A Broome County native, Bump’s path to becoming Binghamton Softball’s head coach began in 2011 with her freshman year as a student athlete on the Binghamton softball team. During her four-year playing career, Bump was named to two first-team America East teams and one Eastern College Athletic Conference first-team.

Within a year of graduating, she became a graduate assistant coach on a Kentucky squad that qualified for the NCAA Super Regionals. The following year, Bump worked as the top assistant softball coach at Lafayette, during which Lafayette broke the program record for fielding percentage.
With two years of Division I coaching experience under her belt, Bump returned to Binghamton in 2017, where she was Binghamton’s top assistant softball coach. In August 2021, she was named the program’s head coach.
After improving the Bearcats’ AE record from 6-11 to 7-8 during her first year under tenure, the program made large strides in 2023, finishing 13-7 in AE play. Bump oversaw the program’s best finish under her leadership in 2024 with a 14–6 AE record, while capturing a share of the America East regular season championship before falling short in the playoffs.

While Binghamton opened the 2025 season with a 14-9 record in non-conference play, the Bearcats got off to an unassuming 3-2 start in conference play. BU, however, executed a nearly spotless second half of the season, finishing with a 13-0 record in AE play and a 3-1 record in non-conference play.

The Bearcats continued to dominate during the AE playoffs, winning all three matches while outscoring opponents 16-4 and capturing the program’s second-ever AE Championship to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Binghamton’s historic year saw Bump earn her second consecutive AE softball Coach of the Year, also being named the ECAC Softball Coach of the Year.

Binghamton’s presence in the AE awards would not stop with Bump, as the Bearcats swept the major awards: sophomore infielder Elisa Allen as Player of the Year; junior pitcher Brianna Roberts as Pitcher of the Year; and freshman infielder Rachel Carey as Rookie of the Year. At the Division I level, Allen and junior catcher Emma Lawson ranked highly — Allen finished fourth in the country with 0.46 home runs per game and Lawson finished No. 11 in sacrifice flies with six.

BU also saw recognition nationally, finishing the year ranked No. 17 in the D1Softball.com Mid-Major Poll and No. 77 in Division I RPI. Binghamton also finished No. 20 in the nation with 1.36 home runs per game and No. 33 with a 2.80 team ERA. Its 68 home runs were good for first in program history and its .720 winning percentage and 36 wins were first and second-best, respectively.

Binghamton earned the No. 3 seed in the four-team, double-elimination Oregon regionals, but BU struggled at times during the event, dropping its first match against No. 16 nationally ranked Stanford 9-2 and being eliminated by Weber State in a close 7-4 battle. Despite not winning a game at the NCAA Tournament, an appearance this early in Bump’s coaching career displays that BU softball is a presence on the national stage, and we look forward to following Bump as she continues to build the program.

As a true freshman in 2024, Allen started 33 games and appeared in 39, slugging seven home runs and 23 RBIs and sporting a .545 slugging percentage. Allen’s 2024 campaign earned her a nod on the AE All-Rookie Team, and despite her strong rookie campaign, Allen’s game saw even more improvements this year.

Allen told Pipe Dream about her growth in the 2025 season.

“Honestly, just the mental game,” Allen said. “I think I became more confident in myself, and honestly, that was the biggest change, and I started to trust the coaches more and communicate with them more, which also led to a lot more jumps.”
Allen led the AE with 23 home runs, 56 RBIs, a 1.298 OPS and an .852 slugging percentage. Her 23 home runs accounted for the second most in a season in the AE and the Binghamton program record, and her 56 RBIs in a season ranked fourth in AE history and first in BU program history. Sporting 0.46 home runs per game, Allen ranked fifth in the country, while her .852 slugging percentage placed 26th in the nation.

“It’s been great, honestly,” Allen said. “All the girls are so welcoming, the coaches are awesome in themselves and it’s just such a good environment to work in, and obviously the academics are really good. So, all around it’s been a great few years there and I’m so excited to be staying there for another few more years.”

