All In: Cat Davis ’16 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee

As we approach the 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this October, Emmanuel College is thrilled to highlight the achievements of this year’s inductees.

In the weeks ahead, we will share profiles of the student-athletes, coaches, and contributors whose dedication, leadership, and excellence have left a lasting mark on Saints athletics.

Before she became a captain, before playoff runs, and before wins began to outnumber losses, Catherine “Cat” Davis ’16 arrived at Emmanuel College with a glove in hand and a quiet certainty that something was about to change.

Nine years later, that certainty has become legacy. This October, Davis will be inducted into Emmanuel’s Athletic Hall of Fame—a recognition she describes as humbling, emotional, and shared. “We went from a team that didn’t win many games to one of the top programs in our conference,” she said. “Being inducted is incredible. But what I’m proudest of is the culture we built.”

A four-year starter at shortstop and three-year captain, Davis was central to the transformation of Saints softball. Part of a heavily recruited 2012 freshman class, she helped turn a rebuilding program into a contender. By her senior year, Emmanuel had advanced to the GNAC championship game.

Her impact was more than cultural. Davis remains one of the best players in program history. She holds the all-time Emmanuel record for career starts with 157, and is the program’s leader in hits (207), doubles, triples, total bases, and runs batted in—still the only Saint ever to surpass 200 career hits. She sits inside the top three in nearly every offensive statistical category since records began in 2001.

Davis was also a decorated player, earning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) First Team honors at shortstop in three of her four seasons. She was recognized on the national stage as well, named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Northeast Region Third Team as a sophomore and later to the All-Region First Team as a junior.

All In

“Our motto was ‘All In,’ and we meant it,” Davis recalled. “We showed up, worked hard, held each other accountable—and we had a lot of fun along the way.”

Much of that growth, she says, was guided by head coach Rob Spofford, who took over the program the year she arrived. His focus on fundamentals, base running, and trust in players created space for leadership to emerge naturally. “He believed in me early on,” Davis said. “He told me we’d make the championship by my senior year—and we did.”

After graduating, Davis returned to Emmanuel as an assistant coach from 2017–2021, helping to guide the team to its first GNAC Softball Championship in program history, alongside former assistant coach Olivia Berry (now Athletic Director). She has also carried that ethos to Brookline High School, where she is head softball coach, instilling fundamentals, teamwork, and culture in a new generation of players.

“Wins and losses matter,” she said. “But they’re not the whole story. I try to carry forward what we started at Emmanuel—accountability, support, joy.”

Davis’s leadership extends beyond the field. A Boston Public Schools teacher, she completed a master’s degree in school leadership at Columbia University’s Teachers College and envisions one day serving as a principal. “Being a student-athlete taught me how to lead, manage time, and build trust,” she said. “That’s everything in the classroom, and it’s everything on a team.”

She maintains close ties to Emmanuel, staying in touch with teammates, Coach Spofford, and Sister Karen Hokanson, SND, Dean of the School of Education. “She remembered everyone’s names, came to games, and showed up—and that meant the world,” Davis said of Sister Karen.

Reflecting on her Hall of Fame induction, Davis sees it as a recognition not just of personal achievement but of collective effort. “I’m excited, I’m grateful, and I’m proud to go in with people I care about,” she said, nodding to fellow inductees lacrosse player Chris Curtis ’16 and Andy Yosinoff, longtime women’s basketball coach.

In a way, the honor is emblematic of Davis herself. At Emmanuel, she helped build more than a winning team—she built a blueprint for leadership, loyalty, and commitment. Today, that blueprint guides her coaching at Brookline High School and her teaching career, ensuring that the lessons of the diamond extend far beyond the field.