Meet the Butler Eagle’s Top 25 female athletes of Butler County between 2000 and 2025, ranked 1-25
Nearly five years removed from her high school soccer career, Ellie Coffield has many individual honors of which to be proud. When asked what her biggest thrill was while playing for the Planets, however, she thought of her teammates.
“There were so many special moments,” the 2021 Mars graduate said. “But I go back to my senior year, winning that state title (with a 2-0 victory over Villa Joseph Marie) in Hershey, there were so many siblings on that team.
“My younger sister, Piper, was a sophomore that season. Gracie and Reese Dunaway, Gwen and Ellie Howell. ... It was special to wrap up my career with a state championship with so many sisters being part of it. There were a lot of tears shed after that game. And then, just a couple hours after we won, our boys team won a state title of their own.”
Ellie Coffield tallied 24 goals and distributed 36 assists that season, earning Butler Eagle Girls Soccer Player of the Year honors in the process. Her career was one of impressive stats that contributed to major team success.
She heads the list of the Butler Eagle’s Top 25 female athletes of the last 25 years, as voted on by the Eagle sports staff.
Here are the Eagle’s Top 25 county female athletes since 2000, including their graduation year, if applicable:
Twice named Gatorade Pa. Girls Soccer Player of the Year, scored 93 goals and had 104 assists with the Planets. Led Mars to WPIAL and PIAA titles her junior and senior years. Named WPIAL Female Athlete of the Year as a junior. Named All-American and to the National All-Star Game as a senior. Was a freshman guard for Mars’ girls basketball team that won a state championship in 2018. Played four years of soccer at Pitt, with 16 goals and 16 assists in 81 games. Started for four years and was a team captain for three. Was twice named Academic All-ACC.
Was named All-WPIAL four straight years as a midfielder. Also earned all-state, all-region and All-American status while in high school. Named Gatorade Pa. Girls Soccer Player of the Year in 2002. Played in college at UConn and was named All-Big East four straight years. Was named to U.S. U19 and U23 women’s national teams. Played professionally for Sky Blue FC. Is a member of numerous halls of fame — WPIAL, Butler County and Butler Area School District.
Started all four years in softball, batted .613 for her career with 100 runs scored, 83 RBIs and 20 home runs. Was named all-state in volleyball twice and three times in softball. Helped Freeport volleyball win two WPIAL titles and a state title. Played softball at Mercyhurst, where she was named all-conference, all-region, All-American and was honored as PSAC West Athlete of the Year in 2023.
Butler County’s all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) with 2,488 points. Had 1,175 career rebounds, 335 assists, 246 steals, 153 blocks, 64 double-doubles and averaged 22.6 points over her career. Named All-WPIAL and all-state. Recognized as Gatorade Pa. Girls Basketball Player of Year as a senior. Led North to a state title as a junior. Played at Penn State, then UMass and is now playing professionally in Finland.
Scored 2,170 points in her basketball career with the Rockets. Was named Butler Eagle Girls Player of the Year three straight years and Gatorade Pa. Girls Basketball Player of Year as a senior. In soccer, was a member of the Eagle’s Elite 11 All-Star team her senior year after scoring 40 goals and adding 12 assists. Played collegiately at Vanderbilt and professionally in Europe. Later was a member of the U.S. National handball team.
Won six WPIAL Class 2A titles and six state titles, all in the butterfly and backstroke. Broke the WPIAL record in both events and snapped the state record in the butterfly. At time of graduation, she held school records in seven of eight individual events. Swam in college at Virginia Tech and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Struck out 940 batters in her high school career and had a career ERA under 1.00. Hit 31 home runs in four years despite being intentionally walked regularly. Was twice named Gatorade Pa. Softball Player of the Year and was recognized as the Butler Eagle’s Female Athlete of the Year after her junior and senior campaigns. Led SV to WPIAL Class 6A titles in 2022 and 2024. Will play in college at Clemson.
Won six state championships in club gymnastics in floor exercise, four regional titles and two national titles while competing for Butler Hy-Flyers. Named Region 7 Athlete of the Year in 2007. Was named All-American twice and All-Big Ten four times at University of Michigan. Overcame a torn Achilles suffered her junior year with the Wolverines.
From her sophomore through senior soccer seasons, she tallied 58 goals and 27 assists. Was a Butler Eagle Elite 11 All-Star as a junior and senior. In track, she graduated high school with a total of 12 Class 2A WPIAL medals and eight state medals. Included were four WPIAL titles in the 400 dash and a state title in that event. Still holds school records in the 200 (25.57) and 400 (56.99). Starred at SRU and between indoor and outdoor track, individual events and relays for The Rock, was part of five program records.
Won five Class 3A WPIAL championships (200 individual medley three times, 500 freestyle two times) and three state championships (200 IM two times, 500 freestyle), none of them coming before 2000. Held the WPIAL and PIAA record in the 200 IM. Named all-state and All-American multiple times. Was three times a Junior National Champion. Qualified for 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials. Starred collegiately at North Carolina and by the time she graduated, her name dotted the Tar Heels' Top 10 lists.
Has qualified for 12 World Championships, and competed for Team USA in seven of them, all in this century after being diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disease. Placed first in her age group at the Beach 2 Battleship Long Course Triathlon (140.6 miles) in Wilmington, N.C., in 2009. Has completed 27 marathons, five Ultra marathons (up to 100 miles) and 18 Ironman triathlons (140.6 miles in one day).
Has won four individual gold medals in international Masters swimming, set two records at the Pan-American Games and owns a Top 5 World ranking in three individual events. In national competitions, has 29 individual gold medals and set seven records at the YMCA Masters National Championships.
