LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Trine University, which captured its second national championship in three seasons and finished the year as the unanimous No. 1 team in the NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll, was voted as the 2025 ATEC/NFCA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced on Wednesday.
The (46-5) Thunder swept top finals seed Virginia Wesleyan in the best-of-three Division III championship series, 8-1 and 3-1, at Illinois Wesleyan’s Inspiration Field. It was Trine’s third appearance in the finals in the past four years, resulting in the program’s first-ever national title in 2023 and a runner-up finish to Christopher Newport in 2022.
Under the direction of head coach Donnie Danklefsen and assistant coaches Dennis Smith and Zech Hutson, Trine tied its 2023 school mark for most wins, but accomplished it this season with one fewer loss. The Thunder won their fourth straight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship and defeated Wisconsin-Eau Claire for the NCAA Regional crown and Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the Super Regionals.
Four of this year’s regional recipients — Rowan (Region IV), Virginia Wesleyan (Region VI), Trine (Region VII) and Saint Mary’s (Region IX) — advanced to the eight-team NCAA Division III World Series. Trine and three-time national titlist Virginia Wesleyan (2017, 2018 and 2021) squared off in the best-of-three Division III championship series this season.
The remaining six regional winners representing the NFCA’s 10 Division III regions in 2025 were Wesleyan University (Conn.) (Region I), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Region II), Ithaca College (Region III) and Gettysburg College (Region V), Illinois Wesleyan University (Region VIII) and East Texas Baptist University (Region X). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rowan and Trine have captured their respective region’s honors the past three seasons, while Virginia Wesleyan has been recognized three times in the last five years.
Regional (respective region only) and National Coaching Staffs of the Year are voted on by member head coaches. All 10 regional honorees were eligible for the National Coaching Staff of the Year award. Danklefsen and his coaching staff will be recognized during the NFCA Convention’s Awards Brunch on Dec. 13 in Las Vegas.
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