Once a year, Springfield College inducts multiple accomplished athletes into its coveted Athletic Hall of Fame. With thousands of athletes passing through Springfield College, representing many sports, achieving great victories and breaking records, there are only a select few that make it to the highest of honors awarded by the college.
As Springfield announced its 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame class, many eagerly awaited to see the names chosen for this year’s inductees. Among those selected for this year’s class was outstanding softball player Michelle Wlosek.
Wlosek was drawn to softball at a young age. Beginning with tee-ball and baseball, she switched to softball in fifth grade, joining travel teams at the first opportunity. She continued to play throughout high school as a three-sport athlete, but she knew her passion for softball came above all.
Following high school, Wlosek’s famed softball career at Springfield all began with an overnight visit, which she recalls being one of the main reasons she chose the college over others.
“I had a good recruiting overnight,” Wlosek remembered. “I hung out at Gulick Hall with my hosts, went to the dining hall and the whole nine yards. It just felt like family as soon as I stepped foot on campus, especially when I went to a couple of the classes. It was honestly a perfect fit for me.”
Majoring in Physical Education, Wlosek was very involved on campus outside of her athletic endeavors. Participating in Pre-Camp her first-year, Wlosek fell in love with Springfield College’s community aspect, becoming a New Student Orientation (NSO) leader her sophomore through senior year. Additionally, Wlosek was on the Pride Athletic Advisory Committee for three years, serving as the Vice President her junior year and ascending to the top position of President her senior year, while also being on the executive board for NSO her senior year.
While Wlosek accomplished incredible things off the field, the future Hall of Famer achieved unmatched greatness on the field. Wlosek led her team to a regular-season NEWMAC title, two NEWMAC tournament titles, and two subsequent NCAA Division III Tournament berths. The team’s close bond was something Wlosek believed help contribute to their success.
“Playing for my sisters,” Wlosek explained. “We were always there for each other, whether it was on the softball field or off the softball field. I roomed with two of them for most of my four years, and I’m still in touch with a bunch of them. It was honestly just the camaraderie and the fun times that we had on the field.”
Individually, Wlosek was a star on the field, earning countless awards and titles and standing out above the rest to cement herself as a staple of the softball program. Wlosek began her career strong, winning the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year award in 2007, leading Springfield with a .407 batting average and 44 RBIs. This was only the beginning for Wlosek, as following her rookie season, Wlosek would be named to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team three straight years, from 2008-2010, including claiming the NEWMAC Softball Athlete of the Year in 2009.
As an upperclassman, she would be awarded for her spectacular junior season with NFCA All-America honors, while also grabbing NFCA All-New England and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District accolades during her senior campaign. She finished her time at Springfield as a career .438 hitter while holding the all-time home run record for the Pride, blasting 29 throughout her career.
“I can’t say enough about Coach [Kathy] Mangano and how she ran the program while I was there,” Wlosek said about some of her biggest inspirations at Springfield. “The program that she developed for all those years was just about doing your job and playing for the person right next to you. Also, Coach [Diane] Potter, as the first coach in the program, always came down to Florida and watched us play. That’s always something I loved, seeing the first coach still invested in the program.”
Wlosek’s incredible play on the field earned her a spot in the 2025 Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame class, working endlessly during her time with the Pride to be the best player she could be for herself and the best teammate for those around her. Wlosek remembers being “shocked” when receiving the news that she was inducted into such a prestigious group of athletes on Alden Street.
“I put everything out on the dirt when I played,” Wlosek expressed. “I had four very good years, but I could not have done it without my teammates. They were always pushing me from the get-go, and it was very exciting. Overall, it was just humbling to be part of a plethora of athletes who are a part of the Hall of Fame. Being a part of that list of phenomenal athletes is just an awesome feeling.”
Softball has always been a huge part of Wlosek’s life and continues to be following her time at Springfield College. After playing four years at Springfield and graduating in 2010, Wlosek would go home to New Jersey to teach physical education for six years and coach softball. However, following an opening in Springfield as a high school teacher, Wlosek returned to the place where she stood out as a softball phenom and was able to remain in the world of college softball, as the assistant coach at Western New England, when she joined the staff in 2017.
Wlosek has taken away key things from the sport she loves so dearly, using these lessons in her everyday life.
“The challenges we’ve faced in college softball have prepared me to deal with things in life,” Wlosek noted. “Battling the ups and downs as an athlete and now being able to teach students and athletes how to deal with them and be on the same level as them when they go through these ups and downs is a main takeaway. At WNE, being able to share with students that you can do this as long as you have each other’s backs. I have learned this through college softball and now use it in my everyday life.”
Wlosek and the rest of the 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on April 12.
Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics