River Forest, Ill. - Coming off of a fantastic season, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars have officially put a close to the 2025 season. This season, under the direction of Head Coach Sarah O'Malley-Fisher in her 13th season at CUC, the Cougars were a force to reckon with from day one. The Cougars not only clinched a spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) but they were also seeded as the number four team. On top of that, four Cougars, McKyler Morris (Belvidere, Ill.), Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz), Emily Garcia (Eastvale, Calif.), and Alyssa Campos (Eastvale, Calif.) all received post season honors while O'Malley-Fisher and her staff received Coaching Staff of the Year. With so much to celebrate, let's take a look back.

A few words from Coach O'Malley-Fisher About the Season

"The 25 season was one of the most fun years I have had coaching. I have had great teams in the past, but to watch this group develop from 23 individuals to 23 teammates on the field was so much fun to be a part of. Their ability to let things go, celebrate the little things and keep moving forward has taken our expectations up. They upheld our standards and left the program better than when we started in the fall."

Season Recap

During spring break, the Cougars took a trip down to Melbourne, Florida to compete in a four-day Cocoa Beach Spring Training Tournament to open their season. Each day the team would play two games against different teams where on day one they competed against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Mount Mary University. While they fell 4-1 to Rose-Hulman in their season opener, the Cougars quickly picked themselves back up with a 11-5 win over Mount Mary allowing a split on opening day. Day two was another battle against Rose-Hulman but the Cougars were not able to match the runs put up in the final inning of play and fell 6-4, however in their second game of the day against Houghton University, the Cougars had a dominating 9-1 win, splitting yet again. 

The Cougars had a day off before heading into the final two days of play. Day three had an exciting start where the team took on Concordia College. The game was a true fight between the pitchers but Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) prevailed where she pitched her first no-hitter and led the Cougars to a 2-0 win. Unfortunately, the Cougars then fell to John Carroll University in the second game of the day, 6-2. The final day of play consisted of games against Rivier University and Misericordia University, where the Cougars yet again split on the day, picking up a 6-0 win over Rivier, but falling to Misericordia 13-0. Though not ending how the team hoped, the Cougars left Florida splitting each day, going 4-4 overall. 

Back in Illinois, the Cougars had a few non-conference double-header games before heading into NACC play. On the docket, the Cougars hosted Wheaton College, Carthage College, and North Park University. Against Wheaton, the two teams competed in close battles, but the Cougars prevailed taking both games 4-2 and 4-3 respectively. After a weather postponement, a week later the Cougars hosted Carthage where they unfortunately fell in both games, 7-4 and 18-8, but with North Park the next day, there was no time to hang their heads. The Cougars fell 6-0 in their first game against North Park but pulled off a Cougar comeback in game two, winning 8-5.

The remaining 26 games of the season would all be NACC double-headers with the exception of a double header against Lake Forest about halfway through. 

Opening conference play, the Cougars hosted St. Norbert College. The Cougars faced a tough loss in game one 3-1, but went into extra innings for game two. In eight innings of play, the Cougars took a nail-biting 1-0 win to split on the day. Next up, the Cougars hosted Aurora University April 3rd, after a weather cancellation caused postponement. Game one the Cougars couldn't quite get the necessary momentum they needed so they fell 12-2, but in game two, the Cougars found it in them to pull off another split in conference play where they won 7-1.

The next four teams up were Edgewood College, Alverno College, Marian University, and Rockford University, where the Cougars swept all four and had a nine game winning streak, their longest win streak since 2016. Against Edgewood in two close games, the Cougars won 9-8 and 8-4. The Cougars then took on Alverno just a day later where game one was a close 8-7 win for the Cougars, and game two the Cougar offense flourished where they won 23-2. Marian put up a good fight in game one, but the Cougars were able to grab one run to solidify the game one win, and then in game two carried over another win with the final score being 8-2. To round out their winning streak, the Cougars traveled to Rockford where they took game one 9-3 and game two 6-4 in 10 innings. 

