Brown Softball’s Unforgettable Season Earns Spot on National Stage
The Brown Bears aren't supposed to be in the NCAA Tournament, but don't tell them that.
In fact, the Bears aren't listening to any of the critics as they get ready to board their charter flight bound for Lubbock and a date with the No. 12 national seed Texas Tech on Friday.
Led by a first-year Division I head coach in Mary Holt-Kelsch, Brown took the Ivy League by storm and hasn't stopped dancing since the final out to clinch their first NCAA berth since 1997 and first winning season since 1996.
"Yeah, and in '96 I think I was sitting in kindergarten," Holt-Kelsch laughed off while on the phone with Softball On SI on Tuesday. "I was definitely taking a nap or waiting for snack time."
I will never forget this moment…
— Mary Holt-Kelsch (@CoachMary_Brown) May 12, 2025
Hearing your team’s name called and watching your players celebrate the moment…WOW 🥹
That’s what it’s all about! This is a testament to their hard work, this is their moment…
Your 2025 Bears are headed to Lubbock! #AnswerTheCall🏆 #WhyNotUs… https://t.co/kynGXktHjB
Holt-Kelsch took the Brown job in August and was expecting to build a winner, but she didn't think it would happen the first season. Before she arrived, the Bears had not won 30 games in a single season since 1992. The program hadn't even appeared in a single Ivy League Tournament.
The odds weren't just stacked against her, they weren't in Brown's favor at all.
"If anybody would had asked me if this would happen in Year 1, my answer would have been no," Holt-Kelsch said. "I didn't expect it to happen this fast, but there is just a special group of people here right now, and the fact that they get to experience this is unbelievable."
When Holt-Kelsch says there is a special group at Brown, she means it. They have been rising to the challenge every week and learning how to win on the fly. By the time the Bears got to the Ivy League Tournament, it was as if they had been there before.
"You would think that a team that's never been in the Ivy League Tournament, never really competed for a championship, would be nervous, but they acted like they had been there every single year and were defending a title. That's how they were acting," Holt-Kelsch added. "Confidence was through the roof."
pov: your team is heading to the @NCAASoftball tournament for the first time in 28 years. 🌿🥎@BrownU_Softball pic.twitter.com/vdkkYDIatE
— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) May 11, 2025
Led by the senior battery of catcher Laurel Moody and pitcher Alexis Guevara, the Bears have nothing to lose.
Moody was the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year while Guevara has been rewriting the recording books setting new marks in career strikeouts and single-season strikeouts.
"Those are the two I'm really excited to see how they match up against some P4 schools this weekend," Holt-Kelsch said.
The Bears will be tested early and often as the only mid-major program in the Lubbock Regionals. The other two teams are Mississippi State and Washington.
Your Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Alexis Guevara ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/GM7NiwPN3l
— Brown Softball (@BrownU_Softball) May 11, 2025
But before they even step on the field, Brown will gather on campus Wednesday morning for breakfast and then head to the airport to board their charter.
The Bears are truly getting the experience of a lifetime, and with Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, and Michele Smith in the booth, the program will be on a stage bigger than ever.
However, Holt-Kelsch just wants her team to enjoy the trip one pitch at a time.
"I don't know how I'm going to bring these kids back to reality after this weekend," she laughed.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.