Resurrecting Quaker softball

Who would leave a job as the pitching coach at a Big East Conference institution to accept a job as the softball coach for a Division III college that neither had players nor a place to play and had not fielded a softball team for 29 years? 

Meet Stacey Goyette. 

“I went into this job with a four-year plan and honestly the kids have exceeded my expectations.” Goyette said. “I told the kids that year one would be a learning year. Everywhere we went, everything we did we were learning, myself included. I did not have scouting reports on the players and teams in our conference and I had a team of players playing college softball for the first time. We were all in new territory.”  

Learning the game

Goyette developed a love affair with softball at an early age. She had little choice because baseball and softball has always been a big part of her family. Her grandfather and uncle both played semiprofessional baseball. Her nephew played baseball at Ball State University. She has a daughter who played softball at Georgetown College and another daughter who was heavily recruited before deciding that she didn’t want to play in college. A softball or baseball game was part of the activities almost every time there was a family get-together on her grandparents’ farm. 

Goyette’s father coached her from an early age growing up in Middletown, Indiana. Goyette played in a highly competitive youth program and her father, John Wilson, was her coach during a part of that time. Goyette was a gifted athlete with a strong work ethic, but she did not get a pass from her coach. 

“I knew that Stacey was a good player,” Wilson said. “But I also had several other good players. I did not want to hear any parent say that I showed favoritism to Stacey and I did not want Stacey to hear that either.”

“I was that kid who had to play better than anyone else to justify my time on the field,” Goyette said. “I benefited from it. Dad was demanding of me but by him being the hardest on me that meant I got the most coaching. He was trying to make me tougher mentally so that I would always be resilient. If I had a bad game, he wanted to be sure I did not get discouraged and instead came back the next game with more resolve.”  

As Goyette’s career advanced from youth league to travel ball her mental toughness, confidence and skill set grew. As a high school player at Shenandoah High School, she put together an outstanding career before joining the softball program at Butler University. Goyette was twice named All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference while playing first base, second base and as a pitcher for the Bulldogs. In her senior season in 1993 she led Butler and the conference in doubles (14) and batting average (.381). She also led the Bulldogs in batting average during her junior year. 

Getting started coaching

After graduating from Butler, Goyette gained coaching experience with AAU travel ball teams. Her Hoosier Gold Crush 16U team was the U.S. Fastpitch Association State Champion.  

Goyette eventually returned to coach at Shenandoah High School from 2011-16, winning the sectional in 2014 and becoming the first person to lead the Raiders to a sectional championship as both a player and later as a coach. 

Goyette joined the Butler coaching staff in 2016 and was actively involved in all aspects of the program, including eventually being elevated to also serve as the pitching coach. 

The 2017 Bulldogs posted an 11-9 conference record in qualifying for the Big East Tournament. Goyette also helped the Bulldogs to 20 wins and a fifth-place finish in the Big East during the 2018 season. The Bulldogs also qualified for the 2021 Big East Tournament. Goyette’s pitchers enjoyed success in competition under her guidance at Butler University.  

Goyette’s pitchers recorded the lowest ERA and ranked in the top two for strikeouts in the Big East Conference for both 2020 and 2021. When the pandemic hit, the 2020 and 2021 teams played a modified 40-game schedule. 

In 2022, Butler returned to a 56-game schedule. One of Goyette’s pitchers, Alyssa Graves, was named the unanimous Big East Pitcher of the Year by the conference in 2022. She recorded an ERA of 1.12 in conference games and held her opponents to a .164 batting average with a 10-0 record.

Goyette’s career was on the rise, but she began to look at the demands on her time versus her quality of life, especially involving family time. She has a husband, children and now grandchildren and her mother lives in Wayne County but she rarely had time to see her. 

The schedule reduction during the pandemic and later the return to a regular schedule became a time of reflection for Goyette. 

“2022 was a great year for Butler but I was really tired,” Goyette said. “It was a time that made me realize that there is life outside of the Division I athletic calendar year.”

Joining Earlham

When the Earlham job was posted, Goyette talked to her husband, David, about it and quickly looked into it. She was attracted by the more manageable Division III schedule, the proximity to her mother and the baseball facility at Earlham.  

