The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame was established in 1991 to recognize coaches who have made extraordinary contributions to the sport of softpitch softball. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association ("NFCA") is a professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play. [1] As of 2023, 95 individuals have been inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame.
Name | Inducted | Wins [2] | Losses | Ties | Pct. | Teams |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sharon Backus | 1991 | 854 | 173 | 3 | .831 | UCLA 1975–1996 |
Linda Wells | 1991 | 914 | 679 | 1 | .574 | Minnesota 1975–1989; Arizona State 1990–2005 |
Linda Draft | 1991 | 357 | 233 | 2 | .605 | Wisconsin-Parkside 1978–1992 |
Lorene Ramsey | 1992 | 840 | 309 | .731 | Illinois Central 1968–1995 | |
June Walker | 1992 | 721 | 154 | .824 | The College of New Jersey 1974–1995 | |
Judy Sherman | 1992 | 298 | 117 | .718 | Pacific (Oregon) 1979–1992 | |
Betty Hoff | 1992 | 521 | 350 | 1 | .598 | Luther College (Iowa) 1969–2001 |
Judy Martino | 1993 | . | South Carolina 1979–1981; North Carolina; NFCA founder | |||
Judi Garman | 1993 | 1124 | 416 | 4 | . | Golden West College 1972–1979; Cal State Fullerton 1980–1999 |
Sharon Drysdale | 1994 | 704 | 529 | 3 | .571 | Kansas 1973–1975; Northwestern University 1979–2001 |
Carol Spanks | 1994 | 688 | 375 | 6 | .646 | Cal Poly Pomona 1979–1993; UNLV 1995–1997 |
Mary Littlewood | 1995 | 648 | 202 | .762 | Arizona State 1971–1989 | |
Gerry Pinkston | 1995 | 418 | 271 | 1 | .607 | Central Oklahoma 1976–1997 |
Mike Candrea | 1996 | 1257 | 265 | 2 | .825 | Arizona 1986–2011 (stats through March 26, 2011) |
Connie Claussen | 1996 | . | Nebraska at Omaha 1969–1976 | |||
Mary Nutter | 1997 | . | ||||
Marge Willadsen | 1997 | 569 | 447 | 2 | .560 | Buena Vista 1981–2008 |
Kathy Veroni | 1998 | 869 | 598 | 2 | .592 | Western Illinois 1973–2005 |
Dianne Baker | 1998 | 785 | 462 | 3 | .629 | Stephen F. Austin 1981–1995; Texas Woman's 1997–2005 |
Rayla Allison | 1999 | 213 | 185 | .535 | Pioneer category (coach at Texas–Arlington 1985–1989; Hawaii 1990–1991; first full-time Executive Director of the NFCA 1991–1994) | |
Gayle Blevins | 1999 | 1245 | 588 | 5 | .679 | Indiana 1980–1987; Iowa 1988–2010 |
Sandy Jerstad | 2000 | 1011 | 359 | 2 | .738 | Augustana (South Dakota) 1977–2003 |
Margie Wright | 2000 | 1403 | 508 | 3 | .734 | Illinois State 1980–1985; Fresno State 1986–2010 (stats through March 25, 2011) |
Fran Ebert | 2000 | . | ||||
Cindy Bristow | 2001 | . | International Softball Federation; Arizona State; New Mexico State; Wichita State | |||
Bill Galloway | 2001 | 881 | 390 | 2 | .693 | Texas A&M 1979–1981; Louisiana Tech 1982–2002 |
Joyce Compton | 2002 | 1066 | 563 | 3 | . | Missouri 1983–1986; South Carolina 1987–2010 (stats through 2010) |
Margo F. Jonker | 2003 | 1007 | 599 | 5 | . | Central Michigan 1980–2010 (stats through 2010) |
JoAnne Graf | 2003 | 1186 | 425 | 6 | .735 | Florida State 1984–2008 |
Celeste Knierim | 2003 | 1043 | 542 | .658 | St. Louis Community College-Meramec | |
Jan Hutchinson | 2004 | 1215 | 288 | 2 | . | Bloomsburg 1978–2010 |
Elaine Sortino | 2004 | 1099 | 451 | 6 | . | University of Massachusetts Amherst 1980–2010 (stats through 2010) |
Yvette Girouard | 2005 | 1263 | 415 | 1 | .753 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette 1981–2000; LSU 2001–2010 (stats through March 26, 2011) |
Scott Whitlock | 2005 | 901 | 229 | . | Kennesaw State 1991–2010 (stats through 2010) | |
Liz Miller | 2005 | 377 | 156 | .707 | Notre Dame 1993–2001 | |
Sue Enquist | 2006 | 887 | 175 | 1 | .835 | UCLA 1989–2006 |
