The 2020 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 6, 2020. The season ended on March 12, 2020, when the NCAA cancelled all winter championships and spring sports seasons due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. The

2020 NCAA Division I softball tournament The NCAA Division I softball tournament is held annually in May/June and features 64 college softball teams in the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is played in Oklahoma City. Tournament play and team s ...

and 2020 Women's College World Series, which were to be held 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 ...

, did not occur.

Coronavirus impact and cancellation

As of March 12, 2020, the NCAA cancelled both the remainder of the season and the tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic. As of 2021, all Division I softball players were given another year of eligibility due to the restraints and cancellations from the coronavirus pandemic. Each player is given the option to use their extra year of eligibility or not.

Ballpark changes

* The 2020 season was the first for

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 ...

at Palmer Park, replacing The Park. The team played its first game there on March 3 against James Madison. * The 2020 season was the first for Clemson at Clemson Softball Stadium, and its first season altogether.

Season outlook

Conference standings

*Note: Records as of cancellation of season on March 12, 2020.

Awards

* Softball America Player of the Year: Miranda Elish,

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 ...

* Softball America Pitcher of the Year: Megan Faraimo,

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 ...

* Softball America Freshman of the Year: Maya Brady,

* 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 ...

Coaching changes

This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2020 season until the day before the first day of the 2021 season.

References

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