The 2019 NCAA Division I Softball season, play of

college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...

in the United States organized by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) at the Division I level, began February 7, 2019. The season will progress through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and will conclude with the

2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament The 2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 31 to June 4, 2019, as the final part of the 2019 NCAA Division I softball season. Thirty-two teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences, and the remaining 3 ...

and

2019 Women's College World Series The 2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 31 to June 4, 2019, as the final part of the 2019 NCAA Division I softball season. Thirty-two teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences, and the remaining 3 ...

. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament will be held annually in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Devon Park, originally known as the Don E. Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium from 1987 to 2017 and USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, until 2024, is softball-specific ballpark located inside the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, ...

, will end in June 2019.

Realignment and format changes

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, after 27 seasons in the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

, joined the

Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

(ASUN) on July 1, 2018. *

USC Upstate The University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate) is a public university in Valley Falls, South Carolina, United States. It has a Spartanburg postal address. Founded in 1967 and formerly known as University of South Carolina Spartanburg, ...

, after 11 years in the ASUN, moved to the Big South.

Ballpark Changes

*The 2019 season will be the last for the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

team at The Park. The team will move to the new University of Virginia Softball Stadium in 2020.

Season outlook

Conference standings

Conference winners and tournaments

Of the 31 Division I

athletic conferences An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. C ...

that sponsor baseball, 27 end their

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

s with a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

or a

double elimination tournament A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimin ...

. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. Four conferences, the Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference do not hold a conference tournament. The winners of these tournaments, plus the Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference regular-season champions, receive automatic invitations to the

National Invitational Softball Championship

UTA Mavericks The UT Arlington Mavericks (abbreviated UT Arlington, UTA, and Mavs) are the athletic teams that represent the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The Mavericks currently compete in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conferenc ...

defeated the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

in the championship; Aileen Garcia was named MVP for the series.

Women's College World Series

Participants

† = ''From NCAA Division I Softball Championship Results''

Bracket

The 2019 Women's College World Series will begin on May 30 in

Season leaders

Batting *

Batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

: ''.507 – Courtney Cashman,

UMass Lowell River Hawks The UMass Lowell River Hawks are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States. Members of the America East Conference for all sports (except the me ...

'' *

RBIs A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

: ''84 – Bailey Hemphill,

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

'' *

Home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s: ''29 – Jessie Harper,

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

'' Pitching * Wins: ''39-6 – Summer Ellyson,

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The college has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams. Nickname The unive ...

'' *

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

: ''1.03 (30 ER/203.2 IP) – Brooke Yanez,

UC Davis Aggies The UC Davis Aggies (also referred to as the Ags, Cal Aggies or Aggies) are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis. Eighteen of the school's 25 intercollegiate sports - baseball, men's basketball, men's cross coun ...

'' *

Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s: ''423 – Nicole Newman,

Drake Bulldogs The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The Bulldogs' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the NCA ...

Records

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

season perfect games: ''5 – Nicole Newman,

'' Freshman class single game

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s: ''27 – Kelly Nelson,

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I, primarily as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, th ...

; March 6, 2019 (16

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

)'' Team consecutive wins streak: ''41 –

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

; February 24-May 19, 2019''

Awards

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is an award given by USA Softball to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United St ...

Rachel Garcia Rachel Lauren Garcia (born March 30, 1997) is an American professional softball player for the Volts of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). She previously served as the pitching coach for UC San Diego. She played college softball for t ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

*Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

Softball:

NFCA National Pitcher of the Year The NFCA National Player of the Year is an award given by Schutt Sports to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. ...

, ULA *espnW Softball Player of the Year:

* Softball America Player of the Year:

NFCA National Player of the Year The NFCA National Player of the Year is an award given by Schutt Sports to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. ...

: Abbey Cheek,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

* Softball America Pitcher of the Year: Giselle Juarez,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

NFCA National Freshman of the Year The NFCA National Freshman of the Year is an award given by Schutt Sports to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. ...

Danielle Williams Danielle Gracia Williams (born 14 September 1992) is a Jamaican track and field athlete specialising in the 100 metres hurdles. She is best known for winning gold medals at the 2015 World Championships and at the 2023 World Championships. In ...

, Northwestern * Softball America Freshman of the Year:

, Northwestern *

Softball America Defensive Player of the Year The Softball America Player of the Year is an award given by Wilson Sporting Goods to the best defensive college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in ...

Sis Bates Nicole "Sis" Bates is an American professional softball player for the Volts of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) and a member of the United States women's national softball team. She played college softball at Washington. She current ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

* Softball America Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Shealyn O'Leary,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

NFCA Catcher of the Year The NFCA Catcher of the Year is an award given by Diamond Sports to the best college softball catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front ...

Dejah Mulipola Dejah Monique Mulipola (born February 19, 1998) is an American professional softball player for the Volts of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). She played college softball at Arizona, where she was named a First Team All-American by t ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

NFCA Golden Shoe Award The NFCA Golden Shoe Award is an award given by New Balance to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softb ...

: Jaquelyn Ramon, Southeastern Louisiana *

Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

: Katie Reed, Kentucky

Coaches

*NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year:

*NFCA West Regional Coaching Staff of the Year: UCLA *NFCA Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

*NFCA Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

*NFCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

*NFCA Mideast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

& Southeast Missouri State *NFCA Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

*NFCA Northeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

*NFCA Pacific Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

*NFCA South Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

*NFCA Southeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Assistants

*NFCA Assistant Coach of the Year: Sara Michalowski-Marino,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Other Awards

*Turface Athletics/NFCA Field of the Year:

Jane Sanders Stadium Jane Sanders Stadium, nicknamed "The Jane", is an outdoor softball stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located on the south side of the University of Oregon (UO) campus at 18th and University, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of th ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

*Donna Newberry "Perseverance" Award: Bari Mance *Humanitarian Award: Joelle Della Volpe, St. Mary's High School (NJ) *Distinguished Service Award:

All America Teams

The following players were members of the All-American Teams. First Team Second Team Third Team

Final rankings

Coaching changes

This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2019 season until the day before the first day of the 2020 season.

References

{{NCAA Division I softball season navbox, state=autocollapse

Realignment and format changes

Ballpark Changes

Season outlook

Conference standings

Conference winners and tournaments

National Invitational Softball Championship

Women's College World Series

Participants

Bracket

Season leaders

Records

Awards

Coaches

Assistants

Other Awards

All America Teams

Final rankings

Coaching changes

See also

References