Albion College Softball Camps

Overview

Albion College's softball program is based in Albion, Michigan, and competes at the NCAA Division III level as a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). The program runs a seasonal series of camps, skills clinics, and tournaments for youth and high school players throughout the fall and early winter. All registration is handled through the provider's online portal at albionsoftballcamps.com.

Coaching Staff

Leigh Ann LaFave – Head Coach

LaFave has led the Albion softball program since 2016. Before joining the Brits staff, she spent eight years as a head coach at Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minnesota) and Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa). At Wartburg she oversaw the program's largest single-season jump in wins and, in 2015, guided the team to its first winning record since 2009. At Bethany Lutheran she helped post the school's best-ever conference finish in 2011. A native of Escanaba, Michigan, LaFave pitched at Alma College, where the squad earned four consecutive NCAA Division III tournament berths as MIAA champions and captured regional titles in 2004 and 2005. She ranks as the MIAA's all-time leader in conference-play ERA (0.38) and sits among Alma's career leaders in strikeouts and shutouts. As a player she collected two MIAA MVP awards and four first-team all-conference selections.

Ciara Wilson-Santos – Assistant Coach

Wilson-Santos begins her first season on the Albion staff in 2026. She most recently spent two years (2024–25) as head coach at Battle Creek Central High School, where she rebuilt a program that had not fielded a team in 2021 and led it to the school's first postseason win in recent memory. She also serves as program director and 12U coach for the On-Deck travel softball organization. A Lansing, Michigan native, she played four seasons as a starting outfielder at Olivet College (a fellow MIAA school) from 2010 to 2013, finishing with 56 RBI and 32 walks—both top-10 marks in Olivet history. She earned a B.S. in sports and recreation management from Olivet in 2013 and a master's in business management from Davenport University in 2015.

Ashley Pion – Volunteer Assistant Coach

Pion appears in the official Albion softball staff directory for the 2026 season. No additional biographical details were available in the source materials reviewed.

Facilities

Camps and clinics are held at Dempsey Field, situated on the north bank of the Kalamazoo River. The site was renamed during the 1999–2000 academic year to honor Cedric and June Dempsey, both 1954 Albion graduates. Cedric Dempsey went on to serve as an NCAA president and previously coached basketball and cross country at Albion; June has served on the college's Alumni Board. The couple were the primary donors behind the field's renovation. Netting installed above the backstop—meant to keep balls from landing in the river and the brush beyond—was funded by Barbara Hill Meyer, an Albion resident and inductee of the Albion College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Schedule & Registration

Two sessions originally scheduled for September 13 (Fall Prospect Camp and 10U Team Camp) have already taken place and are no longer open for registration.