2021 NCAA Division I softball season explained

2021 NCAA Division I softball season
Duration:	February 11 – June 10, 2021
No Of Teams:	286
Defendingchampions:	UCLA
Tv:	ESPN & ESPN+
Tournament Link:	2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament
Tournament:	NCAA Tournament
Tourneyduration:	May 21 – June 10, 2021
Conferencebids:	SEC (12)
Wcwsduration:	June 3–10, 2021
Wcws Link:	2021 Women's College World Series
Wcws:	Women's College World Series
Wcwschamp:	Oklahoma
Wcwstitlecount:	5th
Wcwsrunnerup:	Florida State
Wcwscount:	11th
Wcwscoach:	Patty Gasso
Wcwscoachcount:	5th
Wcwsmop:	Giselle Juarez
Mopteam:	Oklahoma
Prevseason Year:	2020
Nextseason Year:	2022

The 2021 NCAA Division I Softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2021. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2021 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament was held in Oklahoma City at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, and ended on June 10, 2021.

Realignment

For 2021 season

• Four schools began transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I on July 1, 2020.
  • Bellarmine joined D-I for softball and all other sports as a new member of the ASUN Conference.^[1]
  • Dixie State^[2] and Tarleton State^[3] joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
  • UC San Diego, already a de facto D-I member in women's water polo and men's volleyball (which do not have D-II championship events) as an associate member of the Big West Conference, moved the rest of its athletic program to the Big West.^[4]
• La Salle dropped softball after this season.^[5]
• Cal State Bakersfield moved from the WAC to the Big West.

Future moves

The following conference moves for the 2022 season were announced:

• Five schools left the Southland Conference. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin moved to the WAC,^[6] and Central Arkansas left for the ASUN.^[7]
• The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lost three members. Bethune–Cookman^[8] and Florida A&M^[9] joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and North Carolina A&T went to the Big South Conference.^[10]
• The Ohio Valley Conference saw Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State also join the ASUN.^[7]
• The Summit League gained St. Thomas from NCAA Division III's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after the reception of a waiver for a direct transition to D-I.^[11]

Season outlook

USA Today / NFCA DI Coaches Poll^[12] Ranking Team 1 2 3 4 Oklahoma 5 6 Texas 7 8 Alabama 9 Louisiana 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Michigan 18 Arkansas 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Poll^[13] Ranking Team 1 2 3 4 Oklahoma 5 6 7 Texas 8 Alabama 9 Louisiana 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Michigan 18 19 20 21 Arkansas 22 23 24 25

D1Softball^[14] Ranking Team 1 2 Oklahoma 3 4 5 6 7 Louisiana 8 Alabama 9 Texas 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Arkansas 17 18 Michigan 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Softball America^[15] Ranking Team 1 2 3 4 5 Oklahoma 6 7 Texas 8 Louisiana 9 Alabama 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Arkansas 17 18 19 20 Michigan 21 22 23 24 25

Conference standings

Conference winners and tournaments

Of the 31 Division I athletic conferences that participated in the 2021 season, all of which sponsor softball, 27 normally end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament or a double-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular-season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The Ivy League canceled its softball season due to COVID-19 concerns. Four conferences do not normally hold a postseason tournament: the Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference. Two conferences that normally hold tournaments, the Big Ten and Mid-American Conference, did not do so in 2021. The winners of these tournaments, plus the Big Ten, Big West, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, and WCC regular-season champions, received automatic invitations to the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament.

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Pitcher of the Year	Conference Coach of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue • City	Tournament Winner
		Courtney Cashman, ^[16]	Courtney Coppersmith, UMBC	Chris Kuhlmeyer, UMBC			UMBC
		Sydney McKinney, Wichita State^[17]	Georgina Corrick,	Wichita State			Wichita State
	North & overall: South:	Amber Bishop-Riley, Liberty^[18]	Emily Kirby, Liberty	Dot Richardson, Liberty			Liberty
	Central & overall: North:	Jenna Cone, George Washington^[19]	Sierra Lange, George Washington	Shane Winkler, George Washington			George Washington
		Valerie Cagle, Clemson^[20]	Keely Rochard,	John Rittman, Clemson
		Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma^[21]	Carrie Eberle,	Patty Gasso, Oklahoma			Oklahoma
							Campbell
		Lexie Blair, Michigan^[22]	Alex Storako, Michigan	Carol Hutchins, Michigan	No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid
					No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid
	North: South & overall:	Linda Rush, Drexel^[23]	Odicci Alexander, James Madison	Loren LaPorte, James Madison			James Madison
	did not play in 2021
					No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid
	Northern & overall: Southern:						Morgan State
					No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid
							Saint Francis (PA)
					No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid
							Boston University
	Arkansas &	Bailey Hemphill, Alabama^[24]	Montana Fouts, Alabama &<br>Mary Haff, Arkansas	Courtney Deifel, Arkansas			Alabama
							UNC Greensboro
							McNeese State
	Eastern: Western & overall:
							South Dakota State
							Louisiana
					No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid

