The Muhlenberg softball coaching staff was selected by its peers as the 2026 ATEC/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Region V Coaching Staff of the Year.
Previously named Centennial Conference coaching staff of the year, head coach
Sarah Leavenworth and assistants
Maddisen Bieber,
Jean Buskirk, and
Lee Maulorico guided the Mules to a 36-13 record, setting a College record for wins in a season by any sport.
Muhlenberg finished second in the CC regular season and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament,
winning the Medford regional by going 3-0 against nationally ranked opponents to advance to the super regionals for the first time in program history. In the super regionals, the Mules took defending national champion Trine, ranked fourth in Division III, to a decisive third game and extra innings before falling on a walkoff home run.
The advancement in the NCAA Tournament matched the best ever by a Muhlenberg women's team, and softball became the first Mule team in any sport to win four NCAA Tournament contests in the same season.
The Mules achieved their tremendous success with a truly unique offensive style that did not include the long ball: Remarkably, the team did not hit a home run all season. Only six other NCAA softball teams (in all three divisions) went through the entire 2026 season without hitting a home run, and they
combined to win only 31 games.
In addition to wins, Muhlenberg set school records for hits, runs, stolen bases, shutouts, and strikeouts in a season. Out of 393 Division III teams, the Mules rank 12th in hits, 14th in stolen bases, 23rd in shutouts, 14th in fewest hits allowed per nine innings, and in the top quarter in team batting average (.342), ERA (2.43), and fielding percentage (.961).
Seven different Mule players earned
all-conference and/or
all-region recognition, including the CC rookie of the year, a different player who was the
NFCA Region V freshman of the year, and the CC
Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Fourteen team members were named to the CC Academic Honor Roll.
