The 2012 University of Illinois Springfield softball team, which was led by University of Evansville head coach Mat Mundell, will be part of the 2020 UIS Hall of Fame class.
 The 2012 UIS softball program made athletics history when it became the first Prairie Stars squad to make a NCAA Division II postseason field. UIS finished the year with a 36-22 overall record and went 22-12 in conference play. It won the GLVC West Division Regular Season title and reached the championship games of the GLVC Postseason Tournament and the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament.
“I am so excited for the 2012 team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,†Mundell said. “It was an amazing group of young women. What they were able to accomplish on the field was special, but what they have become off of it is more impressive! I was blessed to be able to coach them.â€
UIS ended its regular season by winning 23 of its final 32 contests, and it earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. After splitting the first two games, the Prairie Stars won three straight to reach the finals. After receiving a bid to the NCAA Regional event, UIS lost its first game before winning two straight, including a 5-1 victory over top-seed Indianapolis. The season ended with a one-run loss in the regional finals.
They were led by an offense that averaged 4.53 runs a game, and it ranked seventh in the nation with 2.29 stolen bases per game. The Prairie Stars had three first-team all-conference players in Sarah Gray, Rachel Wood, and Heather Gradishar, and Mandy Smith was a second-team all-GLVC selection.
