2026 Team of Distinction
The 2026 Team of Distinction made history by becoming the first NJCAA Fast Pitch Softball team to win back-to-back National Championships.
In the 1980 and 1981 seasons, the ECC Lady Kats softball teams compiled a record of 45-2 in NJCAA Region III play. Despite being a non-scholarship team, the Kats competed against many 2 and 4-year scholarship program teams and tallied an overall record of 61-and-7 during those two seasons.
The Lady Kats won the Penn-York Conference Championship, Region 3 Championship in 1980 and went on to win the NJCAA Championship with a 4-and-0 record in tournament play.
When the 1981 season opened, the Lady Kats had only 4 players returning from the previous year’s championship team. Despite that roster turnover, ECC once again won the Penn-York Conference Championship, Region 3 Championship – and went 5-and-1, coming out of the loser’s bracket, to win their second consecutive national championship title.
In addition to the team’s success, several individual players were honored, including four All-Americans, and several players on All-Tournament, All-Region and All-Conference teams. Each year, 4 Lady Kats were named to the National All-Tournament Team.The Lady Kats head coach, Santo DeSain, won the NJCAA Coach of the Year both seasons, and Sally Wood was named the NJCAA Tournament MVP in 1980 and Sue O’Callaghan captured the same honor the following year.
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