The 2022 NCAA Division I softball season, part 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 student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2022. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the

2022 NCAA Division I softball tournament The 2022 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 20 through June 9, 2022, as the final part of the 2022 NCAA Division I softball season. The tournament culminated with the 2022 Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of F ...

and

2022 Women's College World Series The 2022 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 20 through June 9, 2022, as the final part of the 2022 NCAA Division I softball season. The tournament culminated with the 2022 Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of F ...

. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and 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 ...

, at

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 ...

, ended in June 2022.

Realignment

The following conference moves for the 2022 season were announced: * Five schools left the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...

. Abilene Christian, Lamar,

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

, and

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

moved to the WAC, and

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of ...

left for the ASUN. * The

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National C ...

lost three members. Bethune–Cookman and

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

joined the

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in t ...

, and

North Carolina A&T North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

joined 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). Th ...

. * The

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...

lost

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

and

Jacksonville State Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degrees ...

to the ASUN. * The

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the W ...

gained St. Thomas from

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference which competes in NCAA Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian. ...

after the reception of a waiver for a direct transition to D-I.

Season outlook

Conference standings

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 ...

Jocelyn Alo Jocelyn Aloha Pumehana Alo (born September 23, 1998) is an American professional softball player for the Oklahoma City Spark of the Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). She played college softball player for the Oklahoma Sooners. As a freshman ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

NFCA National Player of the Year The NFCA National Player of the Year is an award given by Schutt Sports Schutt Sports (trade name of Kranos Corporation) was a United States company that manufactured protective gear for several sports, focusing on American football, baseball, ...

* Softball America Player of the Year:

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 ...

Georgina Corrick Georgina Louise Corrick (born September 29, 1999) is a British born, American raised professional softball player for Athletes Unlimited Softball. She played college softball for the South Florida Bulls softball, South Florida Bulls. She is also ...

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

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

NFCA National Freshman of the Year The NFCA National Freshman of the Year is an award given by Schutt Sports Schutt Sports (trade name of Kranos Corporation) was a United States company that manufactured protective gear for several sports, focusing on American football, baseball ...

Jordy Bahl Jordyn Bahl (born July 24, 2002) is an American college softball pitcher for Nebraska. As a freshman at Oklahoma in 2022, she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year. High school career Bahl attended Papillion-La Vista Senior High School in ...

* Softball America Freshman of the Year:

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 ...

: Jordyn Rudd, Northwestern *

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 Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the ca ...

: Mia Davidson,

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

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 ...

: Alexis Johns,

All-America Teams

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

Coaching changes

This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2022 season until the day before the first day of the 2023 season.

References

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