(Updated May 12, 2026) Head Coach Sue Kunkle heads into her 26th year leading University of Southern Indiana Softball in 2026-27. Kunkle is USI's all-time winningest coach with a 706-522-1 (.575) overall record.
In addition, Kunkle has seen seven different student-athletes garner 18 total All-America honors, two Midwest Region Pitcher/Player of the Year accolades, 29 different players earn 61 total All-Region awards, three GLVC Player/Pitcher of the Year awards, two OVC Player/Pitcher of the Year awards, one OVC Freshman of the Year award, and 54 student-athletes collect 95 total All-Conference accolades. USI has also gotten the job done in the classroom under Kunkle, with four players earning five Academic All-America honors, 26 student-athletes earning 38 Academic All-District awards, 91 players earning 215 Academic All-GLVC honors, and 29 student-athletes earning 47 OVC Academic honors.
While leading a young squad in 2026, Kunkle guided the Screaming Eagles to their fourth consecutive appearance in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, while also winning a postseason game for a fourth-straight year. During the 2026 campaign, Kunkle reached a milestone with her 700th career win at the helm of the USI Softball program, achieving the mark in USI's walk-off 4-3 win against Southeast Missouri State on March 21.
In 2025, USI's third year of reclassification to Division I, the Screaming Eagles battled to a fourth-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference for the second consecutive season. Kunkle and the Eagles not only earned their third consecutive OVC tournament berth but also won an OVC tournament game for the third consecutive year.
Kunkle also joined the inaugural coaching staff of the Blaze, a professional softball team in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, in 2025. Kunkle helped coach some of the world's best softball players during a two-month summer schedule.
Kunkle and the Screaming Eagles gathered more wins in the second year of the D-I transition in 2024, surpassing the win totals from 2023. In the 2024 campaign, USI went 25-22 overall and 16-11 in the Ohio Valley Conference. As the 4-seed in the OVC Championship Tournament, Southern Indiana made a run into the semifinal round, coming up just a game short of a championship-round appearance.
In 2022-23, Kunkle led the Screaming Eagles into their inaugural season as an NCAA Division I program and as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. USI made the jump from NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference after the 2022 season.
Kunkle guided USI to a 21-23 overall record and a 13-9 conference record in 2023, leading to a third-place finish in the program's first season in the OVC. The 2023 season featured many historic firsts in the first season as an NCAA Division I program for USI Softball, including the first D-I win in the very first game in February against the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, and the first OVC win in mid-March against Morehead State University. Plus, the program won its first OVC Tournament game under Kunkle against Tennessee State University.
Before transitioning to Division I, the Eagles were consistently one of the most competitive teams in the GLVC--one of the top conferences in Division II softball--under Kunkle. USI posted two first-place finishes and one second-place finish in the GLVC Tournament, as well as three third-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes in the league's postseason tournament.
The 2022 GLVC Coach of the Year and her squad had a historic season, going 49-13 overall and 26-2 in GLVC play. Her staff was named NCAA II Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year for the third time after the Eagles won the GLVC regular-season, GLVC Tournament, and NCAA II Midwest Region titles, marking the first time in program history that USI has won all three championships in the same season.
Additionally, Kunkle's Eagles set numerous records, including the most wins in a single season, the most GLVC wins in a single season, and the best start to GLVC play (16-0). USI, which had its best 40-game stretch (37-3) in program history, tied the program record for consecutive wins (18) and set program records for triples (28), runs (353), RBI (327), and doubles (96).
USI, which hosted the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament and the NCAA II Midwest Super Regional for the second time, advanced to the NCAA II Softball Championship for the third time in five years. The Eagles fell to eventual national champion Rogers State University (Oklahoma) and then No. 1-ranked University of Texas at Tyler before finishing the 2022 season ranked No. 6 in the final NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
Kunkle, a three-time GLVC Coach of the Year who led USI to the NCAA II Tournament five straight years and six times in seven seasons prior to the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, directed her squad to a 16-21 overall record, 13-15 GLVC, during an injury-plagued 2021 campaign.
She had the Eagles humming in 2020, as USI posted the best overall record in the GLVC and one of the top marks in the Midwest Region, finishing the COVID-19-shortened season 15-4 and ranking No. 19 in the final NFCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
USI finished the 2019 season with a 35-21 overall record and a 19-7 record in GLVC play. The Eagles, who finished the year ranked No. 25 in the final NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, advanced to the finals of the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament before falling to eventual Midwest Region champion Grand Valley State University.
