The 2019 NCAA Division I Softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(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 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 capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

ASA Hall of Fame Stadium OGE Energy Field at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium is a softball-specific ballpark located inside the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It seats 13,000 and is the site of the annual Women's Colleg ...

, will end in June 2019.

Realignment and format changes

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, after 27 seasons in the Big South Conference, joined the

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, 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 Div ...

(ASUN) on July 1, 2018. *

USC Upstate USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, 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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

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, playing 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. Conf ...

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 with a

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

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-elimina ...

. 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 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 an ...

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 may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

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'' *

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) 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 the bat ...

: ''84 – Bailey Hemphill,

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

'' *

Home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s: ''29 –

Jessie Harper Jessica "Jessie" Ireland Harper (born May 24, 1998) is an American, former collegiate All-American, softball player. Harper played college softball for Arizona from 2017 to 2021 at the shortstop position and co-holds the career home runs record ...

, Arizona Wildcats'' 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 univ ...

'' *

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

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

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

'' * Strikeouts: ''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 level 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 athletic ...

season

perfect games Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

: ''5 – Nicole Newman,

'' Freshman class single game strikeouts: ''27 – Kelly Nelson,

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

; March 6, 2019 (16 innings)'' Team consecutive wins streak: ''41 –

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

; 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 S ...

Rachel Garcia Rachel Lauren Garcia (born March 30, 1997) is an American, former collegiate four-time All-American softball pitcher and current volunteer assistant head coach for San Diego State. She played for the UCLA Bruins and led the Bruins to the 2019 Wom ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

*Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Honda Sports Award Softball:

* Honda Sports Award 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. C ...

, ULA *espnW Softball Player of the Year:

* Softball America Player of the Year:

* NFCA National Player of the Year: Abbey Cheek,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

* Softball America Pitcher of the Year: Giselle Juarez, Oklahoma * NFCA National Freshman of the Year: Danielle Williams, Northwestern * Softball America Freshman of the Year: Danielle Williams, Northwestern * Softball America Defensive Player of the Year: Sis Bates,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

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

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

* NFCA Catcher of the Year:

Dejah Mulipola Dejah Monique Mulipola (born February 19, 1998) is a Polynesian American, former collegiate All-American softball catcher. She played college softball at Arizona from 2017 to 2021 where she was twice named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

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 softba ...

: 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: Oklahoma *NFCA Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

*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. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

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

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

*NFCA Northeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

*NFCA Pacific Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

*NFCA South Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

*NFCA Southeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year:

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Assistants

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

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

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 o ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. 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

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