Arizona State Sun Devils | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Founded | 1967 |
University | Arizona State University |
Athletic director | Graham Rossini |
Head coach | Megan Bartlett (2nd season) |
Conference | Pac-12 |
Location | Tempe, AZ |
Home stadium | Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium (Capacity: 1,535) |
Nickname | Sun Devils |
Colors | Maroon and gold [1] |
NCAA Tournament champions | |
2008, 2011 | |
AIAW Tournament champions | |
1972, 1973 | |
NCAA WCWS appearances | |
1982, 1987, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018 | |
AIAW WCWS appearances | |
1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 [2] | |
NCAA Super Regional appearances | |
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2022 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 | |
Regular Season Conference championships | |
1977, 1978, 2008, 2011, 2022 |
The Arizona State Sun Devils softball team represents Arizona State University in NCAA Division I College softball. The team competes in the Pac-12 Conference, and plays its home games at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Clint Myers, former head coach of the Sun Devils, guided the team to the Women's College World Series in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. The Sun Devils team won the National Championship in 2008 & 2011. [3]
The Sun Devil softball team began in 1967. By the 1970s, the team had been established under head coach Mary Littlewood as a power. Some of the best players in the country became Sun Devils in the early 1970s. Among them were: Paula Miller; Marilyn Rau; Ginger Kurtz and Judy Hoke. All of these women at one time during their playing careers were selected as Amateur Softball Association All-Americans. [4] The 1972 and 1973 teams won the Women's College World Series, which at the time was not organized by the NCAA but by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and the Amateur Softball Association. The softball team continued to grow throughout the 1970s. They joined the Intermountain Conference in 1975. From 1976 to 1979, the Sun Devils made the AIAW Women's College World Series every year including a fourth-place finish in 1976 and 1977 and two ninth-place finishes in 1978 and 1979. The Sun Devils also finished first in the Intermountain Conference in 1977 and 1978 for the school's first conference championships. [5]
Mary Littlewood continued to guide the Arizona State softball team throughout the 1980s. Arizona State joined the Western Collegiate Athletic Association in 1980 and won the conference in 1980. In 1982, the NCAA officially began to sponsor softball. The 1982 Sun Devil softball team went to the NCAA Women's College World Series in its first year organized by the NCAA. They finished fourth that year. From 1984 to 1987, ASU made four straight trips to NCAA Regionals and returned to the Women's College World Series in 1987 where they finished 7th. In 1986, the Pac-10 Conference began softball play with Arizona State as one of its members. They finished second in the conference in their first two seasons with the new conference. Mary Littlewood retired in 1989 after a long, successful run of coaching. She finished with 493 wins, won three conference championships, and made 13 trips to the postseason, nine of which were Women's College World Series appearances.
Linda Wells, who came to Arizona State from Minnesota, was chosen to replace Littlewood for the 1990 season. In her first two seasons with the Sun Devils, the team won 43 both years and made NCAA Regionals both years also. The 1991 team went 15-5 in the competitive Pac-10 conference, which was good enough for a second-place finish. However, in the years following the 1991 season, the Sun Devils softball team began to slide slightly. The made a Regional in 1993, but failed to do so again until 1997. The program began to rebound in 1999 when they finished 7th at the Women's College World Series and finished the season with a 41-28 record.
