Stephanie Sanders coached her second season as an assistant coach for Miami softball in 2019-20.
In 2020, Miami finished the season with a 12-8 record and a 3-1 mark at home. The RedHawks won both of their extra-inning games, beating Western Illinois 2-1 in 10 innings and Chattanooga 4-3 in eight innings. Miami’s offense exploded for 10 runs against Loyola-Chicago while it’s defense and pitching held its opponent to two or fewer runs 11 times. The Red and White earned a 2-1 win against Iowa in THE Spring Games in late February.
In 2019, Miami went 35-16 overall and 16-4 in conference play, capturing the first MAC regular season championship in program history. The RedHawks’ 16 conference wins tied the most MAC wins in Miami history while the conference win percentage was the highest. Miami also put together the longest conference win streak in program history, winning 10-straight MAC games. Miami had seven All-MAC selections, two All-Region selections and eight Academic All-MAC selections in addition to Head Coach Clarisa Crowell being named MAC Coach of the Year.
"I am very excited that Stephanie Sanders will be joining our staff, and it is with great pleasure that I welcome her to our RedHawk family," said Crowell. "Stephanie is extremely passionate about coaching, and she will bring great energy and enthusiasm to our program. As a player at Michigan State, Stephanie played at a very high level, and she was mentored by some of the most well respected coaches in our game - Jacquie Joseph (Michigan State Head Coach), JT Gasso (Oklahoma Assistant Coach) and Chelsea Spencer (Texas Assistant Coach). I firmly believe that Stephanie will have a positive impact on our program, and I know that she will be a great fit for our players and Miami Softball."
Sanders comes to Miami from Villanova, where she served as an assistant coach for the past two seasons. She coached the outfielders and assisted with hitting. Sanders helped lead the Villanova squad to an overall record of 62-44-2 and a conference record of 23-16 during her two-year tenure.
"I am very happy that Coach Steph has been given the opportunity to continue her coaching career with such a good program such as Miami University," said Villanova head coach, Maria DiBernardi. "I am equally excited that she will learn from such a great mentor and proven winner, Coach Crowell. During her time here at Villanova, Coach Steph proved to be a great mentor to our student athletes. Her work with the outfielders and hitters was innovative, enthusiastic and challenging. She has a great way of bringing out the best in an athlete and getting them to believe in themselves and their abilities. Steph will bring her passion for the game to every practice and her enthusiasm is contagious. She will be right in the thick of things with every aspect of the game and practice and the athletes will feed off of her energy and commitment to them. I feel it is a great fit all the way around and I wish her and Miami a very successful future!"
Prior to coaching at Villanova, Sanders served as the outfield and hitting coach at Saginaw Valley State. She assisted with camps, clinics, strength and conditioning, and recruiting.
"It is such an honor to become part of the RedHawk family," said Sanders. "I feel privileged to be a member of Coach Crowell's staff and the Miami University Softball Program. The passion and pride in the program and throughout the University appealed to me from the very start and became an obvious fit. I look forward to contributing to the academic and athletic success of our team in following the mission of Graduating Champions."
Sanders, a Lima, Ohio native, earned an Interdisciplinary Studies degree from Michigan State in 2015. She served primarily as a utility player, mostly playing outfield. During her senior season, Sanders recorded career-highs in batting average (.288), at bats (153), runs (25), hits (44), RBI (32), doubles (7) and home runs (9).
"Stephanie Sanders is an outstanding young coach who I have no doubt will make an impact at Miami," said Joseph. "The Red Hawks are getting a hard-working, passionate, knowledgeable coach who will make it her mission to make the program and their players better every day. As an Ohio native, this is going to be something that means a lot to Stephanie and her family as well. I'll look forward to seeing her this season on the field and following her success."
