Connie Sue Clark (born December 20, 1965) is an American, former collegiate

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

right-handed

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and head coach. Clark began her

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 ...

career at the junior college level before finishing her last two years with the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the sport, athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big W ...

from 1986–87 and leading them to the 1986

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

championship title. She is the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

career leader in

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 ...

and

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

for her two seasons, she also ranks top-10 for those records for both the Titans and the

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 ...

. Clark was named the inaugural head coach of the

Texas Longhorns softball The Texas Longhorns softball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate softball competition. The Longhorns competed in the Big 12 Conference through the 2024 season and moved to the Southeastern Confere ...

program, a position she held from 1997 to 2018. Along the way she was mentor to athletes

Christa Williams Christa Williams (born: Christa Bojarzin 5 February 1926 – 28 or 29 July 2012) was a German pop singer most popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Williams was chosen to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the s ...

Cat Osterman Catherine Leigh Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is a retired American softball player and currently the general manager of the Volts for the inaugural 2025 season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). Osterman pitched on the United Stat ...

and

Blaire Luna Blaire Luna (born 1990) is an American, former collegiate All-American, right-handed pro softball pitcher, originally from Austin, Texas. She attended Bowie High School in Austin, Texas. She later attended the University of Texas at Austin, whe ...

and coached teams to a first No. 1 softball ranking, five college World Series and three national semifinal finishes. Clark was also a head coach for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Early life and education

Clark was born and raised in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

and graduated from

Greenway High School Greenway High School is a public secondary school located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a part of the Glendale Union High School District. It was named after John Campbell Greenway, a mining engineer and United States Senator. In the 1994–95 a ...

in nearby Phoenix in 1983. At Central Arizona Junior College, Clark pitched on the softball team under head coach Mike Candrea and led the team to

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

titles in 1984 and 1985.

California State Fullerton

Transferring to

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

, Clark had a 20–2 record and nation-best 0.18 ERA leading the Titans to the 1986 Women's College World Series title. She earned First Team All-Big West honors. At the World Series, Clark pitched three shutouts and surrendered just one hit and struck out 8 in the title game to defeat the

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

3-0 on May 25. She was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts. As a senior in 1987, Clark went 33–5. She won the Broderick Award (now the

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 ...

) as the nation's top softball player in 1987. She earned First Team All-American recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and another conference honor. Clark and the Titans returned to the World Series to defend their title but eventually lost the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

on May 23. Clark tossed 6 innings and struck out 4 in her final appearance. After graduating from Cal State Fullerton, Clark pitched for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in 1987.

Coaching career

From 1990 to 1995, Clark was an assistant coach at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. She became the inaugural head softball coach at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

in June 1995, leading the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

from 1997 to 2018 with a cumulative 873–401–3 record, four

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

regular season titles, four

Big 12 Conference softball tournament The Big 12 softball tournament (sometimes known simply as the Big 12 championship) is the conference championship tournament in college softball for the Big 12 Conference (Big 12). Since its inception in 1996, the tournament has been played at OGE ...

titles, and 19 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including five in the

Statistics

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the sport, athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big W ...

Head Coaching Record

Sources:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Connie 1965 births Living people American female sports coaches American softball coaches Softball coaches from Arizona Cal State Fullerton Titans softball players Florida State Seminoles softball coaches Texas Longhorns softball coaches Central Arizona Vaqueros softball players Sportspeople from Glendale, Arizona Softball players from Arizona 20th-century American sportswomen