Following a year that saw Shawnee State go 27-18 on the softball diamond -- improving its record to a 63-29 overall mark over the last two seasons under second-year Shawnee State head coach Kristen Bradshaw -- and an academic tear that saw 22 of its 24 players finish with individual cumulative GPAs above 3.0 while setting the program record for NAIA Scholar-Athletes, the Shawnee State softball program was named as the 2024-25 River States Conference Female Team of Character, as announced by River States Conference officials Tuesday afternoon.
Over the last year, members of the Shawnee State softball program, or the entire team, have participated in or volunteered to work community events such as the Bear Run, which raises funds to support the community and the university's athletic department, Portsmouth River Days, which offers live music, a grand parade, a pageant, children's activities, spectacular fireworks, and delicious food, participated in the Friends of Greenlawn Cemetery Foundation 5K Tombstone Trot, which raises proceeds for the Friends of Greenlawn Cemetery Foundation who restores, preserves and enhances the beauty, architectural integrity, momuments and horticulture of the cemetery through those funds, and have also volunteered their time at the Battle of the Paddles Pickleball Memorial Tournament at Mound Park, which raised money for the Southern Ohio Medical Center's Cancer Center Compassion Fund.
In addition, the Shawnee State softball program has been a regular attendee of games involving other teams on campus -- showing up religiously to Shawnee State men's and women's soccer matches, volleyball matches, men's and women's basketball games and baseball games when they aren't playing. The SSU softball program has also had members of its squad volunteer to give private softball lessons either at Fox Head Development in Wheelersburg, Ohio or at local softball fields around the area on their own time.
A total of 18 individuals – the 11 NAIA Scholar-Athletes plus five freshmen in academic eligibility who weren't eligible and one sophomore and one junior who raised their GPAs above the necessary qualification mark after the deadline – finished the 2024-25 academic year with cumulative GPAs above 3.5. In all, 20 of Shawnee State's 24 softball athletes finished with GPAs at or above 3.25 following the school year, and all but two athletes (22 out of 24) on the Shawnee State softball roster have GPAs of 3.0 or above.