Allen’s 2025 campaign saw her earn three AE Player of the Week nods and be named first-team all-conference and the AE Player of the Year. Allen also saw recognition outside the conference, being selected to the NFCA All-Northeast Region third-team.

After starting in all 45 regular season games for the Bearcats, including a 5-for-7 four home run performance in a doubleheader at Maine and a four home run and 12 RBI performance in a doubleheader at Colgate, Allen led the Bearcats to a victory in the opening match of the AE conference tournament after slugging a game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Although she was held hitless through the rest of the tournament, Allen would continue to get on base in the NCAA tournament, securing a walk and HBP against No. 2 Stanford and a single in BU’s season-ending loss at No. 4 Weber State.

“[The NCAA Tournament] was the coolest thing ever,” Allen said. “I think we were all starstruck being there. Honestly, we figured out we could really compete with the best teams in the nation at that point, and it was just so cool to be there.”

On the heels of being named the AE Softball Player of the Year and winning an AE championship, Allen still possesses two years of NCAA eligibility. She said she hopes to take advantage of this opportunity by taking more of a leadership role in the team as the program looks to continue to establish itself on the national scene.

“I’m trying to be more of a leader, personally, and trying to show it more outwardly towards everybody,” Allen said. “We have a lot of people coming in next year, so I want to kind of be one of the people that they can trust. Personally, I want to be more of a leader and get myself mentally stronger and learn the game more so I can pass that on to the other groups coming in.”

“I feel like I worked pretty hard for [the award],” Johnson said. “This year, the year I had and just the build up to this, I’m excited and fortunate to have received that.”

Johnson earned multiple America East nods throughout the season, being named the Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer for his win in the 400 hurdles and anchoring the winning 4×400 relay team at the America East Outdoor Meet, which took place from May 3 to May 4. On April 15, he was also named the America East Men’s Track Athlete of the Week.

Along with the awards, Johnson earned gold in numerous events this season, including the triple jump at the America East Indoor Championships, the 200 at the Gulden Invitational and the 400 hurdles at the Colonial Relays.

“I feel like [my season] was really good,” Johnson said. “I think it was a culmination of just a whole bunch of years kind of put together. All that progress, all that training and learning kind of finally meshed into the perfect alignment. I stuck to my guns, and everything, it made sense this year.”

Entering this year, Johnson came off back-to-back successful seasons. In his junior year, he won the 200 meter at the Cornell Upstate Indoor Challenge, and in his senior season, he took home gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the America East Outdoor Championships. He was named to multiple honor rolls in both seasons.

Despite putting up two incredibly successful seasons, Johnson continued to improve, having an even better season this year. He told Pipe Dream about the mindset he and his coach had coming into the season.

“The motto was essentially, ‘complete the story,’” Johnson said. “’You came on as a walk on, barely made the team, and that story was cool, but how cool would it be to make it to Nationals?’ Throughout the practice, throughout the training, that was kind of the motto, complete the story and just finish out strong.”

This was Johnson’s last season of eligibility to compete for Binghamton, and he finished out strong for the Bearcats. Among BU’s all-time program records, Johnson stands at seventh in the 400 hurdles with a time of 53.94, seventh in the long jump with a distance of 23-6 and third in the triple jump with a distance of 49-5 1/2, as of summer 2023. He was also a part of the distance medley relay team that holds the fifth all-time spot in Binghamton program history with a time of 9:48.54.

Johnson named his performance at the America East Outdoor Meet as his most memorable moment from the season.

“[It] would just be the regional meet, being that it was my last opportunity to compete with the team as a whole,” Johnson said. “We finished out with a four by four that we won it, we weren’t seeded to win it, so finishing it just the way I started with guys was ending on a high note, [earning] track performer of the meet, which was great.”

“And I think that was just a time that the team was all together, good vibes, good energy,” he continued.

In his second appearance at the NCAA East Region Meet qualifier, Johnson shattered his previous PR in the 400 hurdles, placing seventh with a time of 49.93 and earning a berth to the NCAA Track and Field Championships. At the Championships, Johnson’s collegiate career came to a close as he finished in 22nd place with a time of 52.57, earning honorable mention All-American honors for the first time.