Scored 1,121 points in basketball while earning All-District 9 honors three times. Was a starter all four years in softball, mostly at catcher. Batted .574 (169-for-294) in her career. Hit 11 home runs as a senior to set a program single-season record. Helped the Warriors win four straight District 9 titles. Was named Class 2A all-state in 2017. Was named all-conference in golf. Played softball in college at Gannon, where she earned all-conference honors three times.
Broke school records in both hurdle events multiple times during her career. Still ranks first all-time in Butler County in the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.78 seconds and is fourth in the 100 hurdles at 15.06. Won back-to-back state titles in the 300 hurdles as a junior and senior. Had the best Butler County time in both hurdle events all four years. Also graduated high school with school records in the 100, 200 and 400 dash. Went on to compete at SRU, where she was part of the school-record 4x400 relay team and qualified for NCAAs individually and in relays.
A dominant pitcher for the Planets, she totaled 745 strikeouts and a 0.96 ERA in her high school career. Threw a pair of perfect games, striking out 19 in 14 innings in one of them. Was named Section Player of the Year three times. Led the Planets to the WPIAL Class 3A title in 2006, a season which saw her strike out 249 batters and walk just nine. Played in college at Kutztown where she tallied 424 strikeouts, 53 wins and 16 shutouts in her career with the Golden Bears. Was named All-PSAC East as a junior and senior.
Scored 101 goals for the Knights and was named to the Butler Eagle’s Elite 11 all-star team four straight years. In college, scored 51 goals and added 22 assists at Gannon, where she was named PSAC Freshman of the Year, all-conference and all-region four years in a row and All-American. Was inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
Scored 1,716 points for the Trojanettes. Led North to three straight WPIAL titles (2022-24) and was named all-state following each of those seasons. Named the state's top Class 4A player of the year in 2023 and 2024 and earned WPIAL Championship Game MVP honors in both of those seasons. Now playing at Harvard.
Was named all-state as a setter her sophomore, junior and senior years. Earned All-American status as a senior. Was recognized as the Butler Eagle's Girls Volleyball Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022, dishing out nearly 1,400 combined assists in those two seasons. Helped North win three consecutive WPIAL championships (2020-22) and a state title (2021). Now playing at Howard University.
Won four total WPIAL titles (two each in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke) and two state titles in the breaststroke (2019, 2020). Earned U.S. Olympic Trial qualifying time in the 200 breaststroke at Summer Nationals in 2019. Swam in college at Duquesne and University of South Carolina. Set a pool record in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.01) while at Duquesne. Qualified for the SEC Championships in three individual events for South Carolina in 2024.
Won three WPIAL titles (2015-17) and two state titles (2015-16). Still holds the WPIAL Class 2A 1-meter record score of 506.05. Was named a high school All-American. Also won three Midwestern Athletic Conference titles, achieving a record score. Named Mars' MVP all four years. Was a Level 9 gymnast until the seventh grade. Competed in diving in college at the University of North Carolina.
Was named all-state in volleyball three times as a setter and led the Raiders to the WPIAL Class 4A title in 2011. Recognized as an All-WPIAL player four straight years. Named the Butler Eagle's Girls Basketball Player of the Year as a senior when she averaged 18 points and nine rebounds per game. Set SV's record for points and rebounds in a single game. Played volleyball at Navy. College honors included being named Patriot League Rookie of the Year and earning all-league accolades that season. Was inducted into the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
Graduated as Moniteau girls basketball's all-time leading scorer with 1,447 points. Hit 153 treys her final three years of varsity. Was named a Butler Eagle all-star three straight seasons. In track, broke the school record in the 1,600 run (5:07.09). Won a District 9 Class 2A title and earned two state medals in that event. Was named KSAC Track MVP her senior year. Ran cross country, indoor and outdoor track at Jacksonville University, and was named all-conference for all three teams. Twice helped the Dolphins win Atlantic Sun Conference indoor distance medley relay titles. Also won an individual conference crown in the outdoor 1,500 meters.
Over the course of her four-year career, she competed in 16 events at WPIALs, the maximum number allowed, and never failed to medal in any of them. Was named all-state and All-American. Turned in a superb senior season with four district gold medals (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and two relays). Closed her high school career by helping the Raiders win a Class 3A state championship in the 200 medley relay and placed third at states in the 50 and 100 free. Also was on SV's 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays that both won WPIAL titles her junior year. Swam at Pitt and was named all-conference. Qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2008.
Won four straight WPIAL Class 2A diving titles, including scores of 440.45 (freshman), 441.05 (sophomore), 470.70 (junior) and 491.40 (senior). She became the 25th female in WPIAL swimming and diving history to win the same event all four years. Placed runner-up at states three consecutive years. Was named North's MVP three times and was recognized as an All-American her sophomore year. Now competing at Pitt.
Though her natural position was on defense, she played forward for the Planets and had a decorated senior season with 22 goals, 15 assists, All-WPIAL and all-state honors. Also garnered Butler Eagle Girls Soccer Player of the Year accolades that season, after which she played in the High School All-American all-star game. Tallied 46 goals and 38 assists in her high school career. Helped the Planets win three Class 3A WPIAL and PIAA titles (2019-21). Now playing in college in the Big Ten for Indiana University and has started 35 games for the Hoosiers as a defender. Played in the Pittsburgh Riveters inaugural season in the USL W League.
Note: Only athletes who played at North Catholic since 2014, when the high school moved into Butler County, were considered for this list.
