Greatest of all time. Best ever. Mt. Rushmore. Phrases like these are tossed around in sports debates around the country and the world. Here locally, it might be time to have that discussion regarding where the 2025-26 Madison College athletic year stacks up in the history of Madison College. And for the sake of this argument, let's focus primarily on the "WolfPack era" from the turn of the century on. 

First, an acknowledgment and a history lesson. Madison College has had a long and successful athletics history going back to 1965-66. In the 35 years of Madison Area Technical College, the Trojans racked up more than 50 Wisconsin Junior College Athletic Association (WJCAA) state championships and nearly 75 Wisconsin Technical College Conference (WTCC) titles. Since neither organization exists anymore, and for the fact that the WolfPack are no longer part of a conference, the comparisons might be a little lopsided. Additionally, the late-1990s and early-2000s is when Madison College began phasing out sports like track & field, bowling, cross country, tennis, wrestling, and men's volleyball. The MATC baseball team turned the tide for the athletics department with back-to-back-to-back NJCAA Division III National Championships from 1995 to 1997; however, only men's tennis won a Region 13 title during that three year period.

Now, lets get to real debate and a breakdown of the incredible 2025-26 athletic year.

Region Championships & National Qualifiers

For the first time in school history, Madison College qualified four teams for their respective national tournaments as the result of winning that many Region 4 championships. It began with a celebratory weekend in November when men's soccer and women's volleyball claimed region titles on their respective home pitch and court. For men's soccer, the tenth region banner was the program's first in Region 4 and resulted in the team's first-ever trip to a NJCAA championship tournament in any division, where they would arrive with an unbeaten record of 18-0-1. Women's volleyball raised its fifth Region 4 trophy and would be making its fifth national tournament appearance, with this one marking the program's first in Division II.

It had been a decade between tournament appearances for women's volleyball, the same drought that closed for women's basketball as they ended the winter season with the program's third Region 4 championship. The team's eighth appearance at nationals was its first since a national title in 2009-10 and its first in Division II.

Madison College baseball rounded out the collection of region hardware in typical WolfPack style, winning their 14th Region 4 crown since 2010 to earn a NJCAA-record eighth straight trip to the Division II World Series.

The WolfPack men's golf team missed a region championship by 36 shots and a berth at nationals by 18 strokes as they tied for third at the Region 4 Tournament; however, sophomore Matthew Haggart did secure a trip to the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships individually with a fifth-place result and a scorecard playoff won by a superb two-over-par 74 on the final round.

Although that group was unable to get their hands on a national championship trophy, the Madison College Esports team did in the Fall 2025 semester, winning the NJCAAE Rocket League title for the fifth time. It marked the program's 11th national championship since starting in 2020-21.

Individual Accolades and Records

Madison College student-athletes definitely "showed up and showed out" this past year, led by six individuals earning NJCAA All-American honors. Freshman Allie Andrews took home first team recognition in women's volleyball, while the quartet of JJ Espinosa (men's soccer), Broden Jackson (baseball), Rodrigo Lasso (men's soccer), and Serinity Metcalfe (women's basketball) all received second team selections. Sophomore Nate Novinska rounded out the group with an honorable mention nod in baseball. The six All-Americans is the most for the WolfPack since 2018-19 and ranks as the third most in a single year behind the 1999-2000 tally of seven, which included four from individual sports like track & field and tennis.

Additionally, many WolfPack student-athletes stamped their names in the record books with some all-time performances in 2025-26. Andrews set a new single-season record for assists with 1,050, a healthy chunk of which were terminated by fellow first year Ella Vosberg on her way to establishing a new single-season kills record with 456. Sophomore Avery Agnew shouldered much of the defensive load with a school-record 664 digs in a single season. Freshman goalkeeper Caylen Coventry racked up a WolfPack record 15 wins in a season as he anchored one of the stingiest men's soccer defenses in the nation. And second year guard Braylen Blue proved to be one of the top free throw shooters in the nation, making 95% of his attempts for a new single-season school record.

Four Madison College coaches also earned postseason honors with Mike Davenport (baseball), Logan Fye (men's soccer), Mallory Stone (women's volleyball), and Angel Whetstone (women's basketball) all received Region 4 Coach of the Year.

Team Highlights & National Rankings

The 2025-26 calendar certainly saw its fair share of team accomplishments, in addition to some of the postseason hardware. Men's soccer won its first nine matches before taking a 0-0 draw and was without a loss through 19 matches, which included three consecutive shutout wins in the Region 4 Tournament and a national ranking of #12. The women's soccer and men's basketball teams joined in the list of fast starts, as the WolfPack opened 7-1-1 on the pitch and a program best 9-0 on the hardwood. Men's basketball set a new program standard with a #10 ranking in the national polls as they eventually reached 16-2. 

Women's volleyball may have started hot, too, with eighth straight wins, but it was how they finished that turned heads as they strung together 16 consecutive victories with three straight sweeps in the Region 4 Tournament before eventually taking a four-set loss to the two-time defending national champions. Baseball also reached a double-digit win streak down the homestretch as their win over Jones College in Oklahoma marked their 12th win in a row and their seven straight postseason victory.

Of the seven main "team" sports at Madison College, every single one of them finished with a winning record in 2025-26. 

Baseball: 46-12 (.793)
Men's Basketball: 20-7 (.741)
Women's Basketball: 24-6 (.800)
Men's Soccer: 18-2-1 (.881)
Women's Soccer: 9-6-3 (.583)
Softball: 19-18 (.514)
Women's Volleyball: 34-6 (.850)

Now the (brief) cases for the other years that could be considered for best ever in Madison College history since 2000...

2009-2010

The most likely top contender would be the 2009-2010 campaign, which was highlighted by a women's basketball national championship and a national runner-up finish for women's volleyball. Baseball became the third team to go to a national tournament that year as their Region 4 title sparked a then-record six straight World Series appearances and began their current run of dominance in the region. The WolfPack also boast five NJCAA All-Americans, including golfer Andrew Steinhofer after he finished national runner-up at the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships.

2017-2018

The second time in school history that three teams reached their respective national tournaments was highlighted by a pair of firsts. The women's soccer program was in just its fourth season of existence when they won a program-record 15 matches en route to conference and region championships, as well as their first - and only - appearance at nationals. Similarly, softball was only seven years removed from a 0-33 season when they also set a school-record with 52 wins and broke through for the program's first region crown. It started a stretch of three consecutive national tournament trips for the WolfPack. And after a brief two-year absence from David Allen Memorial Ballpark, the baseball team reclaimed its position atop Region 4 to begin its current streak of eight straight trips. Three student-athletes earned NJCAA All-American, led by the first-ever in the 40-year history of softball at Madison College.

2018-2019

Prior to this year, the last time the WolfPack sent three teams on to a national tournament was in 2018-19, and all three came in the spring. The Madison College golf team won a Region 4 title in the fall to earn the program's seventh team appearance at nationals the following June. Before then, baseball and softball continued their winning ways with repeat trips to their national tournaments. The 2018-19 campaign also stands out for the impressive individual accomplishments and awards garnered by the WolfPack, who saw a school-record eight student-athletes named NJCAA All-American. That group included three from baseball and the first-ever for women's soccer.

Madison College Championship History | Madison College All-Americans | Madison College Records | Madison College Individual Honors

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