College at Brockport Women's Softball

Strong Start to the Wahl Era Coach Wahl took the reigns for the 2021-22 season and saw success in his first year with the Golden Eagles. At the 2022 SUNYAC Championships, the women's team placed third to mark the program's best finish at SUNYACs in over 30 years. The women's team featured a double-event champion in Elizabeth Sagan (50 &100 Freestyle), who was named the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year. Both the men and women performed well at SUNYACs, as Wahl's team rewrote several records throughout the week. Brockport sent a trio of divers to the NCAA Regional competition, where both Mark Eaton and Kyra Russ earned top 10 finishes. Academically the women were selected as a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team. In 2023 Wahl continued making program history, as the women's team scored the most points at the SUNYAC Championships in program history. Throughout the season the team broke seven records, won three individual conference titles and won his first relay title. He coached his first NCAA Nationals B cut with Elizabeth Sagan in the 50-yard freestyle.  Before Brockport  Wahl comes to Brockport after spending the last three seasons as the head coach at Clarkson University.  During his first season at the helm of the Golden Knights, Clarkson set eight new school marks, including three individual swimming marks, one diving score, and four relays. In 2019-20, Clarkson continued to set new standards, and saw an individual victory at the Liberty League Championship for the first time since the 2013-14 season.   A 2014 graduate of Union College with degrees in both geology and biology, Wahl has spent time at three different institutions as an assistant coach, including Middlebury College (2014-15), Springfield College (2015-17), where he earned an MBA in May 2017, and at conference rival SUNY Geneseo (2017-18). Over the course of that short period of time, Wahl helped coach 22 student-athletes who qualified for the NCAA Championships, including 10 All-Americans. At Geneseo alone, 22 swimmers were SUNYAC Champions and 12 qualified for the NCAA Championships during his tenure. Swimming Career  A three-time All-American himself, Wahl was chosen as the Liberty League Swimmer of the Year in 2013-14 and earned CSCAA Scholar All-American honors that same year. At the Liberty League meet in December 2013, he won both the 100 butterfly (51.73) and 200 butterfly (1:57.09) while taking second in the 200 individual medley (1:59.13) and 100 freestyle (48.61). He holds Union College records for the 100 butterfly (49.44), 200 butterfly (1:50.13) and also swam on the fastest 400 medley relay (3:21.93) and 200 freestyle relay (1:23.05) teams for the Dutchmen. Wahl competed at the 2014 NCAA Championships, placing 13th in the 200 butterfly (1:50.35), while also swimming the 200 and 400 medley relays for Union. Additionally, Zack was a two-time United States Master's Swimming National Champion, and a silver medalist in the 100m butterfly at the 2018 UANA Master's Pan-American Championships.   Personal The sport of swimming has deep roots in the Wahl family. Zack’s father Rob was head coach of the Webster BlueFins, a USA Swimming team located in Webster, NY. Rob is now a full time staff member for the Golden Eagles. Zack currently resides in Rochester with his wife Marley, who was a former collegiate swimmer at Springfield College. Marley is a Physician Assistant at Rochester General Hospital. 

Mary Karen Wheat ’06 was hired in the Summer of 2023 as the Golden Eagles' first full-time head softball coach. Wheat will be primarily responsible for managing all functions and oversight of Brockport’s softball program. Her duties also include coaching, recruiting, game and practice preparation, scheduling, student-athlete evaluations, and team travel. She will be responsible for on-field instruction during practices and contests as well as the creation of practice plans.  She will also monitor student-athletes' academics, the softball budget, fundraising, and she will supervise assistant coaches, volunteers, and practicum students. Moving Forward  In her first two seasons at the helm, Wheat has led the Golden Eagles to an increase in wins from 2023 to 2024 (5 to 8) and 2024 to 2025 (8 to 14), marking strong improvement within the program. Brockport's 14 wins in 2025 marked the most in a single season since 2019, including a 6-4 start to the season in Florida. Wheat would mentor 2025 All-Conference selections Teresa Cotty and Olivia Simone, with Simone earning NFCA All-Region honors.  Wheat spent the majority of the 2022-23 academic year as an assistant coach at Bryant University, where she assisted the head coach in all facets of the softball program with a primary emphasis on working with the pitchers.  She also mapped out a yearlong outlook for the pitching staff to identify goals and time frames for the season.  She constructed weekly practice schedules for both pitchers and catchers and utilized daily bullpen trackers to follow statistical improvements of each pitcher.  She also coordinated with the strength and conditioning staff regarding programming and executed video analysis to assist in creating scouting reports for future opponents.  She has spent two years working with the Great Britain 18U softball program and traveled to Prague in the Summer of 2023, where they placed fifth out of 22 teams at the European Softball Championships.   Before her time at Bryant, she spent three years as an assistant coach with the University of Rochester softball program, where she was the primary coach for the infielders, hitters, and pitchers. In 2021, she was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Assistant Coach of the Year. She helped guide the Yellowjackets to two straight Liberty League Conference championships and the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championships. In 2021, UR won the NCAA Division III Regional Championship and finished the year tied for seventh place nationally. She helped the Yellowjackets earn two consecutive Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors. She helped lead a Liberty League Co-Pitcher of the Year, one Liberty League Co-Performer of the Year, two Liberty League Rookie’s of the Year, nine all-conference first team picks, seven second team all-conference selections, and 23 Liberty League All-Academic selections. Before joining the UR staff, Wheat served as the assistant coach at RIT, primarily working with the hitters and pitchers.  In addition, she was the head coach at Brockport High School in 2015 and 2016, leading the Blue Devils to the 2015 Section V Championship game. Wheat was also the head coach at Red Jacket Central School, where she led the team to the 2010 Section V Championship and two Section V Semifinal appearances (2009 and 2011).  Wheat has also been a private pitching instructor in the Rochester area for over a decade.   A former standout pitcher at Brockport High School (1995-1998) and Binghamton University (1998-2003).  Wheat competed her first two years at Binghamton at the Division II level and the last two at the Division I level.  At Binghamton, she pitched 416 innings with a 1.81 ERA. Wheat graduated from Binghamton University in 2003 with a BA in Human Development.  She also holds a BS in History and is certified in Adolescent Education from SUNY Brockport. Originally from Brockport, NY, she currently resides in Chili, NY.  

