Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Across the entirety of the history of Linfield Athletics, it would be hard to find a more decorated student-athlete than Staci Doucette of the Class of 2012.
As she was about to graduate from Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Washington, Staci weighed scholarship offers from several Division I schools, ultimately deciding to play softball and study history at Linfield. She liked the balance between education and athletics that competing at a Division III school offered, without sacrificing the quality or competitiveness of the softball program. That, coupled with the consistent success the Linfield softball program had established, was a huge draw for her. Says Staci: “I’m so glad I ended up at Linfield.”
Combining skill, savvy and raw power, the 2022 Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame inductee made playing softball look relatively easy. She herself proved to be the closest thing Linfield has to an ironwoman, starting a record 201 consecutive softball games in a Wildcats uniform.
Linfield softball coach Jackson Vaughan looks back on her career with wonder, saying, “Just watching Staci practice and play every day set a very high standard for how the game should be played. Despite all her success, Staci remained very humble and quiet – preferring to lead by example with her play and performance on the field.”
During her four seasons of softball at Linfield, Staci set a pair of coveted NCAA Division III records, hammering a staggering 73 home runs and driving home 259 runs over four of the most successful seasons in program history.
“I had no idea that I would experience the level of individual success that I did,” says Staci “There was such strong competition for playing time that I had no expectations for playing much my freshman year, let alone starting. I was surrounded by the most complete team, top to bottom, I’d ever played on.”
With Staci in the lineup, the Wildcats averaged more than 44 victories per season. During her time as the most feared hitter in NCAA Division III, Linfield won a national title in 2011 and reached the national championship game two more times in 2010 and 2012.
From 2009 until 2012, the Wildcats amassed 178 victories against just 23 defeats, won four Northwest Conference championships and three regional titles. She also set single-season records for batting average (.532), on-base percentage (.653), walks (45) and games started (54).
In addition to her statistical milestones, the list of Staci’s softball awards is staggering: Four-time first team NFCA All-American. Four-time regional and conference champion. Three-time Northwest Conference Player of the Year. And two-time winner of the Ad Rutschman Award, honoring the top small-college athlete competing in Oregon.
Coach Vaughan remembers that Staci “brought an amazing combination of power, hand-eye coordination, softball intelligence and self-confidence. She made the game of softball look easy and effortless. Her consistency and success rubbed off on her teammates as we built the greatest power hitting lineup in the history of NCAA Division III softball.”
As evidence, the Doucette-led Wildcats pounded a staggering 103 home runs during their 2011 run to the national championship, setting a Division III single-season record that still stands.
Looking back on her career, Staci says, “I had such an incredible experience playing softball at Linfield. Catball is such a consistently excellent program because of the expectations they set for themselves year after year. I feel so lucky to have been surrounded by such wonderful teammates who never settled for anything less than our best, every single day.”
Graduating in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in history, Staci remained active in the program as an assistant coach for two years before elevating into the role of assistant head coach for another two seasons.
Staci later served as McMinnville High School head softball coach from 2019 until 2021. These days, she is employed as an Order Fulfillment Manager at Powell’s Books. She and her partner, Sarah Fuller, live in Portland.
