^{Caption: Guilford’s Ally Morales '23 practices in the Quakers’ new softball Hitting Annex, which opens in April.} 

“It’s going to make a huge difference,” says Dennis, the Quakers’ longtime coach since 2007. “When you’ve got everything under one roof, that’s going to make it a lot easier for everyone to come together to study for school or practice. When that happens you have to believe that will translate into more wins.”

The softball annex opened in April to rave reviews from players. And why not?

An air-conditioned indoor facility with two netted batting cages,a locker room, shower and bathroom, and a study room. “This is a place that’s more conducive to a higher-level program than Division III Guilford,” says Dennis. “This is a place our team can be proud of.”

Dennis says it’s easy to do the math. “When you think about all the practices we used to lose because of rain, now we’ll just practice indoors,” he says. “That right there is going to make us a better team.”

“I wish we had a place like this when I was a freshman,” says Morgan Kinney '24. “But it’s going to be nice getting to use the space the rest of my time here and future recruits are going to love it.”

The building, which is located near the softball field, was once a storage facility for old furniture and equipment before the College gutted and renovated the interior. Funding for the annex came from the nearly $6.7million raised through the GuilfordForward Fund.

Dennis says the annex is already paying off with recruiting. Softball student-athletes usually don’t commit to a college until the spring, but he says Guilford has five athletes who have verbally committed to attend Guilford in 2023.

“Obviously the quality of education Guilford offers had something to do with their decision, but I know this (building) impressed a lot of them,” he says.