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Marie Curran Head Coach Ninth Season Trenton State, '93 E-mail: mcurran@buffalo.edu Phone: 716-645-6517 Office: 214 C Alumni

Marie Curran enters her ninth season as head coach of the UB softball team after leading the Bulls to a 3-45 record in 2006.

In 2006, Curran guided Erin Zilka to a spot on the 2006 MAC All-Freshman Team and aided pitcher Sophie Barstad in earning her first MAC Player of the Week honors on March 20, 2006.

Curran helped UB to its first MAC Tournament appearance in 2005, as the Bulls finished 22-28, but 11-8 in conference play. The Bulls won their first ever conference tournament game, a 2-0 victory over Kent State. Curran led UB to its best record at the Division I level in 2004 with a 25-23 record. Curran has been at the helm of the UB softball program since its reinstatement at the Division I level in 2000, and her teams continue to improve and add to their list of milestones and accomplishments for the UB softball program.

“The great thing about having such a short Division I history means that every year is a chance to learn and build the program until we’re happy with it,” said Curran. “We’re still a relatively young team, but it’s been amazing to watch the confidence level of the players and coaches get better and better over the last six years. We are excited to have athletes who have experienced the success of the last two years and they can help the younger players learn to adapt.”

In 2005, the Bulls went on a Division-I era school record seven-game winning streak en route to their first MAC Tournament appearance. The Bulls went 18-9 in their final 27 games of the season and went 1-2 in the Tournament in Akron, OH.

The Bulls won seven of their final nine games of the 2004 season to finish with a 25-23 overall record and an 11-10 record in the MAC, marking their most successful season in their six-year Division I history. The 25 wins are the most ever recorded in a season in UB softball history, and the Bulls also finished over .500 for the first time in their Division I tenure. Buffalo’s 11 MAC wins are the most it has recorded in one season in league play, and it narrowly missed making the six-team MAC Tournament.

Curran guided the Bulls to an 18-21 record in 2003, and she ended the season by picking up her 50th career victory at eventual MAC Tournament champion Western Michigan, 7-4, on April 29. Curran also led the Bulls to their first win over a nationally-ranked team when they defeated No. 25 Baylor, 1-0, on March 6, 2003. Her teams led the conference in fielding percentage during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, setting a school record in 2003 (.966).

With softball being one of six sports mandated by the MAC, the Bulls spent the 2000 season as an independent before jumping into conference play in 2001. Curran, who was familiar with some of the challenges a program must go through in its first year in a new conference as a result of time spent as an assistant coach at fellow MAC-member Northern Illinois, guided the Bulls to four conference wins in their inaugural season in the MAC, including one over the Huskies who finished the regular season as the sixth seed in the conference tournament. The Bulls upped that number to eight conference wins in 2002, and they recorded seven league wins in 2003, including a 3-0 shutout of regular season champion Marshall on March 23.

Being a native New Yorker (she hails from Chester, NY), Curran has made it her personal mission “to put Buffalo softball on the national map.” Her enthusiasm and commitment to this goal are already paying off after just seven seasons of head coaching under her belt. Curran has coached an All-Region selection in four of her seven seasons at Buffalo, with Jennifer Moore being a second-team selection in 2000 and Breanne Nasti being a second-team selection in 2001 and a first-team selection in both 2002 and 2004. She has also seen her players earn All-MAC honors in each of the past four seasons, including two players in both 2002 (Nasti and Ann Magur) and 2004 (Nasti and Stacey Evans), one player in 2005 (Marcy Hansen) as well as one player in 2006 (Erin Zilka). Curran’s teams have also excelled in the classroom, as evidenced by three of her players (Nasti, Magur and Heather Robbins) being named NFCA All-American Scholar Athletes in 2002. Three of the seniors from 2005 also earned academic awards under Curran. Evans, Magur and Melissa Pace were all named to the 2005 Academic All-MAC team.

As the top choice to lead the UB softball program from the club level, where it had operated since 1988, up to the Division I level, Curran was named head softball coach at UB on May 6, 1999. She came to Buffalo from Northern Illinois where she served as an assistant coach for two seasons. Curran began her stint at NIU in the Huskies’ first season in the MAC. During her time at Northern Illinois, Curran was instrumental in helping the Huskie players develop in the hitting department, while also spending a majority of her time working with the outfielders and catchers. Curran’s coaching efforts helped guide the Huskies to a 33-16-1 overall record and a 21-6-1 league mark, good for second place in the MAC’s West Division, in 1998. In 1999, the Huskies won the MAC West Division with a 35-19 overall record and a 22-4 league mark. Curran also served as the Huskies’ recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator as well as their director for camps and clinics.

Curran began her coaching career in 1995 at Creighton University, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, where she served as an assistant coach until 1997. Curran assisted in all aspects of on-the-field coaching as well as coordinating recruiting and academics. She also served as the camp and clinic director in her two years with the Bluejays.

Curran’s educational background and playing experience are equally as impressive as her coaching background as she was a four-year letterwinner at Trenton State College (currently the College of New Jersey) from 1988 to 1993 under legendary softball coach Dr. June Walker. Curran was a three-year starter at catcher for the Lions and helped guide the team to two NCAA Division III National Championships, in 1989 and 1992. In 1993, Curran was named a First Team National Softball Coaches Association All-American. She was also named Player of the Year for the New Jersey Athletic Conference, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Curran was also named to the Northeast Regional All-Tournament Team and the Mid-Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team while at Trenton State. Upon graduation, she was invited to attend the Amateur Softball Association/USA Olympic Trials Levels I & II in 1994.