The Hofstra University softball team saw their 2025 season come to an end after an elimination-round loss against the University of Delaware during the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament. This season, the Pride enters a new era, taking the field under new head coach Susan Cassidy-Lyke.
Cassidy-Lyke previously spent 20 seasons as the head coach and director of athletics at Division II Molloy University, where she led the Lions to four East Coast Conference (ECC) Championships. She also earned four consecutive ECC Coach of the Year Awards and recorded the program’s highest winning percentage at .560. As Cassidy-Lyke enters her first season with the Pride, she looks to make an immediate impact by setting a strong standard for the team.
“It’s a different level, obviously; it’s Division I, but it’s the same thing I want to bring,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “I want to bring accountability. I have high expectations. One of my biggest benefits for me is I can bring out the best in players. I’m gonna do the same stuff that I did over there, just at a different level … We have a lot more things to work with: with strength and conditioning, spending a lot more time with them on the field and in [The Hofstra Dome].”
Cassidy-Lyke is ecstatic to lead this team throughout the season as they start their campaign for another ring.
“It’s got such a rich tradition of winning,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “They’ve won so many conference championships and been to so many NCAA tournaments.”
Cassidy-Lyke plans to lead the team with a strong mindset and is ready to change the culture of the team.
“We’re here to win,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “I came here to win, and I know we can do that. We have to bring back that winning consistency. They’ve had 18 NCAA appearances; they have won 21 conference championships and [Molloy’s softball team] haven’t really done that on a steady basis before.”
The Pride returned a star-studded offense including Alanna Morse, Dahlia Palacio and Chelsea Villar, all who hit over .300 last season.
In 2024, Palacio served mainly as the team’s pinch hitter and recorded 25 at-bats. In her first full season with the Pride, she emerged as one of the team’s key players, becoming a catalyst for the team’s success and run in the CAA Championship.
Palacio led the team with 18 doubles, the fourth most in program history. She ranked second on the team with a .317 batting average. She also accumulated an .854 on base plus slugging, .514 slugging percentage, 73 total bases and eight stolen bases. She was named to the CAA All-Tournament Team, headlined by three multi-hit games.
“I love hitting every day, whether that’s tee work, front toss [or] machine, [I’m] always doing something to keep my mind and body connected,” Palacio said. “I love watching baseball. When I visually see a player being successful, I take what they do into my game.”
As Palacio enters her third season with the Pride, she opens up about the lessons she’s learned along the way.
“The last two seasons I had so much fun with the team,” Palacio said. “So just enjoying the travel, whether it’s plane rides, bus trips or in the hotel. Having team chemistry is so pivotal to us being successful.”
Palacio credits her success to the athlete she looks up to the most in professional sports, Corey Seager.
“I just love his [Seager’s] style of play,” Palacio said. “He’s a very quiet guy, not showy at all. You always have to keep that team goal in mind above any personal accolades, and I think he does that pretty well. Even though he’s very successful getting World Series MVP’s, he’s just such a humble guy, and that’s who I try to emulate.”
The Pride attributes a key piece of their success to their pitching staff member Emma Falen, who pitched to a 3.14 earned run average (ERA) last season. However, the Pride lost freshman phenom Carley Ernst, who transferred to the University of Southern Florida after her rookie year.
After not playing in 2025, sophomore pitcher Jillian Locher will debut this season for the Pride after being named National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Easton All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2025.
In addition to the returners, the Pride welcomed seven freshmen who will bring much needed depth to the roster this season. The additions include Kimmya Sims from Elizabeth Seton High School, Emily Jovel from East Hampton High School, Ryleigh Smith from Stephen Decatur High School, Madison Steppe from Monticello High School, Kailyn Haig from Yale Secondary School, Casey McKeon from The Pingry School and Elaina Faux from Delran High School.
Smith, Steppe and McKeon headline the additions for the Pride. Smith set the single-season home run record with nine as a freshman in high school. She helped lead the Seahawks to four consecutive regional championships, becoming the first four-time First-team All-Bayside South Conference selection in school history and team MVP in 2024.
Steppe recorded 557 strikeouts in 293 innings for the Mustangs. As a junior in 2024, she recorded a career-high 217 strikeouts in 116 innings, including four consecutive no-hitters. Steppe was a two-time First-team All-Region Honoree in 2023. She led Monticello with a 0.60 ERA, and in 2025, she was named the District and Central Virginia player of the year.
McKeon graduated with an overall batting average of .390 with 106 hits and 87 runs batted in in four seasons with the Big Blue. She also finished with 446 career strikeouts and a 2.20 ERA. McKeon was a four-time New Jersey Prep A All-State selection, a Four-Time All-Skyland Conference Honoree and a Four-Time All-Area selection. In 2024 and 2025, McKeon saw immense success, winning Prep A State Championship titles.
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Since being appointed to the head coach position in July 2025, Cassidy-Lyke has gotten to know the players both on and off the field.
“They’re really hard workers, and they’re well-rounded,” Cassidy-Lyke said. “They’ve done a lot of community service that I’ve done with them. They support the other teams. They really bought into what we brought in and have been respectful of that.”
Palacio gives fans a preview of what to expect of the team this season.
“Be excited about this team,” Palacio said. “We got a great freshman class. Our pitching staff has grown so much, and we have a ton of exciting players.”
The Pride’s 2026 campaign began on Friday, February 13, at the Florida Eagle Invitational in a tournament-style weekend against Louisiana Monroe University and Florida Gulf Coast University.
