UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball head coach Clarisa Crowell has added Stephanie Sanders to her staff as an assistant coach. Sanders joins Crowell from Miami (Ohio) where she was in the same capacity.
"I am very excited to welcome Coach Sanders to our Penn State family," said head coach Clarisa Crowell. "I know that she will be a great fit for our university, department and program because of the values that she possesses as a person and coach. Coach Sanders is knowledgeable, hard-working, passionate, and she will bring great energy and enthusiasm to our program. She is a firm believer in comprehensive excellence, and most importantly I know that she will relate well to our student-athletes. Coach Sanders will have a positive impact on our program, and I am thrilled that she will be joining our Penn State Softball family."
"I am honored and beyond grateful to be joining Coach Crowell and the Penn State softball program," said Sanders. "It is apparent that there is an immense amount of pride and enthusiasm that surrounds Happy Valley. I believe in the leadership of Coach Crowell and I look forward to supporting her and the student-athletes in our pursuit of developing comprehensive excellence in the classroom, on the field and in the community. We Are!"
Sanders spent two seasons (2019-20) as an assistant at Miami under Crowell in charging of coaching the outfielders and the hitters.
In a shortened 2020 season, Miami was picked to finish first in the regular season and to win the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament.
Sanders helped Miami capture its first MAC regular season championship in program history with a 35-16 overall record and 16-4 mark in conference play. The 16 conference wins tied the most MAC wins in Miami history. The RedHawks also had the highest conference win percentage in program history while putting together the longest conference win streak, winning 10-straight MAC games en route to the crown.
Prior to Miami, Sanders spent two seasons at Villanova as an assistant coach. She coached the outfielders and assisted with hitting. Sanders helped lead the Wildcats to an overall record of 62-44-2 and a conference record of 23-16 in her two-year stint. She spent one season after graduation as the outfield and hitting coach at Saginaw Valley State, and assisted with camps, clinics, strength and conditioning, and recruiting.
As a student-athlete, Sanders was a four-year letterwinner at fellow Big Ten school Michigan State. She appeared in 177 career games, primarily as a utility player, mostly playing outfield. During her senior season in 2015, Sanders posted a .288 batting average, scored 25 runs, totaled 44 hits with 32 RBI and had 16 extra-base hits with seven doubles and nine home runs, all career highs. Her nine home runs tied for the 11th-most in a single season at Michigan State and she ranked second for the Spartans in multi-hit games (15) and multi-RBI games (8).
Sanders, a Lima, Ohio native, earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Michigan State in 2015.
