Beyond the Wins
On Senior Night, Reece Miller ’26 walked onto Kuzma Court in the starting lineup for the first time in his Franciscan career.
Within the opening minutes against St. Vincent College, Miller knocked down two three-pointers, energizing the Finnegan Fieldhouse crowd.
For head coach Joe Wallace, it was a moment that captured what made the 2025-26 Barons special.
“Every player celebrated one another’s success, and our 95-76 victory became one of the most memorable nights of the season because it was about more than the final score,” Wallace says.
There were plenty of final scores worth celebrating, as the Barons chalked up their best season in more than 50 years.
Franciscan finished with 21 victories, the program’s most since the 1972-73 College of Steubenville Barons. The team tied for first place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) regular season, a first in Franciscan’s NCAA Division III era, and advanced to the PAC Tournament semifinals.
Team captain Sawyer Butler became the first Baron named PAC Player of the Year and earned First Team All-Region honors. Wallace was named both PAC Coach of the Year and Regional Coach of the Year, also program firsts.
But Wallace believes the season’s significance went well beyond its historic accomplishments.
“More than any team we’ve coached, this group embodied Franciscan University’s pillars of encounter, community, and ongoing conversion,” he says. “They weren’t perfect. But they came to the fieldhouse every day committed to becoming better as young men, teammates, and players.”
That growth showed itself in the team’s trust and camaraderie.
“They built genuine relationships with one another, embraced accountability, and consistently chose growth over comfort,” Wallace says.
Butler saw the same qualities from inside the locker room. “I think what made us so successful was how much we trusted each other and how committed everyone was to winning,” he says. “We went through some tough moments, but we continued to come together and believe in each other, especially during our playoff run.”
Butler’s own season became one of the best in program history, but he was quick to share the credit for his PAC Player of the Year award.
“I don’t think I could have accomplished it without my teammates and coaches,” he says. “They pushed me every day, trusted me, and put me in positions to be successful. I’m proud of the award, but I’m even more proud of what we were able to accomplish together as a team.”
The team’s success also reconnected former Barons with the program and generated renewed enthusiasm throughout the local community.
“The way they represented Franciscan basketball reflected the values of Steubenville itself: toughness, humility, faith, hard work, and an unwavering commitment to something bigger than themselves,” Wallace says.
And the Barons may only be getting started.
Franciscan returns five seniors this season—Butler, Zach Oliver, Karl Yonkeu, Aiden Townsend, and Tommy Kristian— who have helped change the trajectory of the program.
“We have to come back hungry, put the work in, and continue to build on what we started,” Butler says. “I think we have a legitimate chance for a championship.”
Flag Football Takes Off
Two years ago, Franciscan University did not have a DIII women’s flag football team.
Now the Barons have played at halftime of a Pittsburgh Steelers game, become a founding member of the New York Jetssponsored ECAC Women’s Flag Football League, reached the league championship game, and sent three players to train in Los Angeles with USA Flag Football staff.
For team captain and quarterback Annie Seida, who helped start the program, the speed of it all is still hard to believe.
“Look how far this has come in such a short time,” she says. “This is all just a gift.”
The program began almost by accident. Seida, a transfer student who had played intramural flag football at Notre Dame, was tossing a football with friend Sarah Mitchell outside Franciscan’s fieldhouse when athletics staff noticed. With women’s flag football beginning to grow at other schools, they asked whether the two students could help build a team.
Seida and Mitchell started recruiting.
“We would just see sporty people walking around campus and say, ‘Hey, you should play flag football,’” Seida says.
It worked.
Franciscan debuted in spring 2025 and finished 6-1, defeating the University of Pittsburgh and several Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponents. The first touchdown in program history even stayed in the family: Seida threw it to her twin sister, Mary ’25, who has since graduated and entered the Sisters of Life.
That fall, the program took another major step under new head coach Connor Arlia, a former West Virginia University wide receiver. In October, Franciscan was one of just four collegiate teams nationwide invited to play during halftime of the SteelersBrowns game at Acrisure Stadium.
Seida remembers less about the few offensive plays Franciscan ran than the feeling of taking the field with her teammates.
“It was incredible to be part of spreading Franciscan University’s mission of excellence and passion, even to the football field,” says Seida. “There’s no university I could have more proudly worn on my jersey as I ran, surrounded by my fellow Franciscan Barons, into the Steelers’ stadium to take the field.”
Two months later came another invitation. Franciscan was selected as one of 10 founding members of the New York Jetssponsored ECAC Women’s Flag Football League, the largest collegiate women’s flag football league in the country.
In their first ECAC season in spring 2026, the Barons advanced through the playoffs at the Jets’ training facility in New Jersey and finished as league runners-up.
Arlia credits the rapid success to his players.
“As far as energy, enthusiasm, and love for the game goes, our Franciscan girls are second to none,” he says. “But way more than the hard work and effort they put into football, I think the main reason we have been able to have success is because of the kind of people these girls are.”
Their performance also created new opportunities. During the ECAC playoffs, a member of the USA Flag Football high-performance staff approached Seida and invited her to a summer passing accelerator program in Los Angeles. She brought receivers Kylie Panizza and Mara O’Leary to the invitation-only event, where quarterbacks and receivers trained in front of national-level coaches and scouts.
Yet Seida’s favorite moment came away from the drills. At lunch, the Franciscan players prayed their customary blessing before eating. Another athlete noticed and later asked about the prayer. The conversation soon moved to Catholicism, the Eucharist, and Franciscan University. Before the day ended, the women prayed together.
“That was our big success of the day,” Seida says.
For Arlia, that witness matters as much as any championship.
“At Franciscan, our motto is to educate, evangelize, and send out joyful disciples,” he says. “These flag football girls exemplify that to the fullest.”
Women’s flag football continues to expand rapidly nationwide, and Franciscan intends to grow with it. Arlia hopes to recruit more athletes, compete at a high level, and establish a program respected for what happens both on and off the field.
Seida’s goal for the coming season is more immediate.
“We’re going to win it all in the Jets’ real stadium,” Seida says.
Student-Athlete SPOTLIGHT
Name: Seamus Sommers
Hometown: Muskego, Wisconsin
Major: Computer Science
Year: Senior
Sport: Cross Country
Event: Sprints
Honors: 2025 All-PAC Second Team, 2025 PAC Academic Honor Roll, 2024 PAC Academic Honor Roll, and 2023 PAC Academic Honor Roll
Favorite Saint: St. Michael
What Competing at Franciscan Means: “Running for Franciscan lets me be surrounded by people who “stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together…but encouraging one another” (Heb. 10:24–25). We become who we are surrounded by, and here at Franciscan, I am surrounded by holy men and women. I run for my team, and my team runs for God. There is no connection greater for a team than the love of Christ. Our team is a witness to our campus as well as other campuses, showing that the glory of God is man fully alive. ”
