The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 53 ❱ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Defensive Team, in addition to two- time NFCA All-America third-team honors and three-time NFCA All-Great Lakes Region first-team honors. Canfield appeared in 44 games as a true freshman, starting 33 contests and playing in 44 games with a .268 batting average, 3 home runs and 15 RBI. From her sophomore through senior seasons, she started all 172 games she played in and hit .398 with 25 homers and 116 RBI. Canfield's senior season was argu- ably her best in a Michigan uniform. She earned NFCA Division I National Player of the Week after posting a 1.000 batting average (8 for 8), 2.000 slug- ging percentage and 1.000 on-base per- centage over a four-game span against Michigan State and Penn State, reaching base in all 15 of her plate appearances — which featured 4 walks and 3 hit-by- pitches. Canfield was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team after going 7 for 12 (.583) over a three- game span. She finished the sea- son with 58 starts at second base and recorded a career-high .404 batting average and set other ca- reer marks in runs scored (57), hits (78) and a .482 on-base percent- age as the team's leadoff hitter. Canfield's history as a top-of- the-order hitter and tone-setter for the program are traits that have already carried over into her coaching career. The Wolverines went 184-46-1 during her career in Ann Arbor, which also included three regular-season conference crowns, a Big Ten Tournament ti- tle in 2019 and a Women's College World Series appearance in 2016. Another defining trait of Can- field's time as a player in Ann Arbor was the 2019 season, which saw the team start out 4-7 before ral- lying to finish the season 45-13 and advancing to the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. Things were rough early in the year, but as captain, Canfield rallied the troops to a strong campaign and the pro- gram's 25th straight NCAA post- season appearance. "You just have to force your- self to just focus on carrying that energy that you bring," she told the media in the lead-up to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. "I remember bringing everyone together and saying 'All right, we're already at the bottom. We can't go lower than here, and people expect us to lose. But we can control our energy and we can pick each other up and we can be together.' If we focus on those things, the outcomes will come. And even if the outcomes don't come, we're giving it our best bet. "I think part of it was being at the bottom and letting go of things, but I also think part of it was finding our identity as a team. Learning to fight and learning that no matter who gets it done, we're going to get it done, I think that was a big thing. Our lineup was still shifting, and we didn't know who was going to be playing where. Not that you're ever really comfortable, but once people started to get into their groove, we found out who we were as a team, and that was a big game-changer." There were plenty of lessons learned from her time as a player at Michigan, and now she gets to play a more direct role in shaping her alma mater's future from the coaching staff. "These four years were the most exciting of my life because of the different experiences and chal- lenges I have faced while attend- ing a school so far from home," Canfield said via her LinkedIn ac- count. "Participating in athletics taught me to be disciplined, hard- working, and team-oriented while chasing a specific goal. Overall, I learned so much while at Michi- gan and cannot wait to take this knowledge into the real world. "These four years taught me how to be a valuable contributor to a team and allowed me to de- velop important leadership skills to inspire individuals to reach their goals." The Wolverines went 26-25 this past season in Tholl's first campaign as head coach after she was Hutchins' top assistant for 29 years. Tholl's full-time staff includes Brundage, Canfield and former U-M star Amanda Chidester, who just completed her second season as an assistant with the Wolverines. ❏ Canfield returned to Ann Arbor in 2021 as a volunteer softball assis- tant coach before being elevated to the full-time staff in July 2023. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY ❱ The Faith Canfield File Michigan Accolades: Graduated in 2019 with degrees in kinesiology and sport management … Two-time softball team captain … Two-time NFCA All-American and four-year starter … Two-time NFCA third-team All-American at second base … Three-time NFCA All-Great Lakes Region and All-Big Ten first-team honoree ... Two-time Big Ten All-Defensive Team. Professional Accolades: Graduated in 2021 from Northwestern with master's degree in sport and fitness administration/management … Graduate assistant coach with Northwestern softball (2019-21) ... volunteer assistant coach at Michigan from 2021-23 before being elevated to full-time assistant in July 2023. Family: Greg (father) and Terri (mother) Canfield … Kenny Canfield (brother) ... Kari and Jamie Canfield (sisters) … Jamie played softball at the University of Nebraska.