Friends,

Talk about catching the Spartan Spark!?!? 

Our Softball team — under the leadership of ECC Coach of the Year Kristen Sullivan — has won an incredible 23 games in a row (23 Skidoo!) … won the ECC conference championship two weeks ago … then won the Regionals the following week … and just won the Super Regionals on a grand slam in extra innings! 

Today, the team heads to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the NCAA Division II Softball Elite Eight Championship Tournament. Earlier this morning, our Spartan community gave the team an enthusiastic sendoff and "clapped them out" as they began this historic journey.

The No. 8-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Softball team will open play against No. 1 seed Saint Leo University on Thursday, May 28 at 11:00 AM at Frost Stadium inside Warner Park in Chattanooga. 

This remarkable season has already produced an extraordinary list of accomplishments:

• NCAA East Region Champions — advancing from a region featuring 26 teams across seven states
• One of the final eight teams remaining out of nearly 300 NCAA Division II Softball programs nationwide
• A 23-game winning streak — the longest current run in Division II
• 8 consecutive wins in the postseason, including the last three in a row in dramatic playoff inning fashion!
• The team’s 38 wins, .760 winning percentage and 18 ECC regular-season wins are all new program records
• Head Coach Kristen Sullivan named East Coast Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth consecutive season

STAC Softball team after Super Regional Championship win; President Daly with Alyssa Haberstroh, who hit the winning grand slam during Super Regional Championship

The Road to Chattanooga has been nothing short of historic, with the Spartans claiming:

• ECC Championship over D'Youville University
• East Regional Championship over Adelphi University 
• Super Regional Championship over Assumption University
• And now a berth in the NCAA Elite 8 Softball Championship Tournament

For those near campus, we invite students, faculty, staff, and alumni to join us for a Watch Party on Thursday, May 28 at 11:00 AM in the Romano Student Alumni Center as we rally behind our Spartans together. For those not on campus, the games will be broadcast on ncaa.com.

Beyond their success on the field, our Softball student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom. With an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 87%, STAC student-athletes outperform the NCAA Division II ASR average (77%) — another point of pride for Spartan Athletics.

Together, we lead. We innovate. We ignite the Spark. And now, we celebrate as champions — proving that teamwork drives success both in the classroom and on the field ... and beyond, all the way to Chattanooga! 

I look forward to cheering on and hosting our Spartans in-person in Chattanooga on Thursday and keeping the Spark going as they battle for a National Championship!

Regards,