The 2020 NCAA Division I Softball season, play 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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The 2020 NCAA Division I softball tournament 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Devon Park, originally known as the Don E. Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium from 1987 to 2017 and USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, until 2024, is softball-specific ballpark located inside the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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 ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

* 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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

* Softball America Freshman of the Year:

Maya Brady Maya Ann Brady-Timmons (born June 1, 2001) is an American professional softball player for the Talons of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. She played college softball for the UCLA Bruins. As a freshman in 2020, she was named Softball Ameri ...

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 ...

Sis Bates Nicole "Sis" Bates is an American professional softball player for the Volts of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) and a member of the United States women's national softball team. She played college softball at Washington. She current ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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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