Slippery Rock University Athletics

The 2026 season will mark the 12th year of head coach Stacey Rice leading the Slippery Rock University softball program and her 17th season as a member of the program overall.
 
In 11 seasons at the helm, Rice has led The Rock to a 211-249-1 overall record and four appearances in the PSAC Tournament.
 
Under Rice’s guidance Slippery Rock has made three consecutive trips to the postseason while compiling a .535 winning percentage (83-72) and winning one division title over the last three years. Rice-led teams have matched the program record for wins in a single-season with 29 in both 2023 and 2025.
 
CAREER AT A GLANCE
• Concluded 2025 with a 211-249-1 career record.
• The 2025 PSAC West Coach of the Year.
• Four of the program’s nine all-time PSAC Tournament berths have come during Rice’s tenure.
• Has developed 23 All-PSAC West honorees, one PSAC West Athlete of the Year, one PSAC West Pitcher of the Year, four National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region choices and four Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association All-Region selections.
• Led the program to the PSAC Tournament during the 2016 season for the first time since 2009.
• Academically, Slippery Rock softball has posted team cumulative GPAs of at least 3.40 annually since 2018.
 
SEASON-BY-SEASON BREAKDOWN
2025
• Slippery Rock ended 2025 at 29-21 overall with a 21-7 PSAC West record.
• Won the PSAC West regular season title for first divisional championship in program history.
• Matched single-season record for overall wins while setting a program record for conference victories in a year.
• Qualified for the PSAC Tournament, advancing to day three of the event for the first time in the conference’s current tournament current format.
• Stacey Rice named the PSAC West Coach of the Year.
• Alexsa Hurd was voted the PSAC West Pitcher of the Year while also earning all-conference honors alongside Sydney Brown, Shaylyn Shall and Emma Kennedy.
• Hurd earned consensus all-region honors from the NFCA and the D2CCA in addition to being named to the PSAC Spring Top-10.
• The Rock ranked second in the PSAC in total home runs (49), home runs per game (0.98) and
doubles per game (1.82) as well as third in slugging percentage (.473), strikeouts per seven innings (7.51) and stolen bases (70).
• SRU recorded a 3.611 team GPA. Hurd, Arielle Brown, Aubrey Mansfield, Julia Montie and Julia Nutter were all named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.

2024
• Finished the season with a 25-27 overall record that included an 18-13 mark in PSAC West play.
• Qualified for the PSAC Tournament for the second straight year, the first back-to-back postseason appearance for SRU since 1983-84.
• SRU's 18-13 conference record marked the first time that The Rock had put together two straight winning records in conference play since 1988-89.
• Boasted a 12-4 record at home, tied for the most wins at home in a single season in program history with 2007's 12-5 effort.
• Saw a program-record 50 home runs in the season produced by 11 different players, the most unique players to hit a home run in the same year in SRU history. 
• Alexsa Hurd was named a second team D2CCA All-Region and second team All-PSAC West utility pitcher.
• Kelsi Anderson became the all-time winningest pitcher in Rock softball history after tossing Slippery Rock's 11th documented no-hitter. 
• Five athletes named to CSC Academic All-District Team in Anderson, Hurd, Aubrey Mansfield, Julia Montie and Julia Nutter.

2023
• On top of a 19-13 record in the PSAC West, The Rock’s 29-24 overall record contributed to the most wins in a single season in program history.  
• The Rock’s thrilling 11-10 victory over regionally-top-ranked East Stroudsburg in the PSAC Tournament marked the team’s first postseason victory since 1983.
• Alexsa Hurd became the first Slippery Rock student-athlete since 2013 to be named to the D2CCA first team All-Region and the first SRU softball player to be named NFCA All-Region.
• Kelsi Anderson, Cami Fisk, and Alexsa Hurd named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
• Kelsi Anderson, who broke The Rock’s single-season wins and strikeouts records, joined Alexsa Hurd in being named First Team All-PSAC West.

2022
• Finished the year with a 15-22-1 overall record and 4-12 mark in the conference.
• Produced two All-PSAC West honorees in Mackenzie Freeman (first team) and Alexsa Hurd (second team).
• Kelsi Anderson ended the season fifth in the conference in batters struck out with 146
• Hurd ranked ninth in the PSAC in slugging percentage at .621.
• Chloe Sharman rounded out the year ninth in the league in opponent batting average (.234).
• The Rock’s pitching staff complied the ninth best ERA in the PSAC (3.40), fifth best opponent batting average (.254) and had the seventh most strikeouts (250).
 