Christina Sakran was hired in the Winter of 2024 as an assistant coach for the Brockport softball program.  Since arriving at Brockport in 2024, Sakrin has helped kickstart improvement within the Brockport softball program. The squad has seen an increase in wins in each season under Sakran and head coach Mary Karen Wheat, nearly doubling their 2024 win total (8) in 2025 (14). Under Sakran's guidance, Olivia Simone and Teresa Cotty would earn All-Conference selections, with Simone earning All-Region, the first Golden Eagle since 2022 to do so.      Sakran is a native of Syracuse, NY. She was a four-year varsity softball player at West Genesee High School, graduating in 2011 as an All-League and All-CNY selection at utility. Upon graduating from high school, she went on to study at St. John Fisher University, where she graduated with a BS in Corporate Finance. While at Fisher, Sakran played four years on the softball team as an outfielder and utility hitter, making the switch to a lefty slapper in her senior season. She was honored as Sportswoman of the Year in 2015. Following college, Sakran began her coaching career as a head coach of a U16 travel softball program alongside Brockport’s Head Coach Mary Karen Wheat for three seasons while also being named the head coach of the Modified and JV softball programs at Brockport High School where she spent two seasons (’16-’18) at the modified level and four seasons (’18-’22) at the JV level. Sakran currently resides in Greece, NY, where she is employed as a purchaser at Big Apple - Lipari Foods.         

Rob joined the staff at SUNY Brockport in 2023 as a Senior Assistant Coach. Previous to Brockport, Rob was the Head Coach for the Webster BlueFins, a role that he assumed in the fall of 2009, and had worked on the staff of the BlueFins since 1998.   Over the years, Rob has had the opportunity to coach many exceptional athletes who have qualified for USA Swimming Speedo, NCSA Jr National, USA Swimming Futures, USA Swimming Jr National, USA Swimming Senior National meets, and US Olympic Trials. Additionally, many have become NYS High School Section V champions, NYS High School State champions, NCAA qualifiers, NCAA meet participants, High School and NCAA All-Americans, High School, Section V, and College record holders, as well as significant contributors to various college programs. Rob received the Niagara LSC Senior Coach of the Year Award for the 2020-21 season in recognition of the performance of the BlueFins senior athletes. In addition to USA Swimming and NCAA coach membership, Rob is affiliated with the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA), having attained level 3 performance and level 4 education certifications. He is currently working towards the ASCA Level 5 education certification. 

Chloe is entering her 3rd season as an assistant coach for the Swimming and Diving team at Brockport, following a successful career at SUNY Geneseo, helping guide the Knights to four consecutive SUNYAC Championships.  Wilson is currently pursuing her master's degree in Mental Health Counseling.   

