NCAA Division I softball head coach, Perry has totaled over 700 career victories as the head coach at Illinois, Ball State, Western Kentucky and Birmingham Southern.

Perry led the Illini program to its first back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances since 2010 in her first two seasons in Champaign-Urbana, and she helped the Illini to 36 wins or more for three-straight seasons, from 2016-18, for the first time in program history. She guided the Illini to another NCAA Regional in 2019 after a 33-25 season.

However, Perry suffered three consecutive disappointing seasons to conclude her time with the Illini where the program went 58-98 overall and 16-50 in Big Ten Conference play.

“I am forever grateful for the opportunity to represent the University of Illinois softball program," Perry stated via the university release announcing her termination. “Coaching here has been a true gift, and I feel incredibly blessed to have worked with some of the most amazing young women. Thank you to everyone who supported me during my time as a Fighting Illini.”

Perry had one year remaining on the contract extension she and Whitman agreed to in July 2023. It raised Perry’s annual salary to $200,000 in 2023 with annual $10,000 increases. She will receive a buyout of roughly $317,000 between the remainder left of her 2026 salary and the entirety of what remains on her Illinois contract.

Unlike women’s sports head coaching searches during his AD tenure in past, most recently resulting in hiring basketball head coach Shauna Green in March 2022 and soccer head coach Katie Hultin in Dec. 2024, Whitman has elected in this instance to make senior associate athletics director for sports administration Sara Burton the point person on the national search for Perry’s replacement and the person who will be the Illini’s third-ever softball head coach.