In 2018, Kunkle led the Eagles to their first-ever NCAA II National Championship. Her squad was 27-22 overall and 15-13 in the GLVC before erupting for an unprecedented run that saw the Eagles go 14-1 in the postseason, capture their first GLVC Tournament title since 1998, their second straight NCAA II Midwest Region title, and USI's first-ever team national championship in a women's sport.
USI finished the 2018 campaign with a 41-23 record, marking the second straight 40-win season and third in program history, and was the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in the final NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Kunkle and her assistant coaches were named the NFCA Division II National and Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year for their efforts.
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Additionally, Kunkle became the first coach in history to surpass the 500-win plateau at USI when the Eagles defeated Indianapolis in the first round of the 2018 GLVC Tournament.
In 2017, Kunkle led USI to its third straight NCAA II Tournament appearance and fourth in five years. She was named the GLVC Coach of the Year, and her staff was named the NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the Eagles to a 46-14 overall record and a 19-7 mark in GLVC play.
Kunkle also led USI to a share of the GLVC regular-season championship in 2017 and the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament. USI also hosted the NCAA II Midwest Region #2 Tournament and the NCAA II Super Regional before finishing the year ranked No. 7 in the final NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll — the Eagles were ranked as high as No. 5 during the regular season.
Under Kunkle, a record three Eagles earned All-America accolades in 2017, led by GLVC Freshman of the Year and Division II Conference Commissioner's Association Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year Jennifer Leonhardt. Her squad set program records for most at-bats (1,693) and hits (540) and boasted the GLVC's top team ERA (1.86).
The first coach in USI history to reach the 400-win plateau, Kunkle led her squad to a 35-21 overall record and a 21-9 mark in GLVC play in 2016. Her squad finished third in both the GLVC regular-season standings and the GLVC Tournament before making its third trip to the NCAA II postseason in the last four years.
Head Coach Sue Kunkle (middle) and assistant coaches MacKenzi Dorsam (left)
and Lexi Reese (Right) were named the 2018 NFCA Division II Coaching
Staff of the Year.
USI had a banner year at the plate in 2016, breaking records for home runs (53), doubles (93), runs scored (308), and RBIs (278).
That came on the heels of a 2015 season that saw the Eagles set school records for home runs (42), RBIs (231), and winning percentage (.780).
After a rough 2014 season, Kunkle's Eagles made a huge turnaround, finishing 2015 with a 39-11 overall record and a 22-6 mark in GLVC play. Her squad advanced to the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament, where they finished second to the then No. 1-ranked team in the nation, the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
The 2014 team finished the season with a 22-23 overall record and a 12-22 mark in GLVC play. Her squad lost 14 games by two runs or less, including 11 contests by one run.
In 2013, Kunkle directed the Eagles to the NCAA II Tournament for the fourth time in the program's history. USI finished the season with a 30-22 overall record and a 17-15 mark in GLVC play.
Kunkle became the first coach in USI history to record 300 wins when her squad defeated Wisconsin-Parkside in the final weekend of the 2012 regular season. Her Eagles finished 2012 with a 27-21 overall record, a 16-16 GLVC, and were fourth in the nation in team GPA.
In 2011, Kunkle led the Eagles to a 21-22 overall record and a 10-15 GLVC mark. Her squad was 19-26 overall and 15-12 in the GLVC in 2010, and advanced to the GLVC Tournament after a brief one-year hiatus in 2009.
USI finished the 2009 season on a strong note after starting the year with 11 straight losses. The team showed how good it could be when it swept the eventual NCAA II Midwest Region champion, the University of Indianapolis, to close out the campaign.
During the 2009 season, Kunkle's squad defeated NCAA II Championship Series participant Le Moyne College and NCAA II Midwest sub-regional host Ashland University.
In 2008, Kunkle led USI to a 31-23 overall record and a 14-10 GLVC record, putting the Eagles on the brink of an NCAA II Tournament berth.
USI overcame injuries in 2007 to post a 31-24-1 overall record and a 13-10-1 GLVC record, finishing fourth in the GLVC. Like most of Kunkle's squads, the 2007 version had a strong finish, going 9-4-1 in the final 14 games and just missing a berth in the NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament.
In 2006, Kunkle guided the Eagles into the NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament for the first time since 1998. Her squad went 39-18, 17-5 GLVC, finishing third in the NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament. Kunkle was named the GLVC Coach of the Year after USI's second-place finish in the GLVC during the regular season.
In 2005, Kunkle's squad overcame a rough start before winning 30 of its last 42 games to finish with a 30-20 record, including a 10-8 mark in GLVC play. In the process of their strong finish, the Eagles set a school record for consecutive victories, stringing together 18 consecutive wins on the heels of an 0-8 start.
