The Florida Gators softball team represents the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in the sport of

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. Florida competes in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletics 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) and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). The Gators play their home games at

Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium The Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium is the home field of the Florida Gators softball team of the University of Florida. The stadium is located at the corner of Hull Road and Museum Road, on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. Hi ...

on the university's

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

campus, and are currently led by head coach Tim Walton. In the twenty-six year history of the Florida Softball program, the team has won two

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. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

(WCWS) national championships, nine SEC regular season championships, five SEC tournament championships, and have made eleven WCWS appearances.

History

Ray era: 1997–2000

On June 13, 1995, the board of directors of the

University Athletic Association The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an American athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are highly selective universities located in Georgia, Illinois, M ...

approved the addition of a women's softball team to the University of Florida's athletic program. Larry Ray, who would coach the new team for their first four seasons, agreed to be the first head coach on September 4, 1995. After the construction of their new stadium facility, the Gators played their first two games in a doubleheader on February 8, 1997, against the

Stetson Hatters The Stetson Hatters are composed of 18 teams representing Stetson University in intercollegiate athletics. The Hatters compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the ASUN Conference for most sports, ...

, both of which they won. In the inaugural year of the Florida Softball program, Ray's team posted an overall win–loss record of 42–25 and a Southeastern Conference record of 16–8, and was the runner-up in the

SEC softball tournament The SEC softball tournament (sometimes known simply as the SEC tournament) is the conference championship tournament in college softball for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is a single-elimination (since 2006) tournament and seeding is base ...

, ultimately losing to the second-ranked

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

in the title game. Florida built on the early success of their first season to win the program's first-ever SEC regular season championship in 1998, and advance to the NCAA Tournament. After the 2000 season, Ray left Florida to return to an assistant coaching position with the

Arizona Wildcats softball The Arizona Wildcats softball team represents the University of Arizona in NCAA Division I Softball. Having claimed eight national championships (second only to UCLA), the team is one of the most successful in the history of the sport. It plays it ...

team at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, where he previously coached.

Johns era: 2001–2005

For the 2001 season, Ray was replaced by Karen Johns. Under Johns, Florida qualified for the NCAA Tournament four of five seasons, and compiled a record of 192–131 during her tenure in Gainesville. After the Gators finished third in the SEC Eastern Division for the fourth straight season, and suffered four consecutive losses in the 2005 SEC Tournament and the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Johns was fired. KatieSeasholePresslySoftballStadium

Walton era: 2006–present

To replace Johns, Florida athletic director

Jeremy Foley Jeremy N. Foley (born December 1, 1952) is an American university sports administrator and former college athlete. Foley was an award-winning athletic director for the Florida Gators Division I sports program of the University of Florida locat ...

hired the then-head coach of the

Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference ( ...

softball team, Tim Walton, as the Gators' new coach. Under Walton, the Florida softball team has become a consistent SEC and national title contender. In 2014, the Gators won their first national title over Alabama, and the following year they repeated as national champions, this time by defeating Michigan.

2008 World Series

In his third season as the Gators' head coach, he led the team to an NCAA single season record seventy wins and five losses. The team also made its first-ever

(WCWS) appearance after beating the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

, two games to none, in the Gainesville Super Regional of the NCAA tournament. After losing its opening game of the WCWS to Louisiana Lafayette, the Gators won three straight against games the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 va ...

and

Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Aggi ...

. However, in the double-elimination format of the NCAA Tournament, the Gators needed to beat Texas A&M twice in the WCWS semifinals to move into the championship final series. That second semifinal game went two extra innings before either team scored, and the Aggies earned the 1–0 victory in the ninth inning. Gators pitcher Stacey Nelson ended the 2008 season with single-season school records in wins (47), strikeouts (363), innings pitched (352.1), and earned run average (0.75).