Clyde Washburne | 2006 | 284 | 110 | 1 | .720 | Eastern Connecticut State 1977–1987, 1993 |
Carol Hutchins | 2006 | 1209 | 414 | 4 | .744 | Ferris State 1981–82, Michigan 1985–2011 (stats through March 26, 2011) |
Henry Christowski | 2007 | 451 | 130 | 2 | .775 | Simpson College 1996–2009 (stats through 2009) |
Judy Groff | 2007 | 924 | 581 | 5 | .614 | American International College (Mass.) 1969–2009 (stats through 2009) |
George Wares | 2007 | 840 | 280 | 3 | .749 | Central College (Iowa) 1985–2009 (stats through 2009) |
Gary Torgeson | 2008 | 636 | 216 | 7 | .774 | Cal State Northridge 1982–1994 |
Jay Miller | 2008 | 954 | 607 | .611 | Purdue 1980–1981; Oklahoma City 1985–1987; Missouri 1988–2002; Mississippi State 2003–2009 (stats through 2009) | |
Eugene Lenti | 2008 | 1022 | 494 | 6 | .673 | DePaul 1980–2009 (stats through 2009) |
Donna Newberry | 2008 | 884 | 398 | 1 | .689 | Muskingum 1975–2009 (stats through 2009) |
Sandy Fischer | 2008 | 853 | 358 | 3 | .704 | Oklahoma State 1979–2001 |
Gary Bryce | 2008 | 925 | 577 | 6 | .615 | Wayne State 1982–2009 (stats through 2009) |
Diane Ninemire | 2009 | 970 | 477 | .670 | California 1988–2009 (stats through 2009) | |
Frank Cheek | 2009 | 1049 | 288 | 2 | . | Humboldt State 1989–2010 (stats through 2010) |
Bill Edwards | 2009 | 721 | 351 | 3 | .672 | Hofstra 1990–2009 (stats through 2009) |
Chris Bellotto | 2010 | 1042 | 323 | . | Florida Southern College 1985–2010 (stats through 2010) | |
Rhonda Revelle | 2010 | 658 | 358 | .648 | Nebraska Wesleyan 1987; Nebraska 1993–2009 (stats through 2009) | |
Melinda Fischer | 2010 | 817 | 554 | 4 | .596 | Eastern Illinois 1978–1979; Illinois State 1986–2009 |
Deb Pallozzi | 2011 | 734 | 354 | 1 | .674 | Rensselaer 1986 – 1988; Ithaca College 1988 to present |
Ralph Weekly | 2011 | 1165 | 381 | 2 | .753 | Pacific Lutheran 1985–1994; UTC 1994–1998; Tennessee 2002 to present |
Mark Eldridge | 2012 | 1083 | 304 | 6 | .780 | Palomar Junior College 1978–2006, 2009–10 |
Patty Gasso | 2012 | 1140 | 355 | 3 | .762 | Long Beach City College 1991–94; Oklahoma 1995–present |
Donna Papa | 2012 | 1118 | 616 | 5 | .643 | Susquehanna University 1984–85; North Carolina 1986–present |
Rick Bertagnolli | 2013 | 1004 | 284 | .780 | California University of Pennsylvania 1994–present | |
Joan Joyce | 2013 | 780 | 493 | .613 | Florida Atlantic University 1995–present | |
Lori Meyer | 2013 | 1010 | 602 | 3 | .625 | Minnesota State University Mankato 1985–present |
Patrick Murphy | 2013 | 870 | 246 | .780 | Northwest Missouri State 1995; University of Alabama 1999–present | |
Lacy Lee Baker | 2014 | Executive Director of the NFCA, 1994–present | ||||
Julie Lenhart | 2014 | 785 | 332 | 2 | .702 | Wisconsin-Platteville 1990–94; SUNY Cortland 1995–present |
Phil McSpadden | 2014 | 1,413 | 357 | .798 | Oklahoma City University 1988–present | |
Les Stuedeman | 2014 | 894 | 278 | 1 | .763 | University of Alabama-Huntsville 1996–present |
Jo Evans | 2015 | 1,102 | 574 | 2 | .657 | Colorado State 1986–89, Utah 1990–96, Texas A&M 1997–present, |
Anita Kibicka | 2015 | 829 | 317 | 2 | .723 | Montclair State 1991–present |
Clint Myers | 2015 | 1,064 | 187 | 1 | .850 | Central Arizona College 1987–95, Arizona State 2006–13, Auburn University 2014–present |
Bob Brock | 2016 | 1,114 | 719 | 1 | .608 | Baylor 1980–81, Texas A&M 1982–1996, Sam Houston State 2002–present |
Jacquie Joseph | 2016 | Bowling Green 1989–1993, Michigan State 1994–present, Inducted as member of Pioneer Category | ||||
Mona Stevens | 2016 | 281 | 239 | 1 | .541 | Utah 1997–2005 ; Inducted as member of Pioneer Category |
John Tschida | 2016 | 856 | 157 | .845 | St. Mary's University 1995–2000, University of St. Thomas 2001–present | |
