Clemson Tigers softball

Clemson Tigers
2024 Clemson Tigers softball team
University	Clemson University
Head coach	John Rittman (5th season)
Conference	ACC Atlantic Division
Location	Clemson, SC
Home stadium	McWhorter Stadium (Capacity: 1,000)
Nickname	Tigers
Colors	Orange and regalia [1]
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2022, 2023
NCAA Tournament appearances
2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Regular Season Conference championships
2021

Clemson Tigers softball joined the Atlantic Coast Conference as a Division I varsity program in 2020. In November 2017, former Stanford coach John Rittman was named as Clemson's first head softball coach. Rittman spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at Kansas and USA Softball. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

History

Coaching history

Years	Coach	Record	%
2020–present	John Rittman	184–64	.742

2020s

The Tigers' first season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers had started 19–8 overall and 5–1 in ACC play before the season was cancelled by Clemson and the ACC. ^{[6] [7]} The NCAA tournament was also canceled. ^[8] 2021 was Clemson's first full season as a program and they finished 44–8 overall, with a 29–5 record in ACC play. They won the regular season championship, and made the final of the ACC tournament but fell short in the final, losing to Duke. They could not advance past the Regional in the NCAA Tournament. They were placed in a Regional with SEC champion Alabama and lost both games against the Crimson Tide. The program's success would continue in 2022 as they would finish 14–10 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. Despite their lower seed, they again reached the final of the ACC tournament, but could not overcome Florida State in the Final. They were selected to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament and won three games without allowing a run, to advance to the Super Regional. During the 2023 season, Clemson had its first perfect game in program history. Valerie Cagle recorded the perfect game by retiring all fifteen batters she faced in an 18–0 (5 inning) win over Mercer. ^[9] The 2024 season, was a down season by Clemson's lofty standards. The team finished with its lowest overall win total in a full season. However, they did keep their streak of NCAA tournament appearances alive, but did not advance past the regional round.

Coaching staff

Name	Position coached	Consecutive season at Clemson in current position
John Rittman	Head coach	5th
Kyle Jamieson	Associate head coach	5th
Courtney Breault	Assistant coach	5th
Jessie Harper	Assistant coach	2nd
Jeannie Murphy	Director of Operations	5th
Reference: [10]

Year-by-year record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
John Rittman (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2020–present)
2020	Clemson	19–8	5–1	3rd	Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021	Clemson	44–8	29–5	1st	Tuscaloosa Regional
2022	Clemson	42–17	14–10	5th	Stillwater Super Regional
2023	Clemson	49–12	18–6	3rd	Norman Super Regional
2024	Clemson	35–19	15–9	T–4th	Tuscaloosa Regional
John Rittman:		189–64 (.747)	81–31 (.723)
Total:		189–64 (.747)
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Awards

National awards

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

• Valerie Cagle (2023) ^[11]

Softball America Player of the Year

• Valerie Cagle (2023) ^[12]

Conference awards

ACC Player of the Year

• Valerie Cagle (2021, 2023) ^{[13] [14]}

ACC Freshman of the Year

• Valerie Cagle (2021) ^[13]

ACC Coach of the Year

• John Rittman (2021) ^[13]

All-Americans

• NCFA 1st Team: Valerie Cagle (2022, 2023) ^{[15] [16]}
• NCFA 2nd Team: Valerie Cagle (2021) ^[17]

See also

• List of NCAA Division I softball programs

References

1. "Clemson Athletics Style Guide" . Retrieved November 3, 2018.
2. "College softball: John Rittman selected as Clemson's first softball coach". NCAA. November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
3. "Clemson hires former Stanford coach to lead Tigers' program". USA Today . November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
4. "Clemson hires first-ever softball coach for new program". Post and Courier . Charleston, South Carolina. November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
5. Mandy Gaither (November 3, 2017). "Clemson University announces first ever softball team". Greenville, South Carolina: WYFF . Retrieved November 3, 2017.
6. "Clemson online instruction through at least Sunday, April 5; all events suspended". clemson.edu. Clemson University. March 15, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
7. "ACC Cancels All Athletic Activities Through End of 2019-20 Academic Year". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
8. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
9. Raynor, Grace (March 8, 2023). "Clemson's Valerie Cagle pitches first perfect game in program history". The Athletic . Retrieved March 9, 2023.
10. "Clemson Softball Staff". ClemsonTigers.com. CLEMSON UNIVERSITY. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
11. Long, Christina (May 30, 2023). "Clemson's Valerie Cagle named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year". The Greenville News . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
12. "2023 NCAA Player Of The Year: Clemson's Valerie Cagle". softballamerica.com. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
13. "ACC Softball Announces 2021 All-Conference Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. May 11, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
14. "2023 All-ACC Softball Awards Announced". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
15. "2022 NFCA DI All-Americans released". nfca.org. National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
16. "2023 NFCA DI All-Americans revealed". nfca.org. National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
17. "Valerie Cagle earns All-American honors". Tigernet.com. Clemson University Athletics. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.