Troy Trojans softball

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Troy Trojans softball
Softball current event.svg 2022 Troy Trojans softball team
Troy Trojans logo.svg
Founded1994
University Troy University
Head coachEric Newell (1st season)
Conference Sun Belt
Location Troy, AL
Home stadium Troy Softball Complex (Capacity: 800)
Nickname Trojans
ColorsCardinal, silver, and black [1]
     
NCAA Tournament appearances
1996, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
1996
Regular Season Conference championships
2005

The Troy Trojans softball team represents Troy University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans play their home games at Troy Softball Complex located on the university's campus. The program is one of the Top 50 winningest softball programs in the Division I, and has an overall record of 988–660–4(.599) as of the end of the 2021 season.

Contents

History

Upon Troy University's athletics moving all sports to the NCAA's Division I in 1993, the Troy softball program was started that same year and officially began their first season in 1994 under head coach Melanie Davis. Under Davis' leadership, the program immediately became a competitive softball program, finishing their first season in Division I with a 40–13 record, including a 4–3 win over an already prominent program in Georgia Tech. [2]

In just Troy's third season of playing softball (1996), the team managed to make history by winning their first ever conference title and receiving a bid to play in an NCAA Regional. The team finished the season with a 47–22–1 record, winning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament title. The Lady Trojans would receive a bid to play in the NCAA Play-In Series versus Southeast Missouri State, where they would sweep the Redhawks by scores of 3–2 and 1–0. The ladies would then receive a bid to play in the NCAA West Regional as the #4 seed. In their first game against Arizona, the Trojans were outmatched, losing 0–8 to the Wildcats. The Trojans were knocked out of the tournament after dropping a heartbreaker in the Regional's elimination game against South Florida, 5–6. [3]

Melanie Davis would resign as head coach of Troy at the end of the 2014 season, compiling a 780–506–4 record. Under Davis' direction, her Trojans defeated many Top 25 teams and other prominent programs, including Florida State, Louisiana, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Michigan, Ole Miss, and Penn State. [4]

In 2015, Beth Mullins was hired as head coach where she led the Trojans to 208 victories in her eight seasons, 30 or more wins in the last three seasons, and a trip to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, a first in 25 years. Mullins abruptly resigned in March 2022 following medical issues. [5] Assistants Taylor Smartt and Holly Ward finished the season at the helm of the program. On June 2, Troy hired Auburn–Montgomery head coach Eric Newell as the program's third head coach. Newell led the Warhawks to three top 5 finishes in the NCAA Division II and 302 victories with the program. [6]

Coaches

YearsCoachRecord
1994–2014Melanie Davis780–506–4
2015–2022Beth Mullins208–150
2022Taylor Smartt & Holly Ward (interim)31–21
2023–futureEric Newell

Attendance Records

NCAA Top 50 Attendance

Year National Rank Avg. attendance
202145th189
201940th539
201838th575

Highest Game Attendance

Below is a list of Troy's top single-game attendance records.

Attendance Year Opponent
2,1212022 Florida State
2,0782014 Alabama
1,8522019 Alabama
1,8372019 Alabama
1,8222023 Auburn
1,3512011 Alabama
1,4822018 Auburn
1,8372019 Alabama
1,0872018 Mississippi State
1,0672019 Maryland
1,0252008 Alabama

National Award Winners

Libby Baker – 2024

Facilities

The place the Trojans call home is the Troy Softball Complex, built in 2002 on the campus of Troy University. In 2014, the entire complex underwent a $3 million renovation project. The official seating capacity was expanded to 800, with 120 of the seats being chairback seating. The Dodds Center was also built in 2014 during the renovation, which is an 8,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility that houses coaches offices, player lounge, locker rooms, athletic training rooms, pitching area, and indoor batting cages.

Troy Softball Complex Troy Softball Stadium 6.jpg
Troy Softball Complex

Additionally, the natural grass playing surface was replaced and ProGrass artificial turf was installed in the outfield. The press box and coaches offices were completely renovated and modernized. The Troy Softball Complex saw an upgrade to the seating areas and a large patio was installed over the visitor's dugout. [7]

Wins vs. Top 25

Troy has collected 24 wins versus Top 25 ranked competition during the program's relatively short existence.