Karen Mullins | 2017 | 872 | 636 | 5 | .578 | Connecticut 1984–2014 |
Vickee Kazee-Hollifield | 2017 | 1161 | 410 | 1 | .738 | Carson-Newman 1986–2018 |
Gary Haning | 2017 | OC Batbusters OC Batbusters | ||||
Sheilah Gulas | 2017 | 929 | 487 | 1 | .656 | Allegheny College 1987–1990, Wittenberg 1991–1996, Ashland 1997–2017 |
Karen Weekly | 2018 | 1073 | 356 | 2 | .750 | UT-Chattanooga 1997–2001; Tennessee 2002–present |
Mike Lambros | 2018 | 878 | 110 | .889 | North Davidson High School 1980–2017 | |
Margie Knight | 2018 | 805 | 193 | 2 | .806 | North Caroline High School 1983–1996; Salisbury University 1997–present |
Anthony Larezza | 2019 | Immaculate Heart Academy (N.J.) 2005–2015 | ||||
Brad Pickler | 2019 | Cypress College 1987–present | ||||
Dee Abrahamson | 2019 | NCAA 1996–2015; Northern Illinois University 1980–1994; Lincoln Trail Community College ; Inducted as member of Pioneer Category | ||||
Donna Fields | 2020 | St. Mary's University 1998–present | ||||
Heinz Mueller | 2020 | Phoenix College 1990–present | ||||
Kris Herman | 2020 | Tufts University 1988–2003; Williams College 2004–present | ||||
Mary Higgins | 2021 | 564 | 298 | .654 | Creighton University 1977–1993 | |
Leslie Huntington | 2021 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 2001–present | ||||
Kerri Blaylock | 2022 | Southern Illinois University Carbondale 2000–2022 | ||||
Jenny Allard | 2022 | Harvard University 1995–present | ||||
Sandy Montgomery | 2022 | 1051 | 540 | 2 | .660 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 1989–2018 |
Kim Wilson | 2023 | 943 | 350 | 2 | Washington & Jefferson College 1991–1996; Rowan University 1997-present | |
John Byrne | 2023 | Moravian University; 1994-2022 | ||||
Carol Bruggeman | 2023 | Purdue University; 1994-2005 | ||||
Lonni Alameda | 2023 | University of Nevada, Las Vegas; 2004-2008, Florida State University 2009-present |
Michele Mary Smith is an American, former collegiate All-American, two-time medal-winning Olympian, international professional left-handed hitting fastpitch softball pitcher and current sports commentator, originally from Califon, New Jersey. Smith played her college career for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls for the years 1986–89, where she set numerous records in the now defunct Big Eight Conference. She is also a double Olympic Softball gold medalist with Team USA, having played in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. She has been ESPN's lead college softball color analyst since 1998. In 2012, Smith became the first woman to serve as commentator for a nationally televised Major League Baseball game. Smith is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.
Danielle Henderson is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher who is currently the head coach at UMass. Henderson was a starting pitcher for the UMass Minutewomen softball from 1996 to 1999. Henderson also played professionally in National Pro Fastpitch from 2004 to 2007, where she currently ranks top-10 in career strikeout ratio (6.8). Along with numerous school records, she is the Atlantic 10 Conference career leader in ERA, shutouts, perfect games (3) and WHIP. Henderson represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal.
Carol Sue Hutchins is an American former softball coach. In 38 years as the head coach of Michigan Wolverines softball, (1985–2022), she won more games than more than any other coach in University of Michigan history in any sport, male or female with 1,684 wins. Hutchins had a career record of 1,707 wins, 551 losses, and five ties, for a .759 winning percentage. She led the Wolverines to their first NCAA softball championship in 2005.
