The University of Rochester softball coaching staff, led by Head Coach Abby Hurley-Martin, was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NCAA Division III Region III Coaching Staff of the Year, as announced by the NFCA.
Hurley-Martin, along with Assistant Coach Cass Platt and Volunteer Assistants Emily Doherty, Rosella Gomez and Bradley Shannon, led the Yellowjackets this season to a 36-10 (13-1 LL) record, winning both the Liberty League regular season and tournament titles. Rochester also made its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Under Hurley-Martin and staff, nine Yellowjackets earned All-Liberty League honors, five received NFCA All-Region accolades, and one was named an All-American. Riley Laygo was named the Liberty League Player of the Year, senior Molly Broccolo was named the Liberty League Pitcher of the Year, Hurley-Martin and her staff were named the conference's Coaching Staff of the Year. Laygo was named to the NFCA All-America First Team and was recognized as the NFCA Division III National Player of the Year.
Rochester's 36 wins are the second-most in a single season in program history, and the Yellowjackets also had one of their best offensive seasons, setting new single-season records in batting average (.367), on-base percentage (.445), slugging percentage (.575), runs (378), hits (467), home runs (52), RBI (347), total bases (731) and walks (171).
The Yellowjackets' offense also ranked in the top 10 in Division III in nine statistical categories, ranking fourth in home runs, on-base percentage, RBI and RBI per game, fifth in home runs per game, scoring, slugging and total runs and 10th in walks, as well as top 20 in batting average, hits and win-loss percentage.
Rochester won its ninth Liberty League title this May, twice defeating Ithaca on the final day of the Liberty League Championship to come back and earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Hurley-Martin, Platt and Shannon earn their second Region III Coaching Staff of the Year honors, having received the award following their first season at the helm in 2024. Overall, the Rochester Softball coaching staff has been named Region Coaching Staff of the Year four times over the past six seasons.