2021
• Posted a 13-27 overall mark along with a 9-23 record in PSAC West play.
• The Slippery Rock pitching staff posted a 3.45 ERA, good enough for the sixth-best ERA in the PSAC while the rotation's 204 strikeouts ranked as the fourth-most in the conference.
• Kelsi Anderson tallied the most strikeouts for a freshman in program history with 99 under the direction of Rice in addition to yielding just a 2.94 ERA.
 
2020
• In a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SRU posted a 6-12 record.
• Despite the shortened season, Rice oversaw a Rock pitching staff that ranked fifth in the PSAC in strikeouts (79) and sixth in ERA (3.07).
• The .288 batting average against Slippery Rock pitchers was tied for the 10th best mark in the conference.
 
2019
• Slippery Rock finished with a 18-27 overall record that included an 8-12 league mark, which nearly qualified SRU for the PSAC Tournament for the second time in the last four years.
• The Rock ranked sixth in the PSAC in walks (126), sixth in fielding percentage (.963) and seventh in walks allowed (88).
• Adeline Nicholson earned All-PSAC West accolades.
 
2018
• Rice guided Slippery Rock to a 24-19 overall record which was the team’s most wins dating back to 2008.
• Kailey Myers, Megan Brown and Lauren Hawley each earned All-PSAC West honors.
• Myers was also named PSAC West Athlete of the Year, earned an NFCA All-Region honor, a D2CCA All-Region honor and a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
 
2017
• SRU finished 17-24 overall and 7-13 in the conference, just missing out on a PSAC Tournament bid.
• The quartet of Lauren Hawley, Megan Brown, Caitlin Baxter and Emily Nagle each earned All-PSAC West honors.
• Nagle also received all-region recognition.
 
2016
• The Rock finished the year with a 20-23 overall record and 9-11 mark in the PSAC West which earned them a spot in the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2009.
• The 20 victories were the most for Slippery Rock since the 2010 season.
• Four players received All-PSAC West recognition in Caitlin Baxter, Katie Kaiser, Megan Maloney and Ashley Samluk.
 
2015
• In her inaugural season as head coach, Rice led SRU to 15-23 overall and 12-16 in the conference, just shy of qualifying for the postseason.
• Two players earned All-PSAC West honors in Taylor Welch and Stacey Herzog.
 
THE ROCK IN THE CLASSROOM
• Academically SRU has had one PSAC Champion Scholar in Stacey Herzog during the 2016 season as well 15 CSC Academic All-District honoree under Rice.
• Slippery Rock has produced 120 PSAC Scholar-Athletes since Rice became head coach.
• As a team, The Rock posted an 11-year best team GPA of 3.655 in 2021-22.
• Every team Rice has coached has finished the season with a collective GPA of no worse than 3.1.
 
COACHING TIMELINE
• 2009-10: Slippery Rock University (graduate assistant)
• 2012-14: Slippery Rock University (assistant coach)
• 2014-Present: Slippery Rock University (head coach)
 
CAREER PATH
• Prior to being appointed head coach at Slippery Rock, Rice served as the assistant coach at SRU for three years after being a graduate assistant for the program for two years.
 
PLAYING CAREER
• Rice was a four-year starter a Slippery Rock and was one of the most decorated players and prolific hitters in program history.
• Over her four-year career, Rice made 175 starts and appeared in 179 games, both of which stand as SRU records.
• Rice ranks first all-time in program history in runs scored (143), hits (186), doubles (37), total bases (334) and walks (86) while ranking second all-time in home runs (35), RBI (129) and stolen bases (60).
• She also holds single-season records for runs scored (40), doubles (15), home runs (14), total bases (119), walks (28), at-bats (145), games played (48) and games started (48).
• Rice was a two-time All-PSAC West performer as well as a 2008 Daktronics All-Region honoree and the 2005 PSAC West Rookie of the Year.
• As a senior in 2008, Rice led SRU to the school's first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
 
PERSONAL
• Graduated from Slippery Rock University with a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education in 2008.
• Obtained her Master’s degree in Reading from Slippery Rock in 2010.
• Native of South Park, Pennsylvania.
• Resides with husband Scott and daughter Harper.
 

Stacey Rice Head Coaching Career
Year	W	L	T	Notes/Postseason
2015	15	23	0	-
2016	20	23	0	PSAC Tournament
2017	17	24	0	-
2018	24	19	0	-
2019	18	27	0	--
2020	6	12	0	Season halted due to COVID-19 virus
2021	13	27	0	-
2022	15	22	1	-
2023	29	24	0	Most wins in program history / PSAC Tournament
2024	25	27	0	PSAC Tournament
2025	29	21	0	Most wins in program history / Won PSAC West / PSAC Tournament
2026	-	-	-	-
Career	211	249	1	-