Christa Lee Williams-Yates is an American, former collegiate three-time All-American, two-time Gold Medal winning Olympian, retired three-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting softball pitcher originally from Houston, Texas. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where she received a gold medal with the American team. Four years later at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she won her second gold medal. Williams-Yates began her college career with the UCLA Bruins in 1997 before transferring to play softball with the Texas Longhorns (1998–99). Joining in its inaugural year, she played three years in the National Pro Fastpitch with the Texas Thunder (2004–06) and still ranks top-10 in career wins, strikeouts, ERA among other records. In 2018, Williams-Yates was named to the USA National Softball Hall of Fame. Currently, Williams-Yates teaches high school softball in Kingwood, Texas.
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.
Marjorie Ann Wright is a former college softball coach. She was the head softball coach at California State University, Fresno—more commonly known as Fresno State—from 1986 to 2012. She led the Fresno State Bulldogs to the NCAA national softball championship in 1998 and is the NCAA's second all-time winningest softball coach. She also ranks second all-time in career victories among NCAA Division I coaches in all sports. She was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2000 and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. She retired at the end of the 2012 season.
Lizabeth Gayle Blevins is a former college softball coach. She was the head coach at Indiana University Bloomington from 1980 to 1987 and at the University of Iowa from 1988 to 2010. With 1,245 wins in 31 years as a head coach, Blevins ranks 17th all-time in NCAA Division I softball coaching victories.
Sharron Backus is a former softball player and coach. She played as a shortstop and third baseman on seven Amateur Softball Association national championship teams from 1961 to 1975. She served as the head softball coach at UCLA from 1975 to 1997 and led her teams to nine national collegiate softball championships. At the time of her retirement in 1997, she was the winningest college softball coach in the history of the sport. Backus has been inducted into both the National Softball Hall of Fame and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball team represents the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA Division I women's softball competition. Coached by Karen Weekly, the team has become a consistently top tier team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), appearing in every NCAA tournament since 2004, and qualifying for 8 Women's College World Series.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs softball team represents Mississippi State University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Bulldogs are currently led by head coach Samantha Ricketts. The team plays its home games at Nusz Park located on the university's campus.
The Northern Illinois Huskies softball team is the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I college softball team that represents Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). NIU softball started playing in 1959 and has two NCAA Tournament appearances and one appearance in the Women's College World Series (1988). The Huskies are coached by Christina Sutcliffe.
The Florida State Seminoles women's softball team represents Florida State University in the sport of softball. Florida State competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Elaine Sortino was a college softball coach. She was the head coach at UMass from 1980 to 2013. With 1,185 wins in 34 years as a head coach, Sortino ranks among the highest in NCAA Division I softball coaching victories.
Eugene Lenti is an American softball coach who is currently an assistant coach at Auburn. He was the head coach for the DePaul Blue Demons softball team for 35 years, starting in the position in 1980. He has compiled a record of 1,236-604-6 at DePaul and has had four seasons in which his teams have won more than 50 games. As of May 2015, he ranked seventh in wins in the history of college softball.
Jay Miller is the former head coach of the Hofstra Pride softball team which represents Hofstra University in the Colonial Athletic Association. He was previously head coach of the softball teams at Purdue, Oklahoma City, Missouri, and Mississippi State.
The following human polls made up the 2020 NCAA Division I women's softball rankings. The NFCA/USA Today Poll was voted on by a panel of 32 Division I softball coaches. The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Poll was voted on by a panel of 20 voters. The NFCA/USA Today poll, the Softball America poll, the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate rankings, and D1Softball ranked the top 25 teams nationally.
The following human polls made up the 2021 NCAA Division I women's softball rankings. The NFCA/USA Today Poll was voted on by a panel of 32 Division I softball coaches. The NFCA/USA Today poll, the Softball America poll, the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate rankings, and D1Softball ranked the top 25 teams nationally.
The 2022 NCAA Division I softball season, part of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2022. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2022 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2022 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held annually in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended in June 2022.
The following human polls make up the 2022 NCAA Division I women's softball rankings. The NFCA/USA Today Poll is voted on by a panel of 32 Division I softball coaches. The NFCA/USA Today poll, the Softball America poll, the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate rankings, and D1Softball rank the top 25 teams nationally.
Melinda Fischer is a retired softball and basketball coach who was active from the 1970s to 2020s. As an AIAW coach, Fischer coached the women's basketball and softball teams at Eastern Illinois University during the 1970s. With Illinois State University, her team reached the second round of the 1981 AIAW National Division I Basketball Championship and the third place game of the 1982 National Women's Invitational Tournament. The following year, her team won the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament and reached the first round of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. In 1985, Fischer's team competed in the first round of the NCAA Division I tournament and she received the Coach of the Year for the Gateway Conference.