A new leader has emerged for the softball team. Kelliner Croushore, who served as interim head coach for the 2025 season, was named the program’s permanent head coach on Friday.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after the end of a season that saw the Leopards go 7-31 overall and 5-13 in Patriot League action, good for their most conference wins since 2017. Additionally, the team recorded its first Patriot League sweep since 2008 as part of a five-game win streak, its longest since 2017.
“It means everything,” Croushore said. “To have the continuous trust of the department, to have me take the interim tag off and have that trust again, continue on with me, have that from the team which means that they enjoyed what we were doing this year.”
Croushore was hired as an assistant coach in July 2024 after serving as the head softball coach at Occidental College for five seasons. She assumed the interim position in January — shortly before the start of spring practices — after former head coach Karavin Dew resigned in January to accept a performance coaching job with the Cincinnati Reds.
“Kelliner stepped up to the task when we asked her to take over the head coaching role on an interim basis in January and she guided our program through the spring,” Director of Athletics Sherryta Freeman said in a statement for GoLeopards. “We can’t wait to see what is ahead for Lafayette softball under her leadership.”
Freeman did not respond to requests for comment.
Croushore said that her experience of taking over a team in the midst of rebuilding at Occidental prepared her to step into the full-time position for the Leopards.
“This time I knew, ‘OK, I’ve done this before, we can handle this,’” she said. “The girls really fed off of me, and knowing what they needed from me at that time was strength and guidance, and that’s what I gave them. We were able to move on pretty quickly from it.”
Numbers in all offensive metrics improved significantly in Croushore’s interim season. The team batting average sat at .247 in 2025, a 51-point boost from 2024. Furthermore, on-base plus slugging jumped 106 points between the seasons. Conference play marked even greater improvements, including a 109-point batting average increase and a 257-point improvement in OPS.
“Coach K’s biggest phrase is ‘own your output,’” rising junior catcher Regan Dillon said. “We know what works for us, but it’s really her guidance and her mentorship that has helped us continue to grow.”
Other achievements in Croushore’s initial season included the team’s first conference mercy-rule win since 2018 and its first All-Patriot League First-Team selection since 2013 in senior outfielder Mary Grace O’Neill, who posted a league second-best .423 batting average.
Now at the helm full-time, Croushore has given a lot for her players to embrace, according to Dillon.
“One of the biggest things we do before games is affirmations,” Dillon said. “She has really instilled the belief in all of us that we are capable and we are good enough, and our best will be anyone else’s best.”
With a long offseason ahead of her, Croushore said she is focused on setting the tone for the team’s culture.
“I truly believe games can be won and lost in the locker room before you even step out on the field,” Croushore said. “We’re still trying to get better and make that Patriot League Tournament and win that championship.”
Benjamin White ’27 contributed reporting.