SUNY Brockport Director of Athletics Dr. Erick Hart has announced the hiring of Charrise Everett as the university’s first full-time head women’s flag football coach on Friday June 13, 2025.  Everett will be primarily responsible for managing all functions and oversight of Brockport's inaugural varsity women's flag football program.   “We are thrilled to welcome Charrise Everett as the first head coach of SUNY Brockport Women’s Flag Football,” said Dr. Erick Hart, Director of Athletics. “Charrise brings a unique combination of coaching experience, leadership, and passion for developing student-athletes. Her background as both a coach and athletic director will be instrumental in building our program from the ground up and creating a competitive, empowering environment for our student-athletes.”   Charrise comes to Brockport from Young Women’s College Prep (YWCP) in nearby Rochester, NY where she has served as the school’s athletic director and a physical education teacher since 2022.  She also started the girl’s flag football program at East Irondequoit in 2022 and this Spring she guided the Lancers to an appearance in the quarterfinals of sectionals where they lost to eventual state champion Webster Schroeder.   She also coach’s varsity girl’s basketball and modified boy’s football. In her second season as the varsity girl’s basketball coach, the Lancers won the league title (Monroe County Division 4) marking the first league title in program history.  For her efforts, Everett was voted coach of the year by her peers. She has previous experience as a junior varsity boys football coach and a modified girl’s basketball coach.  She was one of the first female boy’s football coaches in the area when she was hired by East Irondequoit to coach JV boys football in 2022. “I am truly honored and incredibly excited to serve as the inaugural head coach of the women’s flag football program at SUNY Brockport! Having had the privilege of launching the program at EastRidge and watching it grow into something truly special; I’m filled with gratitude and anticipation as I take this next step,” said Everett. “The foundation laid by the club team here at Brockport has sparked something powerful, and I can’t wait to build on that spark—elevating the program, empowering our athletes, and creating a legacy. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me and supported the journey of growing this amazing sport. The future is bright, and we’re just getting started!” During her time as an athletic director at YWCP she arranged transportation for all away games, ordered equipment and organized inventory, monitored grades and eligibility requirements, while also overseeing coaches’ salaries, pay rates and other budgetary aspects. In addition, she was the female AD representative on the Section V Athletic Council for the PPL. She was also the PPL flag football coordinator for Section V.   As a physical education teacher at YWCP since 2022, she also leveraged diverse learning strategies to prepare students for higher-level education requirements. She supported students in development of skills and strategies to become independent and successful learners.  She prepared lesson plans to teach age-appropriate exercises in alignment with school curriculum and she assisted in the development of extracurricular activities and special events.   Some of her awards and professional affiliations include: New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Jay B. Nash Award Winner (2021), membership in SHAPE America as well as induction into the Phi Epsilon Kappa, Alpha Chi and TAU Sigma National Honor societies. As a former track and field athlete at the University at Buffalo, Everett understands the dedication it takes to succeed as a student-athlete at the collegiate level. Everett is also an active member of the Upstate Lady Predators, a women’s semi-professional tackle football team, playing both running back and cornerback. She graduated from SUNY Brockport in 2021 with her bachelor’s in Physical Education Teacher Education. She is currently pursuing her master’s at SUNY Brockport in School Health Education and is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2026.

Darius Taylor, known throughout the Rochester area as “Coach Dash,” joined the SUNY Brockport women’s flag football coaching staff in the winter of 2026. He was hired by Head Coach Charisse Everett in preparation for Brockport’s inaugural varsity season in the Spring of 2026. Coach Dash brings more than a decade of coaching experience across scholastic, AAU, and youth athletics, with a strong background in player development, program building, and leadership within emerging women’s sports. Prior to arriving at Brockport, Taylor served as the head coach of the Young Women’s College Prep (YWCP) girls flag football program, where he coached the team for three consecutive seasons and helped grow participation and competitive success in one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. In addition to his flag football experience, Taylor has established himself as one of the region’s most respected basketball coaches. He currently serves as the head coach of YWCP girls basketball, where he led the program to its first winning season in school history, earned the No. 1 sectional playoff seed, and was named the 2024 Class B1 Coach of the Year. Under his leadership, the program rose into the Top 10 in New York State according to MaxPreps. Taylor also coaches at the AAU level with the 585 Lady Bobcats, guiding the program to a fourth-place national finish and a Queen of the Roc Championship. His coaching résumé includes championship experience as an assistant coach at Rochester Early College, where he helped lead the varsity program to the Section V Class C1 Championship. Known for his energy, organization, and ability to connect with student-athletes, Coach Dash emphasizes discipline, accountability, and confidence both on and off the field. His coaching strengths include game planning, film study, athlete development, and fostering positive team culture. Beyond athletics, Taylor is deeply involved in community outreach initiatives throughout Rochester, including youth leadership programs and community-based events that support empowerment and education for young people. Taylor is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports and Entertainment Management from Grand Canyon University and holds a New York State Professional Coaching License. He joins the Golden Eagles as Brockport launches its first varsity women’s flag football season, bringing experience, passion, and a strong commitment to the growth of women’s athletics.