Season leaders

Batting

• Batting average

.495 – Kayla Kowalik, Kentucky Wildcats

• RBIs

92 – Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners

• Home runs: 34 – Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma

Pitching

• Wins

32-5 – Gabbie Plain, Washington Huskies

• ERA

0.92 (20 ER/151.0 IP) – Courtney Coppersmith, UMBC Retrievers

• Strikeouts: 349 – Montana Fouts, Alabama Crimson Tide

Records

Freshman class RBIs:92 – Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners^[25]

Freshman class slugging percentage:1.000% – Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners

Team home runs:161 – Oklahoma Sooners

Team slugging percentage:.777% – Oklahoma Sooners

Team runs scored:638 – Oklahoma Sooners

Team total bases:1,279 – Oklahoma Sooners

Awards

• USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Sooners^[26]

• Softball America Player of the Year

Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Sooners^[27]

YEAR	G	AB	R	H	BA	RBI	HR	3B	2B	TB	SLG	BB	SO	SB	SBA
2021	60	183	71	87	.475	89	34	1	12	203	1.109%	38	16	3	3

• Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Honda Sports Award Softball: Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins^[28]
• Honda Sports Award Softball: Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins^[29]
• NFCA National Player of the Year

Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins^[30]

YEAR	G	AB	R	H	BA	RBI	HR	3B	2B	TB	SLG	BB	SO	SB	SBA
2021	45	120	23	41	.341	35	13	0	5	85	.708%	30	20	0	0

YEAR	W	L	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
2021	18	3	29	18	12	7	2	136.1	91	35	27	29	183	1.39	0.88

• NFCA National Pitcher of the Year

Montana Fouts, Alabama Crimson Tide

YEAR	W	L	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
2021	27	4	36	32	24	10	3	213.1	143	59	49	49	349	1.61	0.90

• Softball America Pitcher of the Year

Odicci Alexander, James Madion Dukes^[31]

YEAR	W	L	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
2021	18	3	23	22	16	6	1	143.2	80	46	35	45	204	1.71	0.87

YEAR	G	AB	R	H	BA	RBI	HR	3B	2B	TB	SLG	BB	SO	SB	SBA
2021	29	82	13	26	.317	12	2	0	4	36	.439%	17	11	0	0

• NFCA National Freshman of the Year

Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners^[32]

• Softball America Freshman of the Year

Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners^[33]

YEAR	G	AB	R	H	BA	RBI	HR	3B	2B	TB	SLG	BB	SO	SB	SBA
2021	60	197	81	91	.462	92	27	0	25	197	1.000%	26	17	2	2

• Softball America Defensive Player of the Year

Sis Bates, Washington^[34]

• NFCA Catcher of the Year

Dejah Mulipola, Arizona

• NFCA Golden Shoe Award

Jenna Wildeman, Central Arkansas

All America Teams

The following players were members of the All-American Teams.^[35]

First Team

Position	Player	Class	School
		SO.	UCLA Bruins
		JR.	Alabama Crimson Tide
	Keely Rochard	JR.	Virginia Tech Hokies
C		SR.	Arizona Wildcats
1B	Alysen Febrey	SR.	Oklahoma State Cowgirls
2B		FR.	Oklahoma Sooners
3B	Charla Echols	JR.	Florida Gators
SS	Sami Williams	SR.	Iowa State Cyclones
OF		SR.	Oklahoma Sooners
		FR.	Oklahoma Sooners
		FR.	UCLA Bruins
UT		SR.	UCLA Bruins
	Aaliyah Jordan	SR.	UCLA Bruins
AT-L		SR.	Alabama Crimson Tide
	Mary Haff	JR.	Arkansas Razorbacks
	Braxton Burnside	SR.	Arkansas Razorbacks
		SR.	Washington Huskies
	Kayla Kowalik	JR.	Kentucky Wildcats

