Hall of Fame
An outstanding athlete during her career, Donna Brooks was one of the finest player to ever don a Montclair State softball uniform. For four years “Brooksie” was a triple-threat on the diamond scaring every opponent with her bat, her glove and most of all her speed. She burst on the scene in her freshman year of 1986 posting a .371 batting average and setting a single-season record with 19 stolen bases. She was named First-Team All-NJAC, All-Mid-Atlantc Region and All-American as she helped Montclair State to the NCAA Division III Regional Championship Game for the first time in school history. It was a sign of things to come. A knee injury cut short her 1987 season, but she returned in 1988, against helping Montclair to the Regional title and a berth in the Division III Championship Tournament. The following season Brooks regained her form, batting .370 with 51 hits, 26 runs scored and 16 RBI – all from the leadoff position. She struck out just twice in 138 at bats and stole 16 bases. She once again earned All-NJAC, Mid-Atlantic Region and All-American honors. Her final season in 1990 will go down as one of the finest in the program’s history. She batted .404 with a school-record 63 hits and a career-best 23 RBI. She collected 16 extra-base hits, including 11 doubles and scored 43 runs and stole 43 bases, the latter two new Montclair State single-season records. For the third time she was named All-NJAC, All-Region and All-American marking her the second layer in Montclair State history to be named All-America three times. At the time of her graduation, she held 12 softball records, including the career marks for hits (197), runs (127) and stolen bases (66) as well as the record for longest hitting streak – 22 games. Brooks also earned All-NJAC honors in volleyball during Montclair State’s inaugural season of 1989.