All-Time Wins Against Top 25
YearOpponentScore
1996#13 Florida State 2–1
1998#21 Florida State5–0
2001#17 Florida State2–1
2002#20 Florida State4–2
2003#3 Nebraska 4–3
2005#17 Georgia Tech 8–2
2006#1 Michigan 4–2 [8]
2006#13 Louisiana 3–2
2007#21 Louisiana8–5
2012#21 Auburn 7–1
2012#8 Louisiana9–4
2012#22 Florida State4–3
2013#25 Florida State6–3
2014#21 South Alabama 1–0
2015#10 Florida State6–4
2015#7 Louisiana9–5
2015#22 South Alabama6–3
2017#19 Pittsburgh 7–2
2018#21 Louisiana2–1
2018#21 Texas State 4–3
2018#21 Texas State1–0
2020#16 South Carolina 2–1
2022#25 Ohio State 4–0
2022#21 LSU 5–4

Yearly Results

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Troy State (East Coast Conference)(1994–1994)
1994Melanie Davis 40–132–1—
Troy State (Mid-Continent Conference)(1995–1997)
1995Melanie Davis 52–188–42nd (East)—
1996Melanie Davis 47–22–18–42nd (East) NCAA Regional
1997Melanie Davis 31–25–15–73rd (East)—
Troy State (Atlantic Sun Conference)(1998–2005)
1998Melanie Davis 46–1713–42nd (West)—
1999Melanie Davis 48–2313–31st (West)—
2000Melanie Davis 34–308–6T-3rd—
2001Melanie Davis 38–237–76th—
2002Melanie Davis 46–2013–52nd—
2003Melanie Davis 39–2316–62nd—
2004Melanie Davis 35–3015–53rd—
2005Melanie Davis 47–2117–31st—
Troy (Sun Belt Conference)(2006–Present)
2006Melanie Davis 31–405–105th—
2007Melanie Davis 42–2017–103rd—
2008Melanie Davis 33–2314–103rd—
2009Melanie Davis 38–1915–83rd—
2010Melanie Davis 27–2910–136th—
2011Melanie Davis 32–2711–125th—
2012Melanie Davis 31–2410–146th—
2013Melanie Davis 21–327–144th—
2014Melanie Davis 22–30–25–137th—
Melanie Davis:780–509–4219–159
2015Beth Mullins 32–2314–94th—
2016Beth Mullins 31–2511–136th—
2017Beth Mullins 20–348–199th—
2018Beth Mullins 34–2614–135th—
2019Beth Mullins 37–2019–82nd—
2020Beth Mullins 17–61–2T-2ndSeason Canceled
2021Beth Mullins 37–1717–63rd NCAA Regional
Beth Mullins:208–15087–70
2022Taylor Smartt
Holly Ward 		31–2115–124th
Taylor Smartt & Holly Ward:31–2115–12
2023Eric Newell
Total:1,003–666–4

      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

Championships

NCAA Regional Results

Year Record Regional Results
19962–0 NCAA Play-In SeriesW 3–2 vs. Southeast Missouri State
W 1–0 vs. Southeast Missouri State
19960–2 Midwest RegionalL 0–8 vs. Arizona
L 5–6 vs. South Florida
20210–0 Tuscaloosa RegionalL 0–8 vs. Clemson
W 8–0 vs. Alabama State
L 2–4 vs. Clemson
Totals3–42 Appearances

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Troy Trojans softball team</span> Troy University softball team

The 2023 Troy Trojans softball team represented Troy University during the 2023 NCAA Division I softball season. The Trojans played their home games at Troy Softball Complex. The Trojans were led by first-year head coach Eric Newell after longtime head coach Beth Mullins resigned for health reasons the previous March. Mullins ranked second all-time in wins for the Trojans. They were members of the Sun Belt Conference.

References

  1. ↑ "Trojan 2.0 Best Practices and Style Guide" . Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  2. ↑ "2018 Troy Softball Media Guide by Troy University Athletics - Issuu".
  3. ↑ "2018 Troy Softball Media Guide by Troy University Athletics - Issuu".
  4. ↑ "2018 Troy Softball Media Guide by Troy University Athletics - Issuu".
  5. ↑ McNelley, Justin. "Beth Mullins resigns as Troy softball coach". wsfa.com. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Troy Tabs Eric Newell to Lead Softball Program". Troy University Athletics. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "The Official Site of Troy Athletics". troytrojans.com.
  8. ↑ "Ritter Tosses One-Hitter to Defeat 17th-Ranked Auburn – University of Michigan". University of Michigan Athletics.
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