2009 World Series

Florida began its 2009 season ranked No. 1 in the country in both major college softball polls, but finished second after falling 8–0 and 3–2 to the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

in the best-of-three-games final championship series of the 2009 Women's College World Series. The Gators compiled an overall record of 63–5 and completed its SEC regular season with a record of 26–1. They also broke the SEC single-season record for home runs (86), and several single-season team records including grand slams (12), total shutouts (39), and consecutive shutouts (11). Aja Paculba set the single-season stolen base record (27), Francesca Enea broke the career home run record (41) in her junior season, and the Florida pitching staff threw three no-hitters in the regular season (Stephanie Brombacher vs. Coastal Carolina; Stacey Nelson vs. Ole Miss and Arkansas). Nelson was named the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and the SEC Pitcher of the year for the second straight year. Nelson was named to the All-American first team (pitcher), and Brombacher (pitcher), Enea (outfielder), Kelsey Bruder (outfielder), and Paculba (second baseman) were named to the second team.

2010 World Series

The 2010 Florida softball team again qualified for the NCAA tournament and advanced to the

2010 Women's College World Series The 2010 NCAA Division 1 softball tournament was held from May 20 through June 8, 2010 and is part of the 2010 NCAA Division 1 softball season. The 64 NCAA Division 1 college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 284 teams on May 16, 20 ...

. In the opening game of the Series, the fourth-seeded Gators were decisively defeated 16–3 by 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 Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, who ultimately won the 2010 championship. The Gators recovered to eliminate the ninth-seeded

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

5–2, before being edged 3–2 and eliminated in turn by the sixth-seeded

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

2011 World Series

During the 2011 season, Florida experienced a series of up-and-down streaks, but recovered to win the SEC Eastern Division for the fourth consecutive year. After being upset by the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

in the first round of the SEC tournament, the Gators qualified for the NCAA tournament and advanced to the

2011 Women's College World Series The 2011 NCAA Division 1 softball tournament was held from May 19 through June 8, 2011 as part of the 2011 NCAA Division 1 softball season. The 64 NCAA Division 1 college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 284 teams on May 15, 2011. ...

. In the World Series semi-finals, Florida twice defeated the SEC champion

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 mem ...

, 16–2 and 9–2, to advance to the finals. The top-ranked

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...

, in turn, swept the Gators, 14–4 and 7–2, in the best-of-three championship finals.

2012 NCAA Tournament

On the eve of the NCAA Tournament, three players: Cheyenne Coyle, Sami Fagan, and Kasey Fagan were dismissed from the team. No. 5 Florida lost to Florida Gulf Coast and USF in the Regionals and failed to reach the WCWS for the first time in Walton's tenure at UF.

2013 World Series

Despite winning the SEC regular season and tournament titles, No. 2 Florida lost to Tennessee 2–9 to open the WCWS. After a thrilling 9–8 extra innings game win against Nebraska, they lost 0–3 to Texas to end their season.

2014 National Champs

Florida beat rival Alabama for their first national championship with tournament MVP Hannah Rogers in the circle.

2015 National Champs

Led by the

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 ...

in Lauren Haeger, Florida became just the third team in the history of college softball to win back to back national championships. They defeated Michigan in the last game of the best of three series 4–1 to win the title. Lauren Haeger then went on to win the 2015 Honda Award. 2017 World Series In 2017, Florida again secured the number one seed for the third straight year. After failing to make it to the WCWS in 2016 as the number one seed, Florida made it to the finals. In the finals, Florida took on rival Oklahoma, the number 10 overall seed. Oklahoma outlasted Florida after 17 innings in what was the longest WCWS softball game ever played. The following day, after presumably being exhausted, Florida lost 4-5, allowing Oklahoma to go on and win the 2017 WCWS.

Coaching staff

Facility upgrades

In September 2016, the UAA announced a massive $100 million facilities initiative that included renovating many areas of the University of Florida's sports landscape. One of the improvements included in the plan was a renovation of the softball complex at Seashole Pressly Stadium. The plan states that existing bleachers behind home plate would be replaced with chairback seating, with additional bleachers extended down each foul line to accommodate 750 to 1,000 more seats; expanded press box, concession and restroom areas, upgraded coaches and players' facilities, as well as some shade structure. The university hopes to complete these projects before 2021.