Despite struggling to finish above .500 in a very competitive Pac-12 conference, Arizona State continued to receive bids to the NCAA Tournament from 2000 to 2003, including an appearance in the Women's College World Series in 2002, again barely missing out on a chance to play for the national championship. Following a loss to Hofstra in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, Wells announced her retirement. She finished her career with the Sun Devils with 563 wins, surpassing Mary Littlewood for the most wins in school history, and two Women's College World Series appearances. [6]
Clint Myers, who came from the junior college ranks, was hired to replace Linda Wells as head coach and has elevated the program to new level. His first season in 2006 saw the Sun Devils win a then school record 53 games and make a trip to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series. The Sun Devils have made the Women's College World Series in five of his first six seasons. Myers has also guided the Sun Devil program to its first ever Pac-10 Conference championship in 2008. The Sun Devils finished off the 2000s making four straight appearances in the Women's College World Series. The 2008 softball team captured the first ever NCAA Championship for softball for the school. [7]
The 2008 Sun Devil softball team finished the season with a school record 66 wins with only 5 losses. They also earned a school record 18 wins in the Pac-10 on their way to the conference championship. They earned a number six national seed to begin the NCAA tournament and hosted both the Regional and Super Regionals. The team shut out Stony Brook and Hawaii twice to earn a spot in Super Regionals. They played the 11-seeded Northwestern Wildcats in the Tempe Super Regional where they won the first two games of the series 3-1 and 9-0. In the first game of the 2008 Women's College World Series, Arizona State defeated Alabama, who was the tournament's three seed, 3-1. The Sun Devils had to score three runs in the 7th inning to beat the Crimson Tide. They then faced the UCLA Bruins, who they defeated 4-0 for a spot in the National Semifinals where they had to face Alabama again. The Sun Devils again defeated Alabama 3-1 for a spot in the National Championship three game series against the Texas A&M Aggies. The first game saw the Sun Devils defeat the Aggies 3-0. In game two, the Arizona State clinched the school's first national championship by beating the Aggies 11-0, which was one of the largest defeats in a championship game in the history of the Women's College World Series. [8]
Arizona State softball continues to be ranked among the best in the country. In 2010, the Sun Devils won 44 games and lost to the Florida Gators in the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional, which was the first time in the Clint Myers era the Sun Devils did not make the Women's College World Series. In 2011, the Sun Devils won their second Pac-10 championship and earned the number one seed in the NCAA tournament. The Sun Devils again earned a spot in the 2011 Women's College World Series by winning the Tempe Super Regional against Texas A&M. [9] The Sun Devils subsequently swept the WCWS and defeated the Florida Gators in two games for the 2011 NCAA national championship. The championship marked the 400th national championship in Pac-10 conference history and at the time Arizona state would become only the fourth softball program to win multiple NCAA titles joining Arizona, Texas A&M, and UCLA. [10]
Name | Years | Seasons | Won | Lost | Tie | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Coach | 1968–1969 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Mary Littlewood | 1967/1970 –1989 | 21 | 509 | 223 | 1 | .695 |
Linda Wells | 1990–2005 | 16 | 561 | 415 | 0 | .575 |
Clint Myers | 2006–2013 | 8 | 427 | 102 | 0 | .807 |
Craig Nicholson | 2014–2015 | 2 | 82 | 34 | 1 | .705 |
Robert Wagner & Lefty Olivarez | 2016 | 1 | 32 | 26 | 0 | .552 |
Trisha Ford | 2017–2022 | 5 | 212 | 89 | 0 | .707 |
Megan Bartlett | 2023–present | 1 | ||||
All-Time | 55 | 1,823 | 888 | 2 | .672 |
Season | Coach | Record | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | Conference | ||||
1967 | Mary Littlewood | 5–1 | — | ||
1968 | No Records | — | |||
1969 | No Records | — | |||
1970 | Mary Littlewood | 10–2 | — | ||
