River Forest, Ill. – From appearances in NCAA DIII Tournaments to thrilling upsets and comeback victories, Dominican University Athletics reflects on 2025-2026.

Women's Soccer continued to find success on the pitch, going 12-6-1 overall on the 2025 season, including a 9-3 record in the NACC and a 6-2-1 record at West Campus Field. On September 22^nd, the Stars picked up their most impressive win of the season, taking down Illinois Wesleyan on the road by a final score of 1-0. Senior Mia Dosen scored the game's only goal in the 59^th minute. Heading into the NACC Tournament, DU defeated the #5-Seed, Concordia Wisconsin, 2-1 at home, before falling to #1-Seed Illinois Tech on the road by a final score of 4-0. Senior Sarah Matuszek capped off her career with a slew of accolades, including NACC All-Conference First Team, CSC Academic All-District, and Dominican Female Athlete of the Year. The Lockport, Illinois native logged 3 goals, 3 assists, and 1631 minutes in all of Dominican's 19 games.
 
Men's Soccer saw plenty of new faces make their mark on the program during the 2025 campaign, as the Stars finished with a 7-8-4 overall record, including a 7-3-2 record in conference and a 5-3-2 record at home. A highlight of DU's season came on October 1^st, at Concordia Wisconsin. After the Stars fell behind 2-1, Junior Tristen Banquil scored a pair of goals, including a long-range free kick in the 83^rd minute, to secure a 3-2 comeback victory. As a #5-Seed in the NACC Tournament, the Stars fell to #4-Seed Milwaukee School of Engineering on the road by a final score of 3-0. Senior Ryan Gutierrez captained Dominican and started all 19 games while playing 1537 minutes. The senior was a NACC All-Conference Honorable Mention and was nominated for Dominican Male Athlete of the Year.
 
Women's Volleyball rostered a young squad that showed promise for the future. DU totaled a 2-21 record in 2025, with a 1-9 record inside the Igini Sports Forum. The Stars swept aside Beloit in their home opener on September 9^th and were led by Senior Veronica Henkel and her 12 kills and 5 aces. Dominican did not qualify for the NACC Tournament. Senior Ellery Shea led the attack for the Stars, posting a total of 162 kills for 2.35 kills per set.
 
Men's Cross Country had several solid finishes during the 2025 season, including a 2nd-place finish at the NP-CUC Invite. Junior Samuel Malke finished with a time of 17:44.3 in the 5000-meter event. Malke compounded several more stellar times into a nomination for Dominican Male Athlete of the Year at the Student Athlete Award Ceremony in April.
 
Women's Cross Country also had its best finish at the NP-CUC Invite on August 29^th. Freshman Andrea Camacho, in her first collegiate race, posted a time of 22:42.9 and led the Stars in the event. Sophomore Fatima Duran followed with a time of 24:21.3.
 
Golf picked up its best finish of 8^th on the 2025 season at the St. Francis Fall Invitational. Individually, Sophomore Luka Stundins had a performance for the record book on August 29^th, at the Edgewood University Fall Invite. The Dallas, Texas native shot a 2-over 73, placing him in a T11 for the individual lowest round in DU history.
 
Women's Basketball took a big step in 2025-2026, as the Stars posted a 10-15 overall record, a 4-13 record in the NACC, and a 6-6 record at home. Dominican picked up a thrilling 55-52 upset victory over Edgewood at home on January 31^st, which was decided by a buzzer-beater three-pointer by Freshman Kennedy Yost. Yost's shot earned her the Dominican Athletics Play of the Year award. Despite not making the NACC Tournament, the Stars are poised for a big 2026-2027 season. Junior Lia Saunders led Dominican in scoring with 11.8 points per game and cashed in on 27 threes. Saunders also posted a 30-point performance in a 69-44 victory over Rockford on January 14^th, which earned her a nomination for Dominican Athletics Individual Performance of the Year.
 
