CANTON, Ohio – At the conclusion of the 2025 spring season, Malone University athletics had several key highlights, including a national championship and several Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship appearances.
 
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD:
The Pioneers were able to secure the hardware at the NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field National championships on the men's side. It is the first team championship for men's track & field at the NCCAA level since 2010.
 
To go along with a team national championship, Malone saw Zach Fresenko and his staff named NCCAA Men's Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year. Freshman sprinter Allea Graves was recognized as the Women's Track Athlete of the Meet. 28 individual NCCAA All-American awards went to the Pioneers, with six event national championships. Xander Heil, Yahya Jawadi, Rylee Yocum, Graves and the 4x800-meter relay team crossed their respective finish lines first. Kylee Gray received the 2025 NCCAA John and Jody Wheeler Award for athletic, academic and excellent Christian character.
 
At the G-MAC Championship event, the Pioneer men were tenth overall and women eighth. Several student-athletes reached the podium, school records were broken by Graves and several top-ten marks set at Ashland University for the week.
 
WOMEN'S LACROSSE:
The Malone University women's lacrosse team reached new heights in their second year as a program with a 10-9 overall record, a seven-win improvement from the inaugural campaign. The Pioneers also reached the postseason for the first time in program history with a G-MAC Quarterfinal Round matchup with the University of Findlay.
 
Cam English set new single-season program high marks with 48 goals and 70 points. Abbey Burns, a sophomore attack, had the most assists in a season with 25. Burns currently holds the career records for all offensive categories. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Sommer-Jo Grieser had 116 saves in net for the Pioneers.
 
MEN'S LACROSSE:
The Malone University men's lacrosse team received a pair of All-Conference honorees in 2025 with Zac Smargiasso and Talon Heath. Smargiasso is now a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree in the G-MAC and won Freshman of the Year in 2023. Heath graduates as a three-time All-Conference member after he received Second Team accolades in 2025.
 
The Pioneers wrapped up the season with an overall record of 5-10, with three of those wins coming in conference play. Heath led the way on offense with 40 goals and 22 assists. Nick Sanderson made 157 saves in his first year as the Malone goalkeeper.
 
SOFTBALL:
For the second straight season, the Malone University softball team clinched a spot in the G-MAC Championship Tournament at Firestone Stadium. The Pioneers ended the season with a record of 24-20 and notched a win on the final day of the regular season over Findlay to secure their postseason berth. It is the second consecutive year where the team eclipsed 20 wins, the first time that has happened in the NCAA DII era.
 
Mia Rose collected Second Team All-Conference honors in the G-MAC as well as First Team All-Midwest Region. Allie Weilnau was First Team All-Midwest Region as well as College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors. Halyn Cawthorne received the conference's Elite 26 award for her efforts in the classroom.
 
BASEBALL:
The Malone University baseball team concluded 2025 with a record of 17-30 after a much-improved season. Head Coach Tom Crank currently sits at 583 wins, the most in program history.
 
The Pioneers had several student-athletes receive postseason accolades for their athletic and academic achievement. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) selected relief pitcher Cooper Davies as an All-Midwest Region Second Team honoree with a team-high five saves. Starting pitcher Jackson Phelps received Second Team All-Midwest Region distinction by the NCCAA while outfielder Jordan Stevens was a CSC Academic All-District student-athlete.
 
WOMEN'S GOLF:
To start the spring portion of the season, the Malone University women's golf program took their spring break trip to Oahu, Hawai'i. The remainder of the regular season saw several highlights from Erin Strouse, Addison Burris and Kaylyn Henson in preparation for the conference championship event.
 
The Pioneers placed seventh overall with Strouse leading the charge with three rounds of 80. The junior placed 23rd overall. Burris and Maria Warner improved in all three rounds to help propel Malone up the leaderboard on the final day.
 
MEN'S GOLF:
The Malone University men's golf team continued their efforts in the spring season and placed eighth overall at the conference championship event. Jaxon Rinkes led the way for the Pioneers with a 20th-place finish after he showed improvement in each of his three rounds.
 
Zehnder Gibson and Ryan Yoder impressed during the final day of competition to help Malone climb the scoring column in the closing round.