Albion College Women's Softball

LaFave met those three criteria and rose to the top of the applicant pool. Im excited for the future of Albion College softball under Coach LaFaves leadership, he added. LaFave successfully carried out her vision for rebuilding the Wartburg program, engineering the largest turnaround in the history of the Wartburg program as her 2014 squad quadrupled its wins from the 2013 season. The Knights improved further in 2015 with a 22-17 record for the programs first winning season since 2009. Three Knights achieved all-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference distinction in 2015, and a pair were selected all-region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). At Bethany Lutheran, she took a program that transitioned to NCAA Division III athletics and helped it achieve a third-place finish in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2011, the highest conference finish in school history. The Vikings also tallied back-to-back winning records in conference play in 2010 and 2011. I look forward to joining the Albion community and I welcome the challenge of rebuilding a program back home in Michigan, LaFave said. My goal as the head coach at Albion College is to build women of character and transform student-athletes into champions in the classroom, on the field, and in life. Each day we will put an emphasis on fundamentals as doing the small things right will make a big difference in the end. Making connections with the alumni will be important, LaFave added. I want to engage them in the re-building process and have them help re-establish the excitement that I personally remember when Albion played my alma mater.  Originally from Escanaba, LaFave was a successful pitcher at Alma College. The Scots achieved a 132-36 record and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship all four years as champion of the MIAA, wining regional championships in 2004 and 2005. LaFave still ranks as the MIAAs all-time leader with a 0.38 ERA in 182 innings pitched against conference opponents. At Alma, she ranks as the all-time leader in ERA, strikeouts and shutouts and is second in complete games, innings pitched and wins. She also was named an NFCA third-team All-American in her junior year, a second-team NFCA Scholar-Athlete in 2004 and was a 2005 nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. In addition to a bachelors degree from Alma, LaFave holds a masters degree in business administration from Ellis University and a masters degree in sport administration from Minnesota State University Mankato. Albion College | 611 E. Porter St. | Albion, MI 49224 | View: | Desktop

The 2024-25 season is Murray's first at Albion. Since 2017, Murray has been the associate head coach at Division II Grand Valley State University.  With Murray on staff, the Lakers have put together a record of 108-27, won 11 conference championships, and saw the team rank as high as fifth nationally on both the men's and women's sides. He saw 49 swimmers advance to the NCAA Championships, with five winning National titles.  At GVSU, he was the team's recruiting coordinator, assisted with fundraising and many other facets of the program. 

A two-time Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Most Valuable Player and four-time all-MIAA first team pick has been tabbed to lead the Albion College softball program.  In 2021, she coached Ashley Pion to First Team All-MIAA honors while setting the single-season strikeout record (129). In 2022, Pion re-broke her already set single season record. She later saw Kearner Miller earn First Team All-MIAA honors following the 2024 season.  Over her eight years as a head coach, Leigh Ann LaFave has demonstrated the ability to improve programs while at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn., and Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. She will return to her native state as head coach of the Britons for the 2016 season. LaFave successfully carried out her vision for rebuilding the Wartburg program, engineering the largest turnaround in the history of the Wartburg program as her 2014 squad quadrupled its wins from the 2013 season. The Knights improved further in 2015 with a 22-17 record for the program’s first winning season since 2009. Three Knights achieved all-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference distinction in 2015, and a pair were selected all-region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). At Bethany Lutheran, she took a program that transitioned to NCAA Division III athletics and helped it achieve a third-place finish in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2011, the highest conference finish in school history. The Vikings also tallied back-to-back winning records in conference play in 2010 and 2011. “Making connections with the alumni will be important,” LaFave added. “I want to engage them in the re-building process and have them help re-establish the excitement that I personally remember when Albion played my alma mater.”  Originally from Escanaba, LaFave was a successful pitcher at Alma College. The Scots achieved a 132-36 record and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship all four years as champion of the MIAA, wining regional championships in 2004 and 2005. LaFave still ranks as the MIAA’s all-time leader with a 0.38 ERA in 182 innings pitched against conference opponents. At the time of her graduation from Alma, she was the all-time leader in ERA, strikeouts and shutouts and second in complete games, innings pitched and wins. She also was named an NFCA third-team All-American in her junior year, a second-team NFCA Scholar-Athlete in 2004 and was a 2005 nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. In addition to a bachelor’s degree from Alma, LaFave holds a master’s degree in business administration from Ellis University and a master’s degree in sport administration from Minnesota State University Mankato.

