Stillman will retain baseball and softball

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- After what was thought to be the final seasons for the Stillman College baseball and softball programs, Stillman athletic director Donte Jackson has announced that the school will retain both programs and continue play next season.

“We looked at softball and baseball as two of the traditional sports that have always been here at Stillman College, and two of the traditional sports that we’ve had a lot of success with,” Jackson said. “So in our efforts to boost enrollment, it was a good to retain softball and baseball.”

In December, Stillman announced the move from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in NCAA division II to the Gulf South Athletic Conference in the NAIA. Stillman made the move to drop all of its athletic programs except men’s and women’s basketball following the 2015-2016 school year. With the new addition of junior varsity teams for both the softball and baseball teams, Stillman will have the financial capabilities to keep both varsity teams.

Rumblings of both the baseball and softball programs being retained began in the late spring, especially after both finished well in the SIAC conference with limited rosters. The softball team finished 14-10 in the conference, while the baseball team finished with 16-5 conference record and made it to the conference championship game.

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