BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the second consecutive season the Western Washington University Softball coaching staff has been announced as the ATEC/NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
Led by seventh-year head coach Sheryl Gilmore the 2025 Vikings won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season and postseason titles, going 21-3 in league play, and sweeping through the conference tournament. WWU repeated as the West Region champions advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
 
The Vikings reached the national semifinal round finishing in the top four in the nation earning a final national ranking of No. 3 in the country. WWU was 47-13 overall in 2025 and has combined to go 99-25 (.798) over the last two seasons. Western featured one of the top all-around statistical teams in the nation ranking 10th in fielding percentage (.974), 13th in ERA (2.03) and 23rd in batting average (.327).
 
The coaching staff consisted of Gilmore (214-116 career record) and assistant coaches Shearyna Labasan and Leah Francis, and student assistant coaches Hanako Hirai and Ashley Jacobson. The support staff of athletic trainer Thomas Silberberger and strength coaches Damien Fisher and Jerrod Lee also helped contribute to another successful season for the Vikings.
 
In addition to WWU winning the West Region Coaching Staff of the Year honor, additional regional staffs to earn accolades included Shippensburg University (Atlantic), University of Central Oklahoma (Central), Pace University (East), Saginaw Valley State University (Midwest), Saint Leo University (South), University of Texas at Tyler (South Central) and Francis Marion University (Southeast). UT Tyler earned the National Coach of the Staff award after the Patriots repeated as NCAA II National Champions.
  The WWU softball program completed its 33rd season in 2025 going 47-13 and reaching the NCAA II World Series for the second consecutive season. The Vikings won the 2025 GNAC regular-season title with a 21-3 league record and claimed back-to-back GNAC Tournament titles in 2024 and 2025. WWU advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the seventh time in program history in 2025, reaching the national semifinals as one of four teams remaining in the 64-team bracket. WWU's historic 2024 season included hosting the regional and super regional rounds at Viking Field. The historic season ended playing in the national championship series as part of the NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival in Longwood, Florida. WWU has posted a winning record 22 times during the 33-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title.