CORTLAND, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announces its Softball Athlete of the Decade, Coach of the Decade and All-Decade Team as nominated and voted on by the institution's sports information directors.

To be eligible for the All-Decade Team, athletes must have competed in the SUNYAC at least one season during the 2009-10 academic year through 2019-20 and athletes must have been named to the All-SUNYAC team more than once or named Athlete of the Year once. Athlete and Coach of the Decade recipients were previously named SUNYAC Athlete of the Year or Coach of the Year. 

SUNYAC Softball Athlete of the Decade - Donnalyn Cross, Cortland

Cross played second base for four seasons for the Red Dragons (2008-11). She was a three-time first team All-American (2009-11) and four-time all-region, including first team three times (2009-11). She was a two-time ECAC Upstate NY Player of the Year (2010-11), 2008 ECAC Upstate NY Rookie of the Year and 2009 first team All-ECAC Upstate NY. Cross was honored a the SUNYAC Player of the Year three years in a row (2010, 2011, co-Player in 2009). She was also a four-time first team All-SUNYAC and the 2008 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year. In 2011 she was named to the NCAA World Series All-Tournament Team and was a four-time NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team selection.

In 196 career games played, Cross averaged a .404 batting average and totaled 17 homers, 43 triples, 36 doubles, 103 RBI, 197 runs and 70 steals. She is Cortland's career leader in hits, triples, steals and runs scored and second in slugging pct. (.672). Cross graduated as an NCAA Division III career leader in triples (currently second). She sits fourth at Cortland in career batting average (including three seasons over .400). Cross holds the school's single-season record for hits (73) and runs (59) in 2011. She helped lead her team to the NCAA World Series in 2008 (tied 5th), 2009 (tied 7th) and 2011 (4th).

SUNYAC Softball Coach of the Decade - Julie Lenhart, Cortland

Lenhart's 10-year record from 2010-19 was 347-129-1 (.729), including three seasons with 40 or more wins and five other seasons of more than 30 wins. She led her team to seven SUNYAC titles (2010-11, 13, 15-17, 19), including the first run of three straight league titles (2015-17) by any softball program in SUNYAC history. Lenhart had eight NCAA appearances including finishing as the national runner-up in 2013 and a fourth-place national finish in 2011. The Red Dragons also tied for ninth nationally in 2017 (advanced to NCAA super regional). In the last decade, Lenhart was a three-time SUNYAC Coach of the Year (2010-15-19) and a two-time NFCA Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2011, 13). In 2014, she was inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame and she retired after the 2019 season.

2010's SUNYAC Softball All-Decade Team (PDF)