College Softball Program of the Day #007: Saint Leo Lions 54-3-1. A 38-game winning streak. The fewest losses by a national champion in NCAA Division II softball history. 2027 and 2028 players, if you want to see what complete dominance looks like at the D2 level, look at Saint Leo University, just north of Tampa, Florida. In 2026 the Lions won the first national championship in the program's 45-year history. The 2026 season by the numbers: - 54-3-1 overall, a program record for wins - 29-1 in the Sunshine State Conference and their first SSC crown in nearly a decade - Held the No. 1 national ranking and was the top seed through the postseason - 10-0 in the NCAA tournament and 29-0-1 at home - Won 49 of their last 50 games - Swept McKendree in the national championship series, 15-4 and 5-2, after beating West Texas A&M 5-4 in 10 innings in the semifinals The pitching was suffocating. As a staff the Lions posted a 1.77 ERA and held opponents to a .194 average. Tierney Hocquard went 25-1 with a 1.72 ERA, 157 strikeouts and nine shutouts in 179 innings. Alex Wright went 15-0 with a 1.33 ERA and saved the title game. Haleigh Thomas went 9-1 with a 2.05 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 71.2 innings. The lineup hit .343 as a team, scored 374 runs and stole 100 bases. Izzy LaRoche hit .413 in her first season with the Lions and went 11-for-11 on steals. Freshman Abigail Hynes hit .406 with 56 RBIs and was SSC Freshman of the Year. Briana Neal hit .390 with 10 home runs, 70 runs, 28 steals and a .491 on-base percentage. Alexis Barber hit .363 and was named Most Outstanding Player of the national tournament. Head coach Erin Kinberger is a Saint Leo alum and Hall of Famer who has led her alma mater since 2014, with more than 425 wins at Saint Leo after three seasons as head coach at Fort Hays State. She is a four-time SSC Coach of the Year, and her staff was voted the 2026 ATEC/NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year. A year before the title, she was finishing chemotherapy for breast cancer, and she never missed a practice. Her 2027 staff includes assistants Zack Carver, an Indiana grad, Logan Pickford, a George Mason alum who won an Atlantic 10 title as a player in 2023, and Pat Affrunti. The pipeline: Saint Leo builds with Florida talent, transfers who make an instant impact like LaRoche, and players from as far away as Canada like Hocquard. The staff runs prospect camps on campus, and this fall's ID camp drew recruits from the 2028 and 2029 classes. What it means for you: Saint Leo is proof that D2 softball can be elite softball. This staff wins with pitching depth, contact hitters and speed, and they're recruiting off a national title. If you want to play for a program like this, you need clean video, real numbers and a plan to get in front of the coaches before their camps fill up. @SaintLeoSB @SaintLeoLions @EKinberger @Zcarv_1 @LPicky15 National Softball Recruiting | @NatlSBRecruit 2027 and 2028 players and parents, DM us "INFO" and we'll help you build a real list of schools and a plan to get seen.