Noli Hillmann transferred last year to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for its strong business school in pursuit for a degree in accounting. The move also paid big dividends for her love of softball. The Brookfield resident and 2022 Lyons Township High School graduate joined the school’s club softball team and now has been part of back-to-back National Club Softball Association Division II national champions.
The Warhawks repeated by beating High Point University 5-1 in the winner-take-all final, May 11, in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.
“I think everyone who returned just had that drive to win that championship again. After even pre-season, we saw how good we played together and how everyone got along as a team,” Hillmann said.
“I want to say it feels better [winning club titles] because, in a sense, we did this all on our own. We’re coaching ourselves. We’re doing our schedule ourselves. We have the [UW-W] heads of club sports but at the end the team is doing it together and getting it done. It definitely makes it more special when we win these.”
Even more special is these are the first two NCSA Division II club championships, which were added to nationals in 2024. Last year, the Warhawks won the championship game over Salisbury 14-4 in Cranberry Township after losing their game in round-robin pool play.
“[That] felt really special just with it being the first year,” Hillmann said. “It was my first year also playing on the team and some of the other girls so it was really nice to win.”
This season, UW-Whitewater (20-4) was even more impressive at nationals, going 3-0 in pool play among the four district qualifiers that seeded the single-elimination playoffs. The Warhawks beat Quinnipac 8-3 in the semifinals after pool victories over Salisbury 4-3, High Point 11-2 and Quinnipac 10-3.
Mostly a designated hitter, Hillmann played in three games at nationals. For the season, she was 9-for-18 hitting with three doubles and eight runs batted in and 1-1 as a pitcher in three appearances. The Warhawks emphasized playing everybody at nationals. The roster has grown to 18 after adding eight players as freshmen or students who were already at the school.
“Whether it was pinch-hitting, running for someone, everyone got to play at least some part,” Hillmann said.
At LTHS, Hillmann played varsity her senior year mostly as a first baseman. In 2023, Hillmann played at Wisconsin Lutheran College (Milwaukee) mostly on the junior varsity with one varsity appearance. When she was looking to transfer, a friend also transferring suggested Wisconsin-Whitewater, another NCAA Division III school about 54 miles southwest of Milwaukee. Wisconsin-Whitewater has strong intercollegiate programs, including softball, but also extensive and organized club sports.
Hillmann’s mom mentioned that and upon her visit, Hillmann inquired. If she was an enrolled student, she could play. In 2024, Hillmann was 3-for-10 with four RBIs as a hitter and 2-1 in four pitching appearances.
While she may not have all of the obligations of scholarship athletes, she’s coming off an extremely busy year with school and jobs on and off campus. Because all of her credits did not transfer, she’s taking classes this summer.
“I mainly decided to transfer due to my education more than softball itself,” Hillmann said. “Doing club softball, it’s definitely more relaxed. There’s not as much high pressure. If you have suggestions, you can give that to our club president.”
Hillmann said team dues are $150 per player per semester. The Pennsylvania trip for nationals was an additional $100 and that was with welcome financial assistance from the club board for the second straight year.
“We were just lucky they were able to fund us. Normally they don’t fund clubs like that back to back,” she said.
Hillmann especially was grateful because she was the club team’s treasurer and will be again this coming season. She ran unopposed. Hoping the team can play more regular-season games, she wants to expand fundraising, which last season included having an online team store.
“I actually enjoyed [being treasurer],” Hillmann said. “My major is accounting and I like dealing with numbers and all of that stuff and coming up with ideas for fundraising, just to help the team the best I can.”