Coach Franks Hometown Huntington, W. Va. College Shawnee State '25 - B.S.     High School Spring Valley (Huntington, W. Va.) '21 Swimming History     2021-24 Shawnee State Coaching History 2025-pre. Albion, Assistant Swim Coach Maggie Kayt Franks joined the Britons' swim & dive program as assistant swim coach in August 2025. Franks comes to Albion after a three-year swimming career at Shawnee State University, an NAIA school in Portsmouth, Ohio, from 2021-24. During the 2024-25 season, she served as an assistant coach with the program. An accomplished student-athlete, Franks graduated with a bachelor's in sport management with sports coaching and journalism minors. She was also an NAIA All-Scholar Athlete, a two-time Mid-South Conference All-Academic and College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree with a 3.78 GPA while earning top sports management graduate in her class and a nominee for Shawnee State's Woman of the Year. Franks has club coaching experience with Thundering Herd Aquatics in her hometown of Huntington, W. Va. She was also instrumental in the growth of Shawnee State's Youth Aquatics Program, helping the program go from three athletes to 20 in the first several months. Additionally, Franks served as a swim camp coach at Indiana University and the University of Michigan's camps in 2024. "We are extremely excited to bring Maggie Kayt on board as our new assistant," Albion head coach Eric Murray said. "We all felt that she would add to our family culture to the team along with putting in good effort to help recruit and keep our team growing. When talking with her references, they spoke very highly of Maggie Kayt and wished that she was on all their teams. I knew we couldn't miss out on having her be a part of the Briton swim & dive family." Franks graduated from Spring Valley High School in Huntington, W. Va. and holds Swimming Head Coach and Level 1 Para Swim Coach certifications. While a student at Shawnee State, Franks was involved with the school's SportsNet while providing broadcast commentary and interviews for Bears sporting events. Additionally, she wrote for the university's newspaper and was a freelance sportswriter for the Huntington Herald-Dispatch. Franks is currently working on her master's in sport administration through Liberty University.

Ashley Pion enters her third season as volunteer assistant coach at Albion in 2026.

Coach Wilson-Santos Hometown Lansing, Mich. College Olivet '13 - B.S. Davenport '15G - M.A.     High School Everett (Lansing, Mich.) '09 Playing History     2010-13 Olivet (Outfielder) Collegiate Coaching History     2026-pre. Albion, Assistant Coach Ciara Wilson-Santos enters her first season as assistant coach of the Albion softball program in 2026. Wilson-Santos arrives in Albion after serving as the head varsity softball coach at nearby Battle Creek Central High School for two seasons from 2024-25. She guided the Bearcats through a major rebuild, as the school did not field a team in 2021. After a three-win campaign in 2024, Wilson-Santos kept BCC competitive in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference as the team showed improvement throughout the 2025 season and earned the first win in the postseason for the program in recent memory. Wilson-Santos mentored two-time all-city player Journey Sample, who was the lone pitcher on the roster and Team MVP in 2025. Outside of her assistant coach duties with the Britons, Wilson-Santos is the program director and 12U coach for the On-Deck travel softball organization. A four-year starting outfielder at fellow MIAA school Olivet from 2010-13, Wilson-Santos played in 117 career games and had 56 career RBI and 32 walks – all of which ranked in the top 10 in Comets history at the time of her graduation. She also hit five home runs in 2011, which still ranks in the top 10 in program history. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in sports/recreation management from Olivet in 2013, Wilson-Santos volunteered her time coaching for the Lansing Waverly Jr. Warriors recreational softball program, Mid-Michigan Chaos travel softball organization and the Haslett Middle School volleyball program. She also continued to play softball recreationally, winning state and national titles with her co-ed and women's slow pitch softball teams. A Lansing, Mich. native, Wilson-Santos graduated from Everett High School in 2009 where she was a two-time all-conference softball player and played in the Mid-Michigan All-Star Game as a senior. She also played on the Vikings' volleyball team. Wilson-Santos earned her master's degree in business management from Davenport in 2015 and currently serves as a field premium auditor for Auto Owners Insurance in Lansing. Her and her partner, Terrance Thompkins, who played football at Olivet, have a four-year-old step son, Ari.

The 2024-25 season is Magyar's first with the Britons. Magyar is still the most decorated female diver to come through Albion College, graduating in 2010. In 2022, she was inducted into the Albion Athletics Hall of Fame Magyar was a two-time All-American diver for the Brits, earning the highest of accolades as both a junior and a senior. As a senior, she was selected as the 2010 MIAA Diver of the Year and was a three-time All-MIAA selection