NACC to celebrate ‘Sophomore Day’ for program’s first recruiting class

When Joe Guthrie began recruiting what would become the first recruiting class in Northeast Alabama Community College softball history, he was selling a blueprint for a state-of-the-art facility comparable to any level of the sport and a vision of what the new program could become.

And with that first recruiting class, signed prior to the program's debut in 2025, the players have seen that vision become reality at warp speed.

In just its second-year of existence, NACC softball has morphed into one of the country's top programs, sporting a 45-3 record, including a 26-2 mark and the No. 1-seed for the upcoming Alabama Community College Conference Tournament. The Mustangs have also spent the entire regular season ranked in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Softball Rankings' Top-5, including three weeks at No. 1 and a current No. 3-ranking they will carry throughout the postseason.

Guthrie realized early on that the program's initial recruiting was going to leave a lasting mark.

"I knew that we had a special group. We needed in the first year to get the right people on the bus and get them in the right seats. This group has done all of that and more," said Guthrie, who came to NACC after a season as an assistant coach at Texas A&M during a coaching career that includes head-coaching stints at UAB and Marion Military Institute and assistant coaching tenures at UAB, Penn State, Bucknell and Louisiana. "I think this group will forever be remembered at Northeast. They literally have taken 'belief without evidence' and put us at the top of the JUCO softball world. Incredible work by them."

NACC will celebrate "Sophomore Day" following its doubleheader (1 p.m.) with conference foe Shelton State Thursday at Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium. Sophomores being honored are Audra "Pearl" Bellomy, Emmorie Burke, Francesca Lumpp, Sophia Murphey, Jada Hampton, Chloe Hatch, Emma Hindmon, Shianne Parker, Sierra Walding, Kayleigh Warnock and Kiley Weston.

"The number one thing this group did was lay out an expectation of culture," Guthrie said. "Average teams are coach led, but great teams are player led. They care about taking ownership of the culture. They care about policing their own culture. I am very proud of them. They are going to do great things in our society."

Guthrie said building upon what NACC's first softball recruiting class has helped start is the task of all future classes.

"The standard they set on becoming process oriented, their leadership and their commitment to the standards of the organization, I think we have big shoes to fill," Guthrie said. "Our job is to follow and exceed what they've started each year."