1971 | Mary Littlewood | 12–3 | — | DGWS Women's College World Series | |
1972 | Mary Littlewood | 13–2 | — | DGWS Women's College World Series Champions | |
1973 | Mary Littlewood | 13–2 | — | AIAW Women's College World Series Champions | |
1974 | Mary Littlewood | 8–4 | — | ||
Intermountain Conference | |||||
1975 | Mary Littlewood | 15–3 | 9–2 | Regional | |
1976 | Mary Littlewood | 22–7 | 13–4 | AIAW Women's College World Series | |
1977 | Mary Littlewood | 26–7 | 13–1 | AIAW Women's College World Series | |
1978 | Mary Littlewood | 29–5 | 13–3 | AIAW Women's College World Series | |
1979 | Mary Littlewood | 28–7 | 10–0 | AIAW Women's College World Series | |
Western Collegiate Athletic Association | |||||
1980 | Mary Littlewood | 33–11 | 15–3 | Regional | |
1981 | Mary Littlewood | 35–17 | 6–6 | Regional | |
1982 | Mary Littlewood | 34–18 | 11–9 | NCAA Women's College World Series | |
1983 | Mary Littlewood | 22–19–1 | 9–12–1 | ||
1984 | Mary Littlewood | 33–15 | 6–4 | NCAA Regional | |
1985 | Mary Littlewood | 38–17 | 6–6 | NCAA Regional | |
Pac-12 Conference | |||||
1986 | Mary Littlewood | 32–17 | 7–4 | NCAA Regional | |
1987 | Mary Littlewood | 41–15 | 6–4 | Women's College World Series | |
1988 | Mary Littlewood | 26–25 | 8–12 | ||
1989 | Mary Littlewood | 34–26 | 7–13 | NCAA Regional | |
1990 | Linda Wells | 43–32 | 10–10 | NCAA Regional | |
1991 | Linda Wells | 43–18 | 15–5 | NCAA Regional | |
1992 | Linda Wells | 27–21 | 7–9 | ||
1993 | Linda Wells | 34–26 | 13–11 | NCAA Regional | |
1994 | Linda Wells | 22–41 | 7–17 | ||
1995 | Linda Wells | 29–26 | 10–18 | ||
1996 | Linda Wells | 34–27 | 10–18 | ||
1997 | Linda Wells | 32–25 | 9–19 | NCAA Regional | |
1998 | Linda Wells | 38–27 | 9–19 | NCAA Regional | |
1999 | Linda Wells | 41–28 | 8–20 | Women's College World Series | |
2000 | Linda Wells | 43–20 | 8–13 | NCAA Regional | |
2001 | Linda Wells | 36–22 | 9–12 | NCAA Regional | |
2002 | Linda Wells | 46–20 | 10–11 | Women's College World Series | |
2003 | Linda Wells | 32–25 | 7–14 | NCAA Regional | |
2004 | Linda Wells | 33–31 | 3–17 | ||
2005 | Linda Wells | 30–26 | 4–17 | NCAA Regional | |
2006 | Clint Myers | 53–15 | 11–10 | Women's College World Series | |
2007 | Clint Myers | 54–17 | 13–8 | Women's College World Series | |
2008 | Clint Myers | 66–5 | 18–3 | Pac-10 Champions, Women's College World Series Champions | |
2009 | Clint Myers | 47–19 | 10–11 | Women's College World Series | |
2010 | Clint Myers | 44–17 | 10–11 | NCAA Super Regional | |
2011 | Clint Myers | 60–6 | 17–4 | Pac-10 Champions, Women's College World Series Champions | |
2012 | Clint Myers | 53–11 | 18–4 | Women's College World Series | |
2013 | Clint Myers | 50–12 | 16–8 | Women's College World Series | |
2014 | Craig Nicholson | 46–12–1 | 15–7–1 | NCAA Regional | |
2015 | Craig Nicholson | 36–22 | 12–11 | NCAA Regional | |
2016 | Robert Wagner & Letty Olivarez | 32–26 | 6–17 | NCAA Regional | |
2017 | Trisha Ford | 31–22 | 9–15 | NCAA Regional | |
2018 | Trisha Ford | 48–13 | 16–8 | Women's College World Series | |
2019 | Trisha Ford | 35–20 | 13–11 | NCAA Regional | |
2020 | Trisha Ford | 22–7 [lower-alpha 1] | 0–0 | Postseason not held | |
2021 | Trisha Ford | 33–16 | 12–9 | NCAA Regional | |
2022 | Trisha Ford | 43–11 | 20-4 | NCAA Super Regional | |
2023 | Megan Bartlett | 22–26 | 6-18 | ||
2024 | Megan Bartlett | 0–0 | 0-0 | ||
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. The eight teams of the WCWS play a double-elimination tournament until just two teams remain. These two teams compete in a best-of-three series to determine the Division I WCWS National Champion, previous WCWS losses do not factor into the best of three championship series, first team to win two of three games is declared the 'National Champion'.
Herbert Joseph Sendek Jr. is an American college basketball coach who is the current men's basketball head coach at Santa Clara.
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 normally played by men.
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 of the Pac-12 Conference. The mascot was adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals and later, the Bulldogs. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by former Disney illustrator Bert Anthony. ASU's chief rival is the University of Arizona Wildcats, and both universities' athletics departments compete against each other in the Territorial Cup Series.
The Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program at the Arizona State University (ASU) is part of the Pac-12 Conference. Since it became a member of the Pac-12, it had the highest winning percentage, at .681, of all schools that participate in Division I baseball within the conference. ASU's NCAA leading 54 consecutive 30 win seasons was the longest streak in the nation. The Sun Devils have had just four losing seasons in program history. The Sun Devils had been nationally ranked during at least a part of every season of their 58-year history until 2017. The Sun Devils have finished 27 times in the Top 10, 22 times in the Top 5, and 5 times as the No. 1 team in the nation.
The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University (ASU) in the sport of American college football. The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Big 12 Conference. ASU has fielded a football team since 1897. The Sun Devils are led by head coach Kenny Dillingham and play their home games at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils have won seventeen conference titles.
Katherine Burkhart is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher and softball coach. She played college softball at Arizona State, and won a national championship with the team in 2008 and was named Most Outstanding Player. Burkhart holds the career records in wins, strikeouts, perfect games, WHIP, innings pitched and strikeout ratio for the school. She also ranks in several career pitching categories and the top-10 for strikeouts and perfect games for both the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA Division I. She has also pitched for the USA Softball team. She also helped remove snakes from a plane that was bound from Hawaii to Phoenix in 2023.
Kaitlin Elizabeth Cochran is an American, former collegiate four-time first team All-American, retired softball player. She attended Rosary High School and Arizona State University from 2006 to 2009, where she won the 2008 Women's College World Series title. Also with United States women's national softball team, she won four World Cup of Softball crowns. She holds various records for the Sun Devils in the Pac-12 Conference. She was drafted first overall in the National Pro Fastpitch but elected not to play. She is also one of nine NCAA Division I players to bat .400 with 200 RBIs, 50 home runs and an .800 slugging percentage for a career.
Krista Lynn Donnenwirth is an All-American softball player. She attended Capistrano Valley High School. After graduating from high school, she went on to attend Arizona State University, where she plays shortstop and third base.
The 2012 California Golden Bears softball team is the representative of the University of California in the 2012 NCAA Division I softball season. The team plays their home games in Levine-Fricke Field and they entered the 2012 season after making the Women's College World Series with a 45–13 record in 2011 and making the postseason for 27 straight years.
The 1981 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team represented Arizona State University in the 1981 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Sun Devils played their home games at Packard Stadium. The team was coached by Jim Brock in his 10th season at Arizona State.
Dallas Jade Escobedo is a Mexican-American, former collegiate All-American, Olympian, professional softball pitcher and coach. She played college softball for Arizona State in the from 2011 to 2014, where she led them to the 2011 Women's College World Series title and ranks in several pitching categories for both institutions. She is currently the pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton.
The 2015–16 Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team represented Arizona State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Sun Devils were led by first year head coach Bobby Hurley and played their home games at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona. They were members of Pac–12 Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 5–13 in Pac-12 play to finish in 11th place. They lost in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament to Oregon State.
Trisha Lynn Ford is an American college softball coach. She is the head softball coach at the Texas A&M University, a position she has held since the 2023 season. Ford served as the head softball coach at Saint Mary's College of California from 2002 to 2003, California State University, Fresno from 2013 to 2016, and Arizona State University from 2017 to 2022.
The 2008 Arizona State Sun Devils softball team represented Arizona State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I softball season. The Sun Devils were coached by Clint Myers, who led his third season. The Sun Devils finished with a record of 66–5. They played their home games at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium and competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 18–3 record.
Sashel Aitiana Palacios Barajas is an American softball catcher of Mexican descent. After playing college softball for Arizona State, she embarked on a professional career in 2018. She also helped the Mexico national team qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which finished the tournament in fourth place.
The 2011 Arizona State Sun Devils softball team represented Arizona State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I softball season. The Sun Devils were coached by Clint Myers, who led his sixth season. The Sun Devils finished with a record of 60–6. They played their home games at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium and competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 17–4 record.
Linda Marie Wells is a former American softball coach. She previously served as the head coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers softball and Arizona State Sun Devils softball teams.
Megan Ciolli Bartlett is an American former softball player and current head coach at Arizona State. She previously served as the head coach at Ball State.