Michelle Connors finished her 11th year as the head softball coach and 13th season overall at Union College in 2024.
Connors has led Union to four Liberty League Tournament appearances during her time in Schenectady, including a spot in the tournament finals in 2015 after a pair of elimination-game victories. In all, 24 Union players have been named to the All-Liberty League teams under Connors' watch, including at least one player in every season.
Connors led Union to a 15-20 record in 2023, earning the team's first Liberty League tournament appearance since 2018 and the first postseason win since 2015. Following the season senior Karson Saunders claimed Liberty League Player of the Year honors, the first for the program since 2008. Saunders and senior Olivia Valery claimed NFCA All-Region accolades, while Saunders went on to earn NFCA All-America first-team recognition and also was named the CSC Division III Softball Academic All-American of the Year and a Top 30 finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Taking the field with a young roster that saw only two seniors start more than four games, Connors led Union to a 19-13 record in 2022. The team posted one of the best starts to a season in program history, jumping out to a 9-1 start that is tied for the second-best 10-game start ever. Following the season, Saunders was named to the NFCA All-Region first team, Union's first All-Region selection since 2014 and its first first-team honoree since 2009, as well as an Academic All-American.
After having the team's 2020 season canceled entirely due to COVID-19 Connors helped guide her team through a challenging 2021 season that was truncated by the pandemic. Despite routinely fielding a squad with five or more players in their first collegiate season, the team won eight conference contests, the most by a Union side since 2014, and had a pair of players earn All-Liberty League honors.
In her first season of 2014, Union boasted a 22-13 record and a 9-3 mark in conference play, finishing third in the very competitive regular-season standings. Six players earned All-Liberty League honors following the season.
Prior to taking over as the 13th head coach in program history, Connors served two seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach with the team in 2012-13.
Connors was a four-year member of the University at Albany softball team, where she helped lead UAlbany to an America East Championship, a regular season title, and an NCAA Tournament regional final appearance. She was an America East All-Rookie first team selection and also earned second-team honors. She closed out her career as the captain of the 2010 team and graduated from UAlbany in 2010.
Connors has served as a hitting instructor for the Extra Innings Baseball and Softball Training company, and also was a hitting and fielding instructor at the Shenendehowa Elite Softball Camp. She was a first team all-star, an MVP and a Player of the Year during her career at Shenendehowa and helped lead the team to AA Sectional Championships in each of her four seasons, 2003 through 2006.
