LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has named the Trine University coaches the 2025 NFCA Division III Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Thunder, led by head coach Donnie Danklefsen and assistants Dennis Smith and Zech Huston, captured the program's second NCAA Division III Softball Championship in three years. They tied the program record for wins in a season with 46 and accomplished the feat with one less loss than the 2023 national championship team.
This season was Danklefsen's 21st at the helm, he is the only coach in during Trine's NCAA Division III history. He ends this season with an overall record of 684-206 and a .769 winning percentage. The Thunder have reached the championship series three of the past four seasons and has reached the final site in six of the past 11 tournaments. This season was the seventh year that Danklefsen and his staff have been recognized as the regional coaching staff of the year and the second national edition of the award.
Statistically, Trine was one of the best offenses in the country. They were second in home runs (75), home runs per game (1.47), RBIs (378) and slugging percentage (.598). They were top five in Hits (480), RBIs per game (7.41), scoring (7.78) and total runs (397). The batters were also smart at the plate leading the country with 186 walks. Individually both Debbie Hill and Tyra Marcum were top-five in the nation in home runs. Hill was also third in the country in RBIs.
The Thunder pitching staff was the most precise in the country. They led the nation with an 8.00 strikeout to walk ratio and with 43 walks while finishing second with three hit batters. They were third best with 0.90 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP), sixth with 17 shutouts, 12th in hits per seven innings (5.34) and 26th with a 2.07 ERA. Alexis Michon was the cornerstone of the pitching staff, standing as one of the best pitchers in the country. She finished first in both strikeout to walk ratio (29.86) and WHIP (0.53) while sitting top-five in ERA (0.75), hits allowed per seven innings (3.45), shutouts (10), strikeouts (209) and walks per seven innings (0.53). She was sixth with 26 wins and tied for 12th with just seven walks allowed.
The defense backed up the pitching turning in the third best fielding percentage in the country at 0.978 while tying for seventh with just 28 errors during the season.
