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St. Thomas Aquinas College

St. Thomas Aquinas Spartan Athletics
 125 Route 340 Sparkill, NY 10976
Division 2 New York Northeast
Public Small Competitive team
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Kristen Sullivan

Kristen has been a central figure of the St. Thomas Aquinas College women’s softball program for parts of four decades and rates as one of the college’s finest all-time players.


The 2023 season, Kristen’s 10th in her second tour of duty as STAC’s head coach, was the most successful campaign in the 43-year history of the program. STAC broke the single-season record for wins with 31 and won its first East Coast Conference championship with an 8-3 win over Molloy University. The Spartans also recorded its first win in the NCAA East Regional play with a victory over highly regarded Caldwell University.


Kristen was named ECC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.


In 2022, the Spartans won their first regular season East Coast Conference championship and set a new single-season record with 28 wins. Their 19-4 conference record was the college’s best since joining the NCAA in 2001. Kristen was named the ECC Coach of the Year and also recorded her 200th career collegiate win during the memorable season.


The tremendous back-to-back seasons is the culmination of Kristen’s remarkable rebuilding effort. The team finished 2-36 in 2014 before Kristen took over the reins and began her work. The 2021 team finished 24-13 and reached the East Coast Conference championship round for the first time and the 2019 team set the previous program record with 25 wins. (The 2020 season was suspended due to the pandemic.)


"Kristen has lifted our softball program to new heights of excellence," said Nicole Ryan, STAC’s Director of Athletics. "Kristen's experience as a highly accomplished player coupled with her technical coaching expertise has helped her achieve great success here at STAC. We are very fortunate to have such a uniquely qualified woman to direct and influence young women in competitive intercollegiate athletics."


Kristen’s coaching success follows an accomplished career as a player. After excelling at nearby Suffern High School, she came to STAC as the program’s most prized recruit and proceeded to register a brilliant four years as a pitcher and first baseman. Her play for the Lady Spartans was nothing short of sensational. She pitched an amazing five no-hitters and the only perfect game in STAC softball history. Her teams in her junior and senior seasons were a combined 40-13.


She finished her career with some startling statistics. Her four-year earned run average was 2.31 and she batted an amazing .488 in the 1988 season. Kristen is the only player in STAC history to receive first team All Conference and first team All District in all four years of her playing career.


Her coaching career began immediately after graduation in 1990 when she served as the team’s assistant coach. She became the co-head coach in 1997 and was named the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 1998. In 1999, Kristen took time off from coaching to start a family and later returned as the pitching coach for the Lady Spartans in 2011 before moving into the head coach role again in 2015.


Kristen is also one of the region’s most respected private pitching coaches for softball players ages 7-22. More than 20 of her students have received college scholarships. In addition, she led the Hudson Valley Hurricanes travel softball team to the prestigious 2014 PONY National championship in the 14U division as well as state titles in New York and New Jersey.


Kristen’s remarkable softball career has earned inductions into four Hall of Fames – Suffern High School Hall of Fame, Rockland County Softball Hall of Fame, Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Thomas Aquinas College Alumni Hall of Fame.


Kristen received her B.S. in social science from STAC, went on to earn her teaching certification and holds a Master’s in education from Iona College. She lives in Suffern with her husband Keith and children Taylor, Kyle and Kasey.

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Bill Madden

Bill brings a wide range of softball experience to the Lady Spartans.


He coached senior (ages 13-15) girls softball for 10 years in the Pearl River Little League and led his all-star teams to two county championships. He was a player-manager for a top men’s modified fast pitch team for 15 years and directed his teams to numerous league titles and quality finishes in top tournaments.


Bill is a member of the St. Thomas Aquinas College Hall of Fame for his accomplished business career, which included 12 years as a sports writer and sports editor for The Journal News when he covered high school girls softball for eight years.


He will assist with fundraising and promotional activities as well as many administrative duties.

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Penny Roberts

Softball Assistant

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