With two more game days before heading into one final non-conference matchup, the Cougars had two on the road battles. First, the Cougars traveled to Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) where they lost in game one after five innings 5-0. However, pulling off another NACC split, the Cougars took a game two win 10-5. Just three days later, the team then traveled to Lakeland University where in the same fashion, the two teams split on the day. With a slight changeup, the Cougars took game one 6-5, but then fell 7-0 in game two. 

Taking a break from conference play, the Cougars traveled to Lake Forest to take on Lake Forest College. Unfortunately, in game one, the Cougars fell 11-3 in six innings. In game two, the Cougars were just starting to game momentum in their favor, but with a lack of daylight, the game ended in a 7-7 tie.

The end of the regular season was just around the corner, where the Cougars only had eight more games, four opponents, to hopefully play after the regular season. Perhaps the toughest stretch in the season, the Cougars had to take on Wisconsin Lutheran College, Benedictine University, Dominican University, and Concordia University Wisconsin. 

Hosting Wisconsin Lutheran, the Cougars came out hot in game one with an 8-0 win in five innings, and in game two, the Cougars stayed composed taking game two as well, 4-3. With the sweep over Wisconsin Lutheran, the Cougars grabbed their 20th and 21st wins of the season, the first time they've done this since 2018. Not only did they hit a great milestone, but these wins also clinched them a spot in the 2025 NACC tournament. 

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Traveling to Benedictine, the Cougars fell in both games 6-3 and 4-3, but had to do a quick turn around before heading into battle against Dominican. In game one, the Cougars trailed until the final inning, where Campos hit a walkoff single to bring in the needed runs for the Cougars to win 5-4. After an exciting first game, game two was nothing short of the same. The two teams battled, where the Cougars were up by as much as 8-2, until Dominican would answer until the game was tied at 10 apiece. The two teams went into extra innings, where it wasn't until the tenth inning before either team scored again. Dominican put up two runs in the top of the inning, but the Cougars put up three, highlighted by another walkoff single by Campos. With the final score 13-12, the Cougars swept Dominican for the first time since 2015. On top of these huge wins, the Cougars also celebrated their three seniors, Kallie Tierney, Geng, and Shroll.

The final regular season games were on the road against Concordia Wisconsin where the Cougars unfortunately fell in both 7-1 and 9-1, but with the team clinching placement in the NACC tournament early on, the Cougars decided their own fate for postseason play. 

The team clinched the number four seed, putting them up against the number five MSOE for their first game of the tournament. The Cougars unfortunately fell 6-4, and because day one was a single elimination game, the 2025 season had come to an end. The Cougars had a fantastic season where they ended 23-17-1 overall and 16-8 in conference play.

Highlights from O'Malley-Fisher

"There are so many [highlights]... the Shroll no hitter with Jess catching, and Kallie having a day made our spring break trip special. (Also cannot forget Esme having an unbelievable game vs. Mt. Mary.) Morgan from coming back from an injury and starting to throw, and Katelyn for overcoming thoracic outlook and playing a stellar second base. We had special games against St Norbert with Jess hitting a sac fly to score Em Garcia to win in extras… The double header against Edgewood where we were down both games and had players like Katelyn Smith make spectacular plays on defense and McKyler have a 7-8 day with 2 homeruns. Our games against Marian where our bench showed unbelievable spirit and we played two fantastic games. Our games against Rockford with extra innings where our pitching staff of Eden Pufahl, Alyssa Lopez, Alyssa Campos, Megan Bouska, Morgan Houfek, and Ash Shroll all had each other's backs for a sweep and Arissa came through with a huge double. Our MSOE split where Linley hit her first career home run. Of course, our double header vs. Dominican where we had two walk-offs by Alyssa Campos and on Senior day where Jess, Ash, and Kallie all helped us win. I know there are more highlights but those are the ones that stand out."

NACC Players of the Week

Shroll, Morris, and Campos each grabbed either pitcher or position player of the week for their standout performances throughout the season.

