Softball On SI

Texas A&M Softball Opens NCAA Tournament Against Team Defying Odds in Last DI Year

In its final D1 season, Saint Francis brings heart, grit, and a story of perseverance to the NCAA Tournament.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
The Saint Francis Red Flash will take on the overall-No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies to open the NCAA Tournament on Friday
The Saint Francis Red Flash will take on the overall-No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies to open the NCAA Tournament on Friday | Saint Francis Athletic

Emotional doesn't even begin to describe the season the Saint Francis Red Flash has experienced this year.

After getting off to a 6-0 start in Northeast Conference play, the athletic department received devastating news when the university decided to transition from Division I to Division III in 2026.

Rather than surrendering to decisions out of their control, the softball coaches, players, and staff decided they would stick together and go out on top.

On Sunday, the Red Flash hoisted the NEC trophy and watched ESPN2 flash their name in a first-round matchup against the No. 1-overall Texas A&M Aggies.

"We found out at 10 a.m. and the news went live around 11 or noon," head coach Beth Krysiak told Softball On SI in a phone interview on Monday. "I walked into my locker room, and my girls were just crying. I tell them this is not a reflection on you, this is not a reflection on the program, what matters now is every person in this room... this is our team, this is what we are playing for. This hurts and it's going to hurt, and I understand that."

The Red Flash struggled in the weeks after the decision was made, losing eight of its next 10 games.

"They needed to regroup," Krysiak said. "They need time to process and grieve, grieve that it's a different experience than what they signed up for. I think they had to go through that process, and it was unfortunate that we had to play Central Connecticut, FDU, and LIU the next three weeks."

The timing wasn't ideal but Saint Francis proved that it could play with the best while at its worst which gave the team confidence at the end of the year to take down all three of those team in the NEC tournament.

The Red Flash has 15 players on the active roster, including three juniors, one senior, and one graduate student. To say the team is young would be an understatement.

"Nothing this season, for us, went as planned," Krysiak added. "Not a single thing. There was only one conference series that we didn't move game times, days, travel plans, something and they just learned to roll with the punches.

"I truthfully believe God gives you the strength to handle whatever is thrown at you, and God really tested us with other things to be sure we were strong enough to handle the biggest curveball we were gonna be thrown."

The Red Flash swept its final two series of the regular season and went 3-0 in the NEC Tournament, outscoring FDU, CCSU, and LIU 19-4.

As a team, the Red Flash chose not to let the school's decision affect their season and, in a way, used it as motivation. Now, SFU is set to open the NCAA Tournament on one of softball's biggest stages.

"A&M is very obviously a World Series-caliber team," Krysiak said. "We have thrived in chaos and pressure, if the one-site's not that then I don't know what is."

The Red Flash will travel to College Station on Wednesday, and the first pitch against the Aggies is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Friday.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
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+.

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