Year-by-year results

NCAA Tournament seeding history

National seeding began in 2005. The Florida Gators are one of only three teams to have a national seed every year since, along with

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Player awards

National awards

;Senior Class Award *Stacey Nelson (2009) ;

*Lauren Haeger (2015) * Kelly Barnhill (2017) ;Honda Sport Award * Kelly Barnhill (2017) *Lauren Haeger (2015) ;

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 ...

* Amanda Lorenz (2016)

Conference awards

;

SEC Player of the Year Southeastern Conference Player of the Year refers to the most outstanding player for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in a given sport for a given season. For lists of individual sport SEC Players of the Year by year: *Southeastern Conference Bas ...

*Chelsea Sakizzie (1998) *

Kristen Butler Kristen Butler (born May 13, 1984) is an American, former four-time professional All-Star softball catcher and current head coach for Rutgers. She played college softball for Florida in the Southeastern Conference from 2003 to 2006 and won the ...

(2006) *Kelsey Bruder (2011) *Megan Moultrie (2012) *

Kelsey Stewart Kelsey Stewart (born August 15, 1994) is an American softball player. She won two softball National Championships with Florida Gators softball and has been named a Second Team and two-time First Team All- SEC player, including being named 2015 SE ...

(2015) * Amanda Lorenz (2018) ; SEC Pitcher of the Year *Stacy Nelson (2008, 2009) *Lauren Haeger (2015) * Kelly Barnhill (2017, 2018) ; SEC Freshman of the Year *Mandy Schuerman (2002) * Amanda Lorenz (2016)

All-Americans

The Florida Gators softball program has produced 38 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American selections. *Chelsey Sakizzie – 1998 3rd team *Stacey Nelson – 2007 2nd team *Kim Waleszonia – 2007 3rd team *Francesca Enea – 2008 2nd team *Ali Gardiner – 2008 1st team *Stacey Nelson – 2008 1st team *Aja Paculba – 2008 2nd team *Kim Waleszonia – 2008 3rd team *Stephanie Brombacher – 2009 2nd team *Kelsey Bruder – 2009 2nd team *Francesca Enea – 2009 2nd team * Stacey Nelson – 2009 1st team *Aja Paculba – 2009 2nd team *Francesca Enea – 2010 2nd team *Stephanie Brombacher – 2010 3rd team *Megan Bush – 2011 1st team *Kelsey Bruder – 2011 1st team *Brittany Schutte – 2011 1st team *Hannah Rogers – 2011 2nd team *Aja Paculba – 2011 3rd team *Michelle Moultrie – 2011 3rd team *Michelle Moultrie – 2012 1st team *Hannah Rogers – 2012 2nd team *Hannah Rogers – 2013 1st team *Lauren Haeger – 2013 1st team *Kelsey Stewart – 2014 1st team *Hannah Rogers – 2014 3rd team *Lauren Haeger – 2015 1st team *Kelsey Stewart – 2015 1st team *

Aleshia Ocasio Aleshia Ocasio (born August 15, 1996) is a professional American softball player. She played college softball at Florida. Ocasio most recently played in the Athletes Unlimited Softball, where she won the 2021 championship as the top individual poi ...

– 2015 3rd team * Delanie Gourley – 2016 1st team * Aleshia Ocasio – 2016 1st team * Kayli Kvistad – 2016 2nd team * Amanda Lorenz – 2016 3rd team * Kelly Barnhill – 2017 1st team * Delanie Gourley – 2017 1st team * Amanda Lorenz – 2017 1st team * Kayli Kvistad – 2017 3rd team

2020 U.S. Olympic Team

Michelle Moultrie Michelle Moultrie (born July 13, 1990) is an American professional softball outfielder for the Oklahoma City Spark of the Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). She played college softball at Florida, where she was named SEC Player of the Year in ...

Aubree Munro Aubree Munro Watson (born October 4, 1993) is an American, former college softball player, medal-winning Olympian, professional softball catcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators where she won two NCAA Championships, and play ...