Men's Basketball battled throughout the 2025-2026 season despite having a young squad and several injuries. Dominican registered a 2-23 overall record and went 2-10 in the Igini Sports Forum. On February 14^th, the Stars picked up a big victory on Senior Day over Wisconsin Lutheran by a final score of 82-80. Sophomore Braydon Murphy totaled 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in the upset win. Sophomore Frank Paszkowski had a year to remember after leading the NACC and setting a program record with 73 threes made during the year. Paszkowski was named to the NACC All-Conference Honorable Mentions and posted a career-high in scoring with 34 against MSOE on January 7^th, earning him Dominican Athletics Individual Performance of the Year and a place in the record book in a tie for 7^th for points scored in a single game.
 
Men's Volleyball had its best season as a program since 2022, going 23-6 overall, 10-2 in conference, and 14-2 at home in 2026. On March 18^th, the Stars picked up a massive road win at No. 9 Aurora in five sets. Sophomore Landon Kassulke picked up 56 assists, the second time he notched 55+ assists in a match during the season (59 at Loras on February 15^th, tied for most in a single match in program history). DU went into the NACC Tournament as the #2 seed. After sweeping Illinois Tech in the quarterfinals, Dominican defeated No. 12 Aurora in four before sweeping No. 13 MSOE on its home court to claim the 2026 NACC Tournament Title. The win clinched a berth to the NCAA DIII Men's Volleyball Championships for the fourth time in six seasons for the Stars, with their last appearance coming in 2024. In the NCAA Tournament, DU advanced past Thiel in the Play-In round after a 3-0 sweep, before falling to No. 3 and regional-host Carthage in straight sets. Among a plethora of accolades for the Stars, Junior Thomas Hirsch became the 9^th All-American in DUMVB history. The Boise, Idaho native also earned NACC All-Conference First team, AVCA All-Region, and Dominican Athletics Male Athlete of the Year. Hirsch led the nation in hitting percentage at .464 and totaled 258 kills, 38 aces, and 103 total blocks.
 
Men's Track and Field competed in its 2^nd season in 2026 and had its share of good performances. The Stars placed 3^rd at the Lewis Open on January 10^th, and 8^th at the Margaret Brady Invite on February 21^st.
 
Women's Track and Field was also in its 2^nd season as a program in 2026 and posted a best result of 7^th at the Coach Shoe Invitational on Saturday, January 17^th. The Stars also competed in both NACC Track Championships (Indoor and Outdoor).
 
Baseball had its fair share of exciting performances during the 2026 season, as the Stars amassed a 14-23 overall record, a 7-17 NACC record, and a 3-10 record at Wintrust Field.  To open the season, Dominican picked up a 3-0 record at the Centre College Invite, including a 4-3 victory over No. 13 Centre on March 1^st. Senior Ricky Powell finished the game going 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored. This led to DU receiving votes in the d3baseball.com Top 25, the first time in program history.  Ultimately, the Stars fell short of the NACC Tournament. Senior Zach Helein capped off his career by going .378 in the box and totaled 56 hits, 20 RBIs, 9 doubles, and one home run. The Las Vegas, Nevada, native was nominated for Dominican Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.
 
Softball bounced back in a major way after a slower start to the season, compiling a 29-18 overall record, including a 19-5 record in the NACC and a 9-3 record at home. The Stars had no shortage of impressive performances, including back-to-back sweeps over St. Norbert and Alverno at home to clinch the NACC Regular Season title on April 26^th. As DU headed into the NACC Tournament as the #1-Seed, a shock defeat at the hands of #3-Seed Benedictine moved Dominican into the elimination bracket. Wins over #2-Seed Concordia Wisconsin, Benedictine, and Benedictine once again in the "If Necessary" game sent the Stars to the NCAA DIII Softball Tournament for the second time in three seasons. In the winner-take-all game against BenU, Sophomore Raegyn Davis was 2-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. In the NCAA Tournament, DU traveled to Waverly, Iowa, and faced off against Redlands and Wartburg. The Stars put up a fight but fell in both games, with final scores of 5-3 and 8-4, respectively. Senior Ryley Davis concluded her career with several accolades, including NCAA All-Tournament Team, NACC All-Conference First Team, and a nomination for Dominican Athletics Female Athlete of the Year. Sophomore Hannah Richards also claimed NACC Pitcher of the Year after posting a 1.95 ERA in 107.2 innings.