Central Arkansas Sugar Bears softball

Last updated
Central Arkansas
Sugar Bears softball
Softball current event.svg 2026 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears softball team
Uca sugar bears wordmark.png
University University of Central Arkansas
Head coachKayla Lucas (1st season)
Conference ASUN
Location Conway, AR
Home stadium Farris Field (Capacity: 500)
NicknameSugar Bears
ColorsPurple and gray [1]
   
NCAA Tournament appearances
2015, 2023
Conference Tournament championships
Southland
2015
ASUN
2023

The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears softball team represents the University of Central Arkansas, located in Conway, Arkansas. The Sugar Bears are a member of the ASUN Conference and participate in NCAA Division I college softball. The team is currently led by head coach Kayla Lucas and plays home games at Farris Field.

Contents

History

The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears inaugural softball season was in 1996. From 1996 to 2006, the Sugar Bears competed in the Gulf South Conference at the NCAA Division II level. In 2007, the university moved to NCAA Division I play with the university's move to the Southland Conference. Three coaches have led the Sugar Bears. Natalie Shock coached the team in all but the final year of the Division II period as well as the second year at the Division I level. The team compiled and overall record of 207–296 and a conference record of 109–127 during Shock's eleven-year tenure. Steve Kissel coached the Sugar Bears for their last year in the Gulf South Conference and their first year as a Southland Conference member. His teams compiled an overall record of 28–76 and 15–48 record in conference play. David Kuhn, the Sugar Bears current head coach, has led the team for seven seasons. As of the conclusion of the 2015 season, the team has compiled a 209–189 overall record and a 95–88 record in conference play. [2]

In 2015, the Sugar Bears won their first conference tournament championship and received the Southland Conference auto-bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I softball tournament. The team competed in their first NCAA tournament at the Norman Regional. [3]

Year-by-year results

Source: [4] [5] [2]

SeasonConferenceCoachOverallConferenceNotes
GamesWinLossTieGamesWinLossTie
NCAA Year-by-Year Results
1996 Gulf South Natalie Shock2814140147703rd (West)
1997Gulf SouthNatalie Shock39122701661004th (West)
1998Gulf SouthNatalie Shock4820280168803rd (West)
1999Gulf SouthNatalie Shock45261902214803rd (West)
2000Gulf SouthNatalie Shock50292102417703rd (West)
2001Gulf SouthNatalie Shock522131020101004th (West)
2002Gulf SouthNatalie Shock57263102011904th (West)
2003Gulf SouthNatalie Shock441727026121404th (West)
2004Gulf SouthNatalie Shock44172702191205th (West)
2005Gulf SouthNatalie Shock471928028111705th (West)
2006Gulf SouthSteve Kissel56123403392407th (West)
Team
Overall – Division II		50021328702401141260
2007 Southland Steve Kissel581642030624010th
2008SouthlandNatalie Shock49643029425011th
2009SouthlandDavid Kuhn552431029141507th
2010SouthlandDavid Kuhn562531029131608th
2011SouthlandDavid Kuhn562630030121808th
2012SouthlandDavid Kuhn58363202081203rd
2013SouthlandDavid Kuhn583838025151004th
2014SouthlandDavid Kuhn592534026131306th
2015SouthlandDavid Kuhn56352102416803rd (East)
SLC Tournament Champion
NCAA Tournament, 1st Round
2016SouthlandDavid Kuhn573522027161104th (East)
2017SouthlandDavid Kuhn592534027141304th (East)
2018SouthlandDavid Kuhn562927027161104th (East)
2019SouthlandDavid Kuhn542628027121508th
2020SouthlandDavid Kuhn2718903300Season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021SouthlandDavid Kuhn56371902721602nd
2022ASUN Jenny Parsons 58372102417701st (West)
2023ASUNJenny Parsons57451202422201st

ASUN Tournament Champs
NCAA Tournament Regional

2024ASUNJenny Parsons54262712315713rd
2025ASUNJenny Parsons
Team
Overall – Division I		81036644403801831970
Team
Overall – Program History		1,31057973106202973230

Post season appearances

Conference Tournaments

Sources: [6]

YearConferenceRecord %Notes
Conference softball tournament Results
2012Southland0–2.000
2013Southland2–2.500
2014Southland1–2.333
2015 [7] Southland4–01.000Tournament Champion
2016Southland0-2.000
2017Southland2-2.500
2018Southland0-1.000
2019Southland0-1.000
2020SouthlandNo Tournament - COVID
2021Southland3-2.600
2022ASUN2-2.500
2023ASUN5-1.833Tournament Champion
2024ASUN2-2.500
Total21–19.52512 Appearances

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Sugar Bears have appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their record is 1-4.

YearRoundOpponentResult/Score
NCAA Division I Tournament Results
2015 [8] First Game
Second Game		 Oklahoma
Lehigh		L 0–8
L 0–3
2023 First Game
Second Game
Third Game		Middle Tennessee
LIU
Middle Tennessee		L 0-8 [5]
W 15-0 [5]
L 0-3

Awards

NFCA Golden Shoe Award

References

  1. ↑ UCA Standards Guide (PDF). September 28, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Softball Coaching Records". UCA Athletics. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ "UCA falls to Oklahoma in NCAA tournament". THV11, a Gannett Company. May 15, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015. The Central Arkansas softball team took the field for its first-ever NCAA Division I Softball Championship game on Friday afternoon, facing off against Norman Regional Host Oklahoma.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Archived Team-By-Team Final Statistics". NCAA. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Softball Coaching Records". University of Central Arkansas Athletic Department. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Southland Conference 2015 Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. pp. 31–38. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  7. ↑ "2015 Southland Conference softball tournament" (PDF). Southland Conference. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ "2015 NCAA softball tournament Schedule, Results". espnW.com. May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.