The Kentucky Wildcats softball team represents the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

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 ...

. The Kentucky Wildcats compete 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 Wildcats play their home games at John Cropp Stadium on the university's

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

campus, and are currently led by head coach Rachel Lawson. In the history of the Wildcats softball program, the team has made appearances in twelve

NCAA Division I Softball Championship 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 ...

, eight Super Regionals, and one

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).

Head coaches

History

The

softball team had their inaugural season in 1997. University of Kentucky Athletic Director

Mitch Barnhart Mitch Barnhart (born August 27, 1959) is the athletics director for the Kentucky Wildcats athletics program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Barnhart was hired by the university in 2002 succeeding Larry Ivy. Barnhart served ...

hired Rachel Lawson in July 2007. Since her hire, Lawson has guided UK to eight NCAA Super Regionals including an appearance in the

2014 College World Series The 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, May 30, 2014 as part of the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2014 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, which start ...

, the program's first. In her fourteen seasons at Kentucky, Lawson has an overall win–loss record of 495-297, making her the winningest head coach in school history and already has more wins in SEC play than UK had total as a program when she took over in 2008. UK also finished 2016 in the top 14 of both collegiate softball rankings for the third time in school history with eleven wins over ranked teams. Another accomplishment since Lawson's hire in 2008 is the construction of John Cropp Stadium. The facility cost $9.5 million, and debuted for the 2013 season. UK hosted the 2013 SEC Tournament as well as an NCAA regional, another first for the program. Since 2013, UK has hosted an NCAA regional in 2013, 2014, 2016–2019, and 2021.

Year-by-year results

All-Americans

Other Awards

References

External links

Official Website
{{Southeastern Conference softball navbox Sports clubs established in 1997 1997 establishments in Kentucky