Shroll was the first to grab this accomplishment after she pitched her no-hitter in Florida against Concordia College. For the week, Shroll pitched 11 innings, where against Concordia College she pitched seven innings with two strikeouts on 21 batters faced. She held a 2.55 ERA for the week after collecting four total strikeouts on the spring break trip.

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Morris was next to reach this accomplishment after the long win streak starting with wins over Aurora. Morris led the week going 12 for 18 at the plate and averaged .667. With three triples and two home runs, she collected nine RBIs. Morris also stole one base and had seven runs to hold a .727 on base percentage. In the field, she had seven putouts with zero errors.

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Campos picked up the final NACC player of the week accolade for the Cougars this season after outstanding performances against Dominican and Concordia Wisconsin. Campos picked up eight hits holding a .571 average on the week while adding seven RBIs and two runs of her own. Campos was responsible for both walk off wins over Dominican and despite the losses to Concordia Wisconsin she picked up her first and second career home runs against the team, one in each game. In the field, Campos also had a great week with four putouts, eight assists, and zero errors. 

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Postseason Honors

Four Cougars earned NACC All-Conference accolades. Morris, Geng, Garcia, and Campos each received their own respective honors, as well as O'Malley-Fisher who picked up her first ever Coach of the Year recognition.

Morris was the lone Cougar to be named to the All-NACC First Team for her memorable performance in her sophomore season. Morris appeared and started in all 41 games where she primarily played in center field. She led the team with a .411 batting average, as well as led in hits with 50, RBIs with 33, and home runs with four. Her efforts placed her sixth in conference in batting average, eighth in doubles, and 11th in fielding percentage. 

Geng, a senior, earned All-NACC Second Team in her final season as a Cougar. Geng was the primary catcher for the Cougars and finished the season with a .386 batting average, the second highest on the team. Alongside Morris, Geng also played and started in all 41 games, where she had the most at-bats for the team with 127. She went on to collect 49 hits, 29 RBIs and 70 total bases. She led the team in doubles with 15 and went a perfect six-for-six on stolen bases. In conference, Geng finished fifth in doubles, fifth in sacrifice flies, and 14th in runners caught stealing. 

Garcia was the other Cougar to earn All-NACC Second Team. Garcia started as the designated hitter before later playing in the field at second base. Garcia appeared in 39 games with 31 of them being starts. With 41 hits on the season as well as 10 doubles, one triple and two home runs, she held a .380 batting average. Garcia also had 19 RBIs while leading the team with a perfect eight-for-eight stolen bases. In conference, Garcia finished eighth in on base percentage, tenth in runs scored, and second in hit by pitch. 

Campos was the final recipient of All-NACC honors where she received Honorable Mention. With this being her collegiate career opening season, Campos put up great numbers. She had a batting average of .313 with 38 appearances. In those appearances, she had a total of 26 hits, six doubles, and two home runs in the two final regular season games. Campos appeared both on the field and in the circle for the Cougars where she picked up 32 putouts and 67 assists with a fielding percentage of .943 as well as collected 14 strikeouts, in 39 innings. In conference, Campos finished sixth in sacrifice flies and 14th in assists. 

Words from O-Malley-Fisher on Postseason Player Accolades

"I am so proud of all of them. Jess's leadership was unbelievable and she was able to have a tremendous year. Emily for working hard to come back from surgery in the fall and for having a fantastic year. McKyler for stepping in to learn a new position and never complaining about it but having a fantastic year. Alyssa had an extremely quiet year and made it loud at the end. All four of them represent what our team of 23 exemplified. We celebrated the little things and they celebrated with each other."

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On top of the All-NACC accolades, five Cougars, Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.), Eden Pufahl (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Shroll, Geng, and Morris all received CSC Academic All District. To make the CSC Academic All-District Team student-athletes must have a 3.5 GPA or above in order to be nominated. These athletes will now be moved forward to the CSC Academic All-America ballot for a chance to receive first or second team recognition, which will be announced on June 17th.

