After creating a softball tradition that includes seven district titles and two regional championship game appearances between 2001-2019, Saint Stephen’s re-launched the program in 2022 following a two-year hiatus and has steadily rebuilt.

The 2019 Falcons went 18-5 and set the tone for what was expected to be a dynamic 2020 season, but that campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Saint Stephen’s also did not field a team in 2021, but returned to the field as a developmental squad in 2022 under new Head Coach Jason Howald. The 2023 squad played a limited varsity schedule (just six games) as it continued rebuilding with a roster made up of primarily underclassmen and middle schoolers.

Howald and his youngsters went 11-6 in 2024 as they took a big step toward a return to the form that made Saint Stephen’s an annually competitive team that reached the regional playoffs in 2015 and 2018, and won four district titles in five seasons between 2004-08.

The program’s history boasts several impact collegians. Heading that list is former Notre Dame star Cassidy Whidden, who was a two-time team captain and MVP for the Falcons. She was named all-state as an SSES freshman in 2008, hit safely in every game as a junior when she batted .588, and went errorless throughout the season while playing shortstop. Whidden was just as impressive with the Irish, finishing her career tied for fourth place on the program's all-time home run list with 35 – the most ever by a Notre Dame catcher. She was also fifth in slugging percentage (.597), one of 17 Irish players to have a career on-base percentage of .400 or higher (.406), and posted the eighth-best fielding percentage (.989) in program history during her final two seasons as the team’s primary catcher.