Syracuse University Athletics

An All-American player and champion head coach, Leigh Ross took over the SU softball program in 2006. As the second head coach in program history, Ross has led the team to eight consecutive conference tournament appearances (seven BGI EAST, one ACC), along with back-to-back BIG EAST Championship titles in 2010 and 2011.

Ross successfully transitioned the Orange through its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014, guiding the team to a sixth place finish and an even 12-12 record in conference play. Syracuse ended the season on a strong note, going 19-11 over the final 30 games, while winning 15 of 21 at one point. In the season-opening weekend, Ross picked up her 13th win over a ranked-opponent since taking over at SU in 2006, when the Orange defeated No. 21 UAB. Ross' 2014 squad boasted three all-conference players, including first-teamer Sydney O'Hara and Jasmine Watson, who were both All-Regional as well.

In Syracuse's final go-around in the BIG EAST conference in 2013, Ross coached a trio of all-league players with Jasmine Watson and Shirley Daniels earning second team honors while Corinne Ozanne was a third team honoree. That season Syracuse posted one of its biggest wins in school history knocking off No. 4 California 8-1 in Hawaii.

Under Ross, the Orange finished in the national rankings for the first time in program history in 2012, concluding their campagin ranked No. 24 according to the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and No. 23 according to the NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll. The team also spent five weeks in the top 25, making the deepest run into the post-season, reaching the NCAA Regional Finals. Ross also led the team to a win against the highest nationally-ranked opponent in program history with a 1-0 victory against No. 2 Arizona State in the NCAA Tournament.

Four Orange student-athletes received All-BIG EAST honors, led by Stephanie Watts and Veronica Grant, who were both first team honorees. Jenna Caira was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, while Stacy Kuwik was a third team honoree.

In 2011, the team put together the best season in program history with a mark of 45-13, and also won its first ever NCAA Tournament game with a 1-0 win against LSU at Regionals. She was awarded her first 'Cuse Award for Coach of the Year following the run. In her six seasons at Syracuse, Ross has reached the 20-plus win plateau each season. In 2010, she guided the squad to its first BIG EAST Championship title and NCAA Regional appearance with a 32-26 overall record. It marked the first time that the fifth-seeded Orange had advanced to the BIG EAST tournament final as it became the lowest seed in conference history to capture the title.

Two student-athletes garnered NFCA All-Region accolades - the most since the 2006 season - while three earned All-BIG EAST recognition. The 2012 Orange set a program single- season record in games played (59), while the 2010 team set the record for doubles (82), walks (195) and stolen bases (72) while ranking among the top five teams in conference in 13 offensive categories and 14 defensive categories in 2010.  In 2010, SU also led the BIG EAST in walks and stolen bases while ranking second in triples (12), third in doubles and fourth in total bases (571). The Orange pitching staff ranked third among conference teams in opponent average (.224) and second in strikeouts (402) while allowing the third fewest hits (319) and fewest extra-base hits (64) while the defense ranked second in putouts (1143) and assists (511).

In 2009, four student-athletes earned All-BIG EAST recognition while Jenna Caira was named BIG EAST and ECAC Rookie of the Year. Additionally, the 2009 Orange finished in the conference’s top five in 11 offensive categories, including fourth in batting average (.287) and hits (395), while setting the program record for triples in a season (14). Syracuse also matched the program-best mark for team fielding percentage (.966) while recording the third-least errors among conference teams.

Ross joined the Syracuse staff after eight seasons as head coach at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), where she turned the program into a perennial Mid-American Conference title contender. Her 2004 squad posted the first MAC Tournament title in school history and advanced to NCAA Regional play.

Ross, who posted a 237-198-2 record during her eight years at Bowling Green, was the first coach in school history to reach 200 career victories.

During her tenture at Bowling Green, Ross mentored two MAC Players of a the Year, one MAC Pitcher of the Year and a conference freshman of the year.

Building the Foundation
Since her arrival at Syracuse, Ross has recruited top talent from around the country which has helped the Orange to continuously improve its conference and national standing.

Canadian pitcher Jenna Caira became the first student-athlete in program history record 1,000 career strikeouts, finishing her career at SU with 1,043. She has also thrown four of the six no-hitters in SU's history, two of which she threw in 2012. Caira holds every record in each pitching category in the SU softball record book. She became the second player at SU to earn All-American honors, picking up third team All-BIG EAST honors in 2012. In 2010, she earned BIG EAST and ECAC Rookie of the Year honors. The 2010 BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, Caira earned a spot on the Canadian National Team following her freshman season and pitched Team Canada to a bronze medal at the ISF World Championships and a win against Team USA in the KFC World Cup of Softball in summer 2010. Entering her junior season, Caira ranks among the top 10 in 10 SU single-season record categories and an additional 12 career record categories while holding the program-best mark in career strikeouts per seven innings pitched (8.37).

