Florida Polytechnic University has named Stephanie Bylander as its inaugural head coach for men’s and women’s cross country as part of the University’s new Florida Poly Athletics program.
Bylander joins Florida Poly after 11 years at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, including eight seasons as head coach of the women’s cross country and track programs. She brings deep local knowledge, strong recruiting relationships, and a track record of building successful teams in the region.
“I’m leaving a very successful program at Florida Southern, where we’re on a streak of setting school records, and I wouldn’t leave that if I didn’t completely believe in where this program can go,” Bylander said.
Bylander has a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Adams State University, where she was a 10-time All-American student-athlete in cross country and track. She said the opportunity to help shape a new program is especially meaningful.
“As new coaches, we each can create the program we’ve always envisioned we might have one day,” she said. “I already have a bit of a recruiting pipeline, and everybody’s really excited when we tell them about what we’re doing here.”
Florida Poly officials said Bylander’s experience will be instrumental in building a strong foundation for the program from day one.
“We’re super enthusiastic about Stephanie being here as one of our first coaches,” said Derek Lower, Florida Poly’s athletic director. “She brings an incredible level of expertise and knowledge, secured our first commitment, and has connected really well with our current students and incoming recruits.”
Florida Poly’s cross-country teams will launch this fall alongside new programs in baseball, softball and men’s and women’s soccer and basketball.
“Our new athletes are going to be pioneers for us, and they’re really excited about the affordability and opportunity of being able to have high-quality STEM academics and still do athletics,” Bylander said. “They now have a chance that didn’t really exist before, allowing them to study engineering without giving up running.”
Visit the Florida Poly Cross Country Instagram page for more information.
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