Shroll picked up her first CSC Academic All-District recognition after rounding out her career strong inside the circle for the Cougars as the primary arm. As a business major, Shroll rounded out her career with a 3.52 GPA. Santos picked up her second consecutive recognition on the All-District team. As a psychology major, Santos has accumulated a 3.96 GPA. Geng earned her third consecutive recognition on the All-District team after rounding out her career as the primary catcher. Graduating with a business major, Geng rounded out her career with a 3.86 GPA. Primarily working as a centerfielder for the Cougars, Morris had a phenomenal sophomore season. With a major in marketing, Morris has accumulated a 3.95 GPA. Pufahl picked up her first postseason honor after boasting the team low ERA this season. She closed the season with a 3.73 ERA and three wins while holding her opponents to a .310 batting average against her. As a kinesiology major, Pufahl has accumulated a 3.62 GPA.

Five Cougars Earn CSC Academic All-District Honors https://t.co/vHI0liBgiG

— CUC Athletics (@CUChicagoSports) May 27, 2025

After 13 seasons with the Cougars, O'Malley-Fisher led the team to their first 20+ winning season since 2019. O'Malley-Fisher not only led the team to an overall 23 wins, but she also led the team to 16 conference wins, two of which over Dominica, something the team hadn't achieved since 2015. Under O'Malley-Fisher, assistants, Dave Golitko in his ninth year with the Cougars, as well as alumni and assistant coaches Izzy Ortiz, Sydney Paulauskis-Lauher, Taylor Kulaszewicz, and graduate assistant Bella Archuletta, the team picked up NACC Coaching Staff of the Year. The combined efforts of these leaders proved worthy after such a successful season.

Coach O'Malley-Fisher to her Coaching Staff

"As far as my coaching staff… I am truly the lucky one. Dave has been an amazing colleague and friend who has pushed me to try new things and learn. Bella is such a  gift. I have been lucky to watch her grow into the person she is as a player and now to see her in her role is so much fun. To have three other alumni come back and bring their experiences and knowledge of not only being a part of our program but challenging us to do different things was a coach's dream. Izzy worked with a new group of outfielders and got everything she could out of them. Syd and Taylor helped our pitching and catching staff grow in not only the nuances of what it is to play the positions, but in helping our athletes learn the mental part of those positions and the game. All five of them made the year a great learning process and the results speak for themselves. All I can say is thank you - for all their hard work and dedication to the program they helped build."

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Graduating Seniors

As mentioned earlier, three Cougars will be moving on from CUC softball. Tierney, Geng, and Shroll were all recognized at the final home games of the season after the sweep over Dominican. All three played crucial roles on the team, playing numerous positions throughout their time as a Cougar and their presence will be missed in future seasons. 

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Impactful Returners

With just three Cougars graduating, the team will have a full team of veterans returning for the 2026 season. NACC honorees Morris, Garcia, and Campos will return to continue leading the Cougar hitting. Morris will continue to command the outfield, while Garcia and Campos will control the infield, looking to lead the Cougars to yet another successful season.

Other impactful players to lookout for include Linley Southern (Decatur, Ill.) who came out in her first season as a Cougar softball player, as well as Emily Lucero (Chino, Calif.) who had a glimpse into protecting home plate. Impactful infield players to keep an eye on include Katelyn Smith (Chatsworth, Ga.), Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.), and Mayah Larenas (Chino, Calif.). 

Aside from Shroll, the Cougars number one, all pitchers will return to defend the circle for the Cougars.

Statistical Leaders

Batting

Batting Average - McKyler Morris, .411

Slugging Percentage - McKyler Morris, .613

Runs Scored - Emily Garcia, 33

Hits - McKyler Morris, 51

Home Runs - McKyler Morris and Arissa Santos, 4

Stolen Bases - Emily Garcia, 8

Pitching

Earned Run Average - Eden Pufahl, 3.73

Innings Pitched - Ashley Shroll, 68.2

Strikeouts - Ashley Shroll, 33

Fielding

Putouts - Mayah Larenas, 277

Assists - Arissa Santos, 105

Fielding Double Plays - Arissa Santos, 14

Season Highlights

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The Cougars will be back in the spring of 2026 for another season of CUC softball. Coverage for all things postseason CUC softball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.