LOUISVILLE, KY.-- The NFCA has named the Trine softball coaching staff the top coaching staff in the NCAA Division III Central Region.
Head coach Don Danklefsen and assistants Neil Smith, Dennis Smith and Sarah Belote led the Thunder to their best season in school-history as the team finished with a school-record 43 wins. Along the way, Trine won the first Regional and Super-Regional Championships in school-history to earn their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship. The Thunder won the MIAA regular-season title for the third-consecutive season and their second-straight MIAA Tournament crown. TU has won 46-straight MIAA games. The team produced an All-American, two Academic All-Americans, five NFCA All-Central Region and eight All-MIAA performers. Trine finished the season ranked ninth in the nation by the NFCA.
The school-record setting season set another new benchmark as Trine continues to climb into the ranks of the nation's elite programs. Under Coach Danklefsen, the Thunder have won six MIAA regular-season titles and six MIAA Tournament crowns. TU has won the regular-season or tournament title each of the last eight seasons and have appeared in the NCAA Regionals in every year during that span.
This season, Trine led the nation with a .576 slugging percentage. The Thunder also ranked among the nation's leaders in home runs per game (second), scoring (third), and batting average (10th). The Thunder also ranked 21st in the nation in fielding percentage and 38th in ERA.
Junior center fielder Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) tied the NCAA Division III record with 17 triples on her way to her second-consecutive All-American campaign. Searles and Bree Fuller (Hubbardston, Mich./Fulton) were named Academic All-Americans.
The NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year awards are voted on by NFCA-member coaches in each of the NCAA's eight regions.