Despite an up-and-down conference season, Kunkle's squad rebounded to win three straight elimination games in the GLVC Tournament before falling to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
In 2004, Kunkle's Eagles battled some of the top teams in Division II and jumped out to an 8-0 start in conference play before finishing the campaign with a 26-24 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the GLVC.
Kunkle directed the Eagles to a 27-18 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the GLVC in 2003. That squad produced six All-GLVC and four All-Great Lakes Region performers.
During her first season, Kunkle led the Eagles to a second-place finish in the GLVC Tournament and to within an eyelash of a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Kunkle also set the USI record for wins by a first-year coach with a 31-18 overall record, 10-7 in the GLVC.
She has also coached two USA Athletes International squads. Kunkle led her first squad to a first-place finish in Holland in the summer of 2005 and her second squad to a third-place finish in Australia in 2006.
Kunkle took over the USI softball program in 2001 after a tenure at the University of Akron. She helped develop some of Akron's best hurlers, including 1998 UA Female Athlete of the Year Shelby Howell (1995-1998), and was responsible for recruiting and coordinating the team's travel arrangements as well as organizing the Zips camps and clinics, the Dugout Club, and alumni relations.
Beginning her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at California University of Pennsylvania, Kunkle gained a year of coaching experience at Morehead State University before being named assistant coach at Bethel Park.
A four-year starter at California, Kunkle became the winningest pitcher in school history with a career record of 54-12 from 1990-94. The Vulcans earned PSAC West Championships in Kunkle’s last three seasons, and were the conference’s overall champs in 1991. An All-Region pitcher as a junior, she earned All-Conference and All-Regional Tournament honors as a senior, while leading her team to a regional championship and California's first-ever appearance in the Division II College World Series.
Kunkle earned a bachelor's degree in education from California-Pennsylvania in 1994. She received her master's degree in sports science and coaching at Akron in 2001.
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| Kunkle at USI |
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| Year |
Overall Record |
GLVC Regular Season |
GLVC Tournament Finish |
| 2002 |
31-18 |
10-7 (4th) |
Second |
| 2003 |
27-18 |
13-7 (4th) |
Fifth |
| 2004 |
26-24 |
11-7 (4th) |
Third |
| 2005 |
30-20 |
10-8 (5th) |
Third |
| 2006 |
39-18 |
17-5 (2nd) |
Fourth |
| 2007 |
32-24-1 |
13-10-1 (5th) |
Fourth |
| 2008 |
31-23 |
14-10 (5th) |
Seventh |
| 2009 |
18-33 |
8-15 (11th) |
N/A |
| 2010 |
19-26 |
15-12 (8th) |
Seventh |
| 2011 |
21-22 |
10-15 (9th) |
N/A |
| 2012 |
27-21 |
16-16 (6th East) |
N/A |
| 2013 |
30-22 |
17-15 (4th East) |
Seventh |
| 2014 |
22-23 |
12-22 (6th East) |
N/A |
| 2015 |
39-11 |
22-6 (3rd) |
Seventh |
| 2016 |
35-21 |
21-9 (3rd) |
Third |
| 2017 |
46-14 |
19-7 (t-1st) |
Fifth |
| 2018 |
41-23 |
15-13 (t-5th) |
First |
| 2019 |
35-21 |
19-7 (3rd) |
Seventh |
| 2020 |
15-4 |
N/A |
N/A |
| 2021 |
16-21 |
13-15 (10th) |
N/A |
| 2022 |
49-13 |
26-2 (1st) |
First |
|
|
| DII |
628-420-1 |
301-208-1 |
|
|
|
| Year |
Overall Record |
OVC Regular Season |
OVC Tournament Finish |
| 2023 |
21-23 |
13-9 (3rd) |
Fifth |
| 2024 |
25-22 |
16-11 (4th) |
Third |
| 2025 |
17-25 |
13-11 (4th) |
Fifth |
| 2026 |
15-32 |
11-16 (6th) |
Fifth |
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|
| DI |
78-102 |
53-47 |
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|
|
| Totals |
706-522-1 |
354-255-1 |
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Accomplishments
NCAA II National Champions (2018)
NCAA II Regional Champions (2017, 2018, 2022)
NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year (2018)
NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2017, 2018, 2022)
NCAA II Tournament Appearances (2006, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
GLVC Tournament Champions (2018, 2022)
GLVC Coach of the Year (2006, 2017, 2022)
GLVC Regular Season Champions (2017, 2022)
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