Outfielder Lisaira Daniels joined the Orange in 2010 as a transfer from the University of Georgia. During her first season on the hill, Daniels led the team offensively, tallying the best sophomore season in program history while ranking 44th nationally with 0.50 stolen bases per game and 45th with 4.0 triples to earn NFCA All-Region and All-BIG EAST Second Team honors. Entering her junior year, Daniels is SU's career leader in batting average (.345) and stolen bases (42) while ranking among the top 11 on 13 additional career and single-season lists.

California natives Stephanie Watts and Veronica Grant each rewrote the record books during their freshman seasons. Watts graduated in 2012 as the lead in numerous SU records. She is SU's all-time leader in games played and started, at-bats, runs scored, triples, walks and total bases. She is currently playing professionally in Germany.

Grant set six rookie records while ranking among the top five in eight other categories and became the first Syracuse freshman to earn NFCA All-Region honors since 2002.
 
Winning Tradition
Ross earned her 300th career victory in a 3-0 sweep of Canisius on April 13, 2009. She has a .522 overall winning percentage and a .588 winning percentage in league contests, both MAC and BIG EAST.

During her final season at BGSU in 2006, her team tied the school record for wins, going 37-23 overall, including a 16-6 conference record. The 2006 squad set a school record with 29 homeruns and advanced to the MAC Tournament for the eighth time in nine seasons. Five individuals garnered All-MAC honors, including three first-team selections and the MAC Freshman of the Year.

In 2005, Ross coached both the MAC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, as the Falcons finished 12-10 in MAC play.

During the 2004 season, Ross guided the sixth-seeded Falcons to the MAC title and an NCAA Tournament berth. BGSU opened tournament play with a 3-0 loss to Western Michigan and responded by knocking off each of the top four seeds, in order, to advance through the loser’s bracket and claim the tournament title.

In 2003, the Falcons opened conference play with an 0-5 record, before reeling off a school-record-tying 10-consecutive league wins to finish fourth in the West Division.

Ross’ peers named her the 2001 MAC Coach of the Year after she guided the Falcons to a 19-5 league record and the East Division title. BGSU went 35-19 overall, tying the second most wins in Falcons history at the time.

In the spring of 2000, the Falcons tied for the East regular-season title with a 13-7 MAC record and made the school’s third-consecutive tournament appearance.

In 1999, her first season as head coach, Ross guided the Falcons to the MAC Tournament while leading the team to its best record in six years. After contending for the MAC’s East Division title until the final weekend of the regular season, the Falcons finished second in the division.

Prior to being named head coach, Ross served two seasons as an assistant on the Bowling Green staff. In 1998, she helped the Falcons to a 15-13 MAC record and a spot in the league tournament. In 1997, her first year with the program, she helped the Falcons win 11-of-13 games down the stretch.

The Proof is in the Numbers
Ross became the winningest coach in Bowling Green history in 2003 and became the school’s leader in MAC victories and league winning percentage (.613) the following season.

Ross was the fastest coach in BGSU history to amass 100 career victories and 50 MAC wins. In 2005, she became the first coach in program history to reach the 200 win plateau. She also currently stands as the only head coach in BGSU history to string together four-consecutive winning seasons in MAC play.

There was a noticeable increase in the Falcons’ power numbers during Ross’ tenure as head coach. During her first season, the school single-season homerun record was eight, which Ross’ teams surpassed with seven double-digit homerun seasons in the next eight years. In her eight-year tenure, BGSU hitters had 152 homeruns, an average of 19 per season.

Championships
A native of Ottawa, Lake, Mich., Ross came to the Falcon program after four seasons as head coach at Notre Dame Academy in Toledo. During her tenure, she earned three City League Top Coach honors.

Ross’ teams compiled a 70-15 overall record and captured three league titles in four seasons. She also served as Notre Dame’s assistant athletic director and development coordinator during that time span.

Playing Days
A four-year starter in the outfield at the University of Toledo, Ross led the 1989 UT squad to the MAC championship and a seventh-place finish at the College World Series. In 1991, Ross led the nation with an average of 0.83 stolen bases per game en route to second team All-America honors. In addition, her .447 batting average for the 1991 season ranked fifth nationally and second in the MAC. Ross also holds the MAC career records for batting average (.398), at-bats (744) and hits (296). She is also second in runs scored (143) and ranks tied for fifth on the MAC stolen-base list (107).

A three-time All-Mideast Region selection, she set 11 school records and twice was a first-team All-MAC selection. In February 2001, Ross was inducted into the UT Athletics Hall of Fame.

Ross participated in the 1994 USA Softball Olympic Team Trials, finishing in the top 150 among more than 500 participants in the Level I tryouts. At the Level II trials, Ross was named an alternate to the 35-player national team.

A 1987 graduate of Whiteford High School, where she was valedictorian, Ross led her high school team to three Michigan state championships and was a three-time all-state selection.

Ross has a son, Jared, and daughter, Teagan.