After applying for the position, her meetings with administration and with donor Randy Sadler convinced Goyette that Earlham wanted to grow and that it was committed to providing first-class educational opportunities and athletic facilities for the softball athletes. 

“The more I learned the more attractive the job was to me,” Goyette said. “I thought to myself, ‘I can do this,’ and I could see from the baseball facility that Earlham was serious about their commitment to softball. After meeting with Mr. Sadler I was even more convinced of his commitment.”  

Goyette was named to lead the new Earlham softball program on May 17, 2022, 29 years after the program was halted during the 1993 season. 

Recruiting the first team

In her first year on the job, Goyette went about building a roster and selling a brand. Part of her pitch to prospective players was a promise that the Earlham College softball facility would be state-of-the-art and among the best in the country. It would be a place where a group of talented individuals could collectively pioneer a program that would quickly become a destination for talented softball players seeking a quality education. 

Goyette spent nearly every weekend at an AAU tournament in Indiana or a surrounding state. “Attending a high school game to watch a prospective recruit play is not as productive as attending an AAU tournament where I can see dozens all in the same place,” Goyette said.  “I know what I am looking for, but I first must determine what a prospective player is looking for, to see if it is a good fit.”

Goyette makes a commitment to her recruits that is attractive. “I expect the players to work hard,” Goyette said. “They can expect to be rewarded with playing time. If they are on the team I will play them in as many games as I can. At Butler we only took 20 players to road games. At Earlham we don’t leave players at home on game day. We are a team and we all travel.” 

By spring 2024, the Quakers had a roster of 16 players and a schedule in place. They opened at Ellie Bewley Softball Stadium before a home crowd for a doubleheader against Olivet. The Quakers won both ends of the doubleheader and Morgan Cooksey established a new school record for strikeouts in a single game with 16. The program was back. 

The Quakers went on to compile a 15-26 record, including 8-10 in HCAC conference play, a mark that qualified the team to participate in the HCAC tournament. Not every team qualifies. Only the top six in the standings make the tournament field. The Quakers were picked to be dead last in the preseason poll and Goyette saw it as a remarkable achievement for her young team. 

In 2025 the Quakers improved to 25-16, including 11-7 in the HCAC and were 13-5 at home. 

Building on success

The recently concluded 2026 season saw the Quakers reach a new level. They compiled an overall record of 26-19 and were in the top four in the final HCAC standings. There was only one game separating the top four teams. One and two were co-champions. Three and four tied. Earlham was fourth in the standings but they swept number one in the regular season and went on to win the tournament to qualify to advance to the NCAA Division lll Angola Regional tournament played at Trine University.

Goyette also credits her assistant coaches, especially her husband. 

“When you talk about my success you have to talk about David. When he married me, he married the sport of softball,” she said. “He supported our daughters and he has always supported and encouraged me. He is a huge asset in recruiting because he knows exactly what I am looking for in a player. He sees the energy and the spring in the step of winners. He has been critically important in our success.”  

Earlham fans immediately focused on next year, but Goyette is more reserved. 

“I am not ready to talk about next year yet,” Goyette said. “We are still riding the high of 2026. When we went to the NCAA regional this spring, we were like the Beverly Hillbillies,” Goyette said. “We weren’t sure what we should do, where we should do it or when we should do it. If we are fortunate enough to make it back next year, I think we will be more relaxed and know what to expect. The expectations will be high, and we will no longer be an unknown.”   

When Goyette brings in potential recruits for a visit, she displays facilities that are among the most impressive in the country and still improving. They include an artificial turf field, 70-foot heated dugouts with restrooms, batting cages and bullpens, and a separate workout facility that can be used year-round. 

Goyette summed up the results of her plan so far: “Year 1 was learning. Year 2 was to break out. Year 3 was to try to dominate.” 

In the spring of 2027 as Goyette enters Year 4 at the helm, she will be working with an experienced veteran squad largely composed of juniors and seniors. Goyette calls them a “phenomenal group of players.” 

“They have bought into what we are doing,” Goyette said. “They have established a strong bond with each other and the coaches. Successful programs have more than talented players, they have talented players who mesh together. They have to gel, that is the cultural side of things, and this group has. They have risen to every challenge I have put in front of them. It will be my job to push them to keep moving the needle forward and think about what kind of legacy they want to leave behind.”