Think ‘law school’ and ‘team.’ What springs to mind? Clinics? The Ames Moot Court Competition? Pub trivia?
Softball is probably not on that list, but a number of students at Harvard Law are looking to change that.
Over the past few years, Harvard Law Softball has been steadily recruiting participants in an effort to resurrect the program, which had fallen off after the COVID pandemic.
It seems their work is paying off: In April, three teams totaling 47 students traveled to the 42nd annual UVA Law Softball Invitational in Charlottesville, Virginia, an event that welcomes dozens of law school teams each year. This was followed closely by the Harvard Law 1L Softball Tournament — created just this spring by a few first-year students — in which each 1L section competed in a single elimination weekend competition near Harvard Stadium.
With participation in these events only expected to grow, and with the creation of a fall league this year by HLS Softball co-captain Maggie Hopkins ’25, the organization is currently thriving, and enthusiasm for the sport — and for the camaraderie — is high.
“It’s more than just a team — it’s a group of smart, driven people with unbeatable energy,” said Carolina Stainfeld ’26, who credits the game with helping her stay grounded and find balance during demanding academic stretches. While she grew up playing softball, Stainfeld looks forward to ensuring the program is welcoming to those who have little to no experience, as well. The goal, she says, is expanding the community, and making sure everyone feels welcome from day one. “It’s important to us that this stays a space where showing up is what counts — not how far you can hit the ball.”
That sentiment is universal among members: Whether they played at a state championship level, tossed a ball around with a childhood friend or sibling from time to time, or never played at all, students attest that something beyond the sport itself attracted them, and it is what keeps them coming back.
So what is it, exactly, that draws them in?
“The thing about law school softball is that it really takes a unique sort of person to, while juggling a crazy class schedule and countless time commitments, say ‘Yes, I also want to play a recreational sport,’” said Brian Henson ’25, co-captain of HLS Softball. The team draws a wide range of students, which he says adds depth to the experience for those who participate. “[The diversity] makes the experience so much more than just coming together to play softball,” Henson said. “It helps build camaraderie and connections throughout the school that wind up helping the student experience as we find ways to interact with students we wouldn’t normally get to know.”
“It’s important to us that this stays a space where showing up is what counts — not how far you can hit the ball.”
Carolina Stainfeld ’26
For others, the support of their peers is a key draw. For first-year and transfer students in particular, the attraction of an extracurricular activity that enabled them to make connections school-wide was undeniable.
“I knew from the moment I encountered the softball team tabling outside the activities fair that this was a community I wanted to be a part of,” said Emily Hansdel ’27, who also credits the team captains with making her feel “like I belonged at HLS.” For transfer student Brandon Wachs ’25, who spent a year at University of California, Irvine before coming to Harvard, being a part of HLS Softball made the school feel “‘small’ in the best way possible” and allowed him to feel a sense of connection as he navigated the halls of HLS. “Beyond the immediate sense of belonging and camaraderie that softball provided, it also helped me make some of my closest friends,” said Wachs. “Harvard Law has no shortage of incredible extracurricular activities, but there is something about just getting to play a sport with your classmates and spending time together for something that has nothing to do with school that is so refreshing.”
Also a transfer student, Kayla Hollingsworth ’25 joined the community this year, and despite the pressure she says she felt to find spaces of belonging, she found one quickly with softball. Her fellow players, she said, became her family: “I was shown HLS Softball by chance and this family embraced me without question. I am beyond grateful. … I think it is incredible what one good community can do for your mental, social and physical health.”
The welcoming atmosphere and supportive community were not accidental: Years earlier, the sport had traction at Harvard Law, but when the pandemic hit, participation naturally slowed, and the students who came to depend on the sport as a way to introduce balance into their demanding lives knew they had to take action if the league was going to survive.
In her last year of law school, Catherine Katz ’23 was one of only two students who remained on the team from the pre-COVID era, but she was determined to keep it going, knowing how important it had been to so many of her classmates.
“I felt strongly that it was too important to let it die away,” said Katz, an author and historian and an associate at Freshfields in Washington, D.C. “Softball may seem trivial, but at the time, it was one of the only extracurricular activities on campus that was not about advancing professional credentials,” an alternative she believes students valued highly. In addition, the value of sports, she said, is that they allow people to come together to get to know each other “in a universal language” — on a level playing field, as it were. “Even if people had no experience, everyone was welcome. … Students from Sweden and the Netherlands who had never heard of softball before suddenly became our clutch pitchers.” Ultimately, in Katz’ view, softball at HLS was — and is — an opportunity to “have fun, run around, laugh together,” and connect over a respite from the rigors of academia and the pressures of contemplating the beyond-law school years.
“I think it is incredible what one good community can do for your mental, social and physical health.”
Kayla Hollingsworth ’25
Fun is precisely the mood Peter Goeckner ’25 sought to cultivate as the HLS Softball “social media guy,” fostering a small but highly engaged audience of followers on the program’s Instagram. Largely boosted by a “silly and fabricated beef” with Yale Law Softball, Goeckner took advantage of that popularity to give a “silly, sarcastic, and simultaneously supportive” public face to the program. “I think our social media presence — and the softball program as a whole — demonstrate the value of having a good sense of humor,” said Goeckner. “It certainly made me realize how important it is to not take every single thing about law school so seriously — we’re allowed to have fun!”
With current participation at an all-time high, it is clear there is enthusiasm for keeping the program going. What that looks like in practice is to be determined, but the motivation is strong among current students and the recent alumni in this year’s graduating class to leave behind a sustainable model of student cooperation and camaraderie. Other students in addition to Stainfeld are willing to do what they can to ensure the durability of the program. Henson, who joined as a 1L when the team was still rebuilding, is optimistic, given the growth he has seen in a relatively short period of time. “When I joined as a 1L … there wasn’t a ton of interest,” he said. “Fast forward three years, and it’s been so cool to see how the community has grown.”
“Softball has meant a community for me at the law school,” echoed Devon Shewell ’25, a program captain. “I can’t wait to see how the team keeps growing.”
And if the words of Hopkins are any indication, HLS Softball looks to have a robust future ahead, with many of this year’s graduates already looking forward to competing in alumni tournaments. “I genuinely feel like this team became a family … I have met some of my best friends through this program, and I do not think I would have met them without softball.”
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