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BEAVER TOWNSHIP -- The Curbstone Coaches kicked off their 69th season Monday with Ron Strollo, YSU vice-president for intercollegiate athletics, serving as guest speaker at Avion Banquet Center.
Currently in his 31st season at YSU and 26th overall at the helm of its men's and women's intercollegiate programs, Strollo has overseen the rise of its 21 programs, a group that won nine team titles last year and 86 overall since he took over the reins of the department in March of 2000.
"Across the board, last year was arguably the most competitive in our athletics history," Strollo told the group. "We have 21 sports, 18 compete in the Horizon League and last year, our teams produced nine league championships. We won the league's McCafferty All-Sports Trophy going away with 56.5 total points. Runner-up, Oakland University, had 37 points, so it was a very good year for Youngstown State. On top of that, our football and bowling teams were at-large playoff selections to the NCAA Tournament with football a No. 15 seed and bowling a No. 3 seed."
The Penguins' 500-plus total student-athletes -- they are second in the state in participants only to Ohio State -- also prospered in the classroom.
"Academically, we also had a very successful year. By far and away it was our best yet," Strollo said. "Our Penguin Path Program earned the N4A Model Practice award, we placed four teams in the top-10 nationally for grade point average [women's basketball, women's bowling, women's golf and women's swimming and diving] and were No. 1 overall in cumulative grade point average among Division I schools in Ohio with a 3.54 average during the fall, 2025 semester.
"YSU was No. 1 among all Horizon League schools with 164 student-athletes on their Academic Honor Roll, football earned the MVFC (Missouri Valley Football Conference) All-Academic Award for highest team GPA (3.36) while making it six consecutive semesters that all teams registered a 3.2 or higher cumulative GPA. Our grade point average was above 3.50 for all of our student-athletes so both in the classroom and on the field, it was a stellar overall year."
Teams participating this fall have picked up right where they left off last fall semester.
"As we look to the fall, our football team is ranked in the top-10 in multiple polls while both our soccer and volleyball teams were top-three pre-season league picks," Strollo said. "Both cross-country teams are expected to win it all in the Horizon League. If you look at our soccer and softball records, they might not seem that great, but they are to the point where they feel like they can really schedule up. Last week, soccer, which plays the 55th toughest schedule out of the nation's 349 programs, played at the University of Florida, which is nationally ranked, played Central Florida and have also played Indiana of the Big Ten Conference, Pitt of the ACC and the U.S. Naval Academy.
"Our volleyball team is also very competitive, having just played at Ohio State and taken them to five sets so it has been fun watching those programs grow and get to the point where we are playing some of the nation's top opponents. That will only make us better as a team when we get into Horizon League play."
Strollo expects to see the success continue into the rest of the academic year.
"As we look forward to our winter sports, we just released our basketball schedule and continue to expect great things. Our women's team could very easily be the pre-season No. 2 pick behind Green Bay.
"In softball, we turned the reins over to Erin Pond, a Northeast Ohio native who played at Penn State. She was an assistant with us and we are really excited about her taking over. The same goes for Hannah Saiz, who takes over our swimming program. She comes to us from Army, was an assistant at West Point as well and a national champion while swimming at powerhouse Kenyon College. She has made it to three Olympic trials as a swimmer so those are the new faces you will see in those sports."
Strollo noted that multiple construction projects have been completed with others scheduled to take place in the near future.
"Some construction projects that occurred over the summer included a new locker room for women's swimming and a newly renovated weight room for basketball," the former football captain and team's offensive player of the year said. "We are just wrapping up those projects and looking forward to next year when we will finally renovate our football locker room. Those lockers were built by Carmine Cassese, our late equipment manager, so it needs updating."
Strollo also accepted the organization's contribution to their endowed scholarship.
"The tradition of the Curbstone Coaches speaks for itself," he said. "Now in its eighth decade of operation, the people involved are some of our biggest YSU fans, so it is always fun for me to address the group. Every year they have contributed to an add-on to their scholarship which is over at the YSU Foundation so I am grateful to go there, meet with our many friends and collect the contribution to their scholarship."
The organization also honored the YSU women's tennis team for winning the Horizon League title last spring. It was the eighth championship under head coach Mickael Sopel, who is in his 14th season at the helm.
Next week, Tony Stephens, Ursuline Fighting Irish head football coach, will serve as guest speaker.
2025-26 YSU HIGHLIGHTS:
COMPETITION:
Beau Brugard, 2026 Walter Payton Award Winner
James Slessor, 2026 Horizon League Coleman Award Winner
Football NCAA Playoffs
Men's Cross Country Horizon League Champions
Women's Cross Country Horizon League Champions
Men's Indoor Track & Field Horizon League Champions
Women's Indoor Track & Field Horizon League Champions
Men's Outdoor Track & Field Horizon League Champions
Women's Outdoor Track & Field Horizon League Champions
Bowling NCAA Tournament
Men's Tennis Horizon League Champions
Women's Tennis Horizon League Champions
Softball Horizon League Champions
ACADEMICS:
Department Best GPA's: Women's Golf (3.90) and Men's Tennis (3.71)
#1 overall cumulative GPA among Division I schools in Ohio (Fall Semester -- 3.54)
Department-Best Overall Cumulative GPA in school history (Spring Semester -- 3.55 )
Highest % of student-athletes with semester (86%) and cumulative (89%) GPAs of 3.0 or above
N4A Model Practice Award Recipient -- Penguin Path Program
#1 Horizon League school with 164 student-athletes on the Academic Honor Roll
Six consecutive semesters that all teams had a 3.2 or higher cumulative GPA
Top 10 GPAs in the country – Women's Basketball, Women's Bowling, Women's Golf, Women's Swimming & Diving
Football earned the MVFC All-Academic Award for highest team GPA (3.36)