Trisha Lynn Ford (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Dean; born October 19, 1977) is an American

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 ...

coach. She is the head softball coach at the

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, a position she has held since the 2023 season. Ford served as the head softball coach at

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...

from 2002 to 2003,

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

from 2013 to 2016, and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

from 2017 to 2022.

Early life and education

Born Trisha Lynn Dean in

Fremont, California Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San F ...

. Ford graduated from American High School in Fremont. Ford then attended

in nearby Moraga, where she graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in political science. On the

Saint Mary's Gaels The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most vars ...

softball team, Ford played at infielder from 1998 to 2000 under head coach Chelle Putzer.

Coaching career

Saint Mary's (2001–2003)

Ford was the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Saint Mary's for the 2001 season. On November 1, 2001, Ford became interim head coach, nearly a month after the resignation of Putzer. After a 17–37 season, Saint Mary's promoted Ford to the position long term on June 6, 2002. Saint Mary's improved to 25–27 in the 2003 season.

Stanford (2004–2012)

From 2004 to 2012, Ford was assistant coach at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

under

John Rittman John Richard Rittman (born October 5, 1963) is an American college softball coach, serving as the inaugural head coach of the Clemson Tigers softball team. He previously served as head coach at Stanford Cardinal softball, Stanford and an assistan ...

Fresno State (2013–2016)

On June 18, 2012, Ford was announced as the new head coach of the Fresno State softball program.

Arizona State (2017–2022)

On June 15, 2016, Trisha Ford was tabbed as the head coach of the Arizona State softball program. In her first season leading the Sun Devils, the 2017 team finished 31–22, 9–15 finishing sixth in

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

play and went to the NCAA Tournament. In just Ford's second season at the helm of the Sun Devil Program, the team finished 48–13 and 16–8 in Pac-12 play. They finished with their best record since 2013. They finished third in the Pac-12 standings, their first conference top three finish since 2014. She led them to a Women's College World Series in 2018, where they eventually lost to

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 ...

Texas A&M (2023–present)

On June 7, 2022, Trisha Ford was announced as the new head coach of the

Texas A&M softball The Texas A&M Aggies softball team represents Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team belongs to the SEC Conference and plays home games at the Davis Diamond.The Aggies have won two NCAA championships in 1983 and 1987 ...

program. She would make her coaching debut at Texas A&M on February 9, 2023, a 12-2 victory over

Tarleton Tarleton is a village and civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Liverpool and south-west of Preston. The parish includes the village of Mere Brow and the hamlets of ...

. Ford led the Aggies to a 35-21 record, an improvement over A&M's previous season, and brought the Aggies back into the NCAA Tournament but would go on to lose in the regional final to arch-rival

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 ...

. During the

2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament The 2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 16 through June 6, 2025, as the final part of the 2025 NCAA Division I softball season. The tournament ended with the 2025 Women's College World Series at Devon Park (stadium), Devon ...

, Texas A&M earned the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history. During the College Station regional, the Aggies were eliminated by

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 ...

. This marked the first time a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament failed to advance to the Super Regionals since the NCAA tournament began seeding in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Personal life

Trisha Ford married Eddie Ford in 2005. They have two children.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Texas A&M profile

Arizona State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Trisha 1977 births Living people American softball coaches American female sports coaches Arizona State Sun Devils softball coaches Fresno State Bulldogs softball coaches Saint Mary's Gaels softball coaches Saint Mary's Gaels softball players Stanford Cardinal softball coaches Texas A&M Aggies softball coaches Sportspeople from Fremont, California