Up Magazine / Softball Makes History with Tournament Win
The Spartans became the first USC Upstate team in any sport to win a Big South Tournament Championship. Following their May 12 win over the Winthrop Eagles, the team went to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2017, and its first appearance since joining the Big South. The program made five previous NCAA Regional appearances (2013-17) while a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Though the team was knocked out of the Regionals after a loss to Clemson, head coach Chris Hawkins '89 praised his players for their hard work and support of each other.
"I'm really proud of the way we battled over the last three weeks,” Hawkins said. “Our growth was tremendous. For us to get a taste of regionals will hopefully get the returners hungry.”