Second Team

Position	Player	Class	School
	Ashley Rogers	JR.	Tennessee Lady Vols
	Carrie Eberle	SR.	Oklahoma State Cowgirls
	Kathryn Sandercock	FR.	FSU Seminoles
C		SO.	Oklahoma Sooners
1B	Danielle Gibson	JR.	Arkansas Razorbacks
2B		JR.	Washington Huskies
3B	Jenna Cone	SR.	George Washington Colonials
SS		JR.	Oklahoma Sooners
OF	Aliyah Andrews	SR.	LSU Tigers
	Kiki Milloy	SO.	Tennessee Lady Vols
	Abby Sweet	SR.	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
UT		FR.	Clemson Tigers
	Deja Davis	JR.	Duke Blue Devils
AT-L		SR.	James Madison Dukes
		SR.	Washington Huskies
		SO.	Michigan Wolverines
	Taylor Pleasants	FR.	LSU Tigers
	Maddi Hackbarth	SR.	Arizona State Sun Devils

Third Team

Position	Player	Class	School
	Brooke Yanez	JR.	Oregon Ducks
	Elizabeth Hightower	JR.	Florida Gators
	Alyssa Denham	SR.	Arizona Wildcats
C	Haley Lee	JR.	Texas A&M Aggies
1B	Kaylee Tow	SR.	Alabama Crimson Tide
2B	Hannah Adams	SR.	Florida Gators
3B	Hannah Becerra	FR.	Cal State Fullerton Titans
SS	Briana Perez	JR.	UCLA Bruins
OF	Brooke Wilmes	JR.	Missouri Tigers
	Haley Cruse	SR.	Oregon Ducks
	Janelle Meono	FR.	Arizona Wildcats
UT	Paige Rauch	JR.	Villanova Wildcats
	Hayley Busby	SR.	Oklahoma State Cowgirls
AT-L		JR.	USF Bulls
	Mackenzie Boesel	SR.	South Carolina Gamecocks
		SR.	Arizona Wildcats
	Sydney McKinney	SO.	Wichita State Shockers
		JR.	Texas Longhorns

See also

• 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bellarmine Knights celebrate July 1 rise to NCAA Division 1 . July 1, 2020 . Bellarmine Knights . March 24, 2021.
2. Dixie State accepts invitation to WAC; transitions into Division I athletics . January 12, 2019 . March 24, 2021.
3. Tarleton State University to Join Western Athletic Conference in 2020-21 . Western Athletic Conference . November 12, 2019 . March 24, 2021.
4. CSU Bakersfield, UC San Diego to Join Big West Conference . Big West Conference . November 27, 2017 . March 24, 2021.
5. An Open Letter to the La Salle and Explorer Athletics Community . La Salle Explorers . September 29, 2020 . March 24, 2021.
6. WAC Announces Expedited Entrance for Four Texas Institutions . Western Athletic Conference . January 21, 2021 . March 24, 2021.
7. ASUN Conference Announces Three New Institutions; Adds Football as 20th Sport . ASUN Conference . January 29, 2021 . March 24, 2021.
8. SWAC Announces Addition of Bethune-Cookman as Full Member . Southwestern Athletic Conference . June 25, 2020 . March 24, 2021.
9. SWAC Announces Addition of Florida A&M as Full Member . Southwestern Athletic Conference . June 4, 2020 . March 24, 2021.
10. Big South Adds North Carolina A&T University as Full Member . Big South Conference . February 7, 2020 . March 24, 2021.
11. News: St. Thomas receives NCAA waiver to join The Summit League in 2021–22 . The Summit League . . July 15, 2020 . May 30, 2021.
12. Web site: USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll (Preseason). NFCA.org. National Fastpitch Coaches Association. January 26, 2021. January 26, 2021.
13. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25. https://web.archive.org/web/20210203141422/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2021-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls. dead. February 3, 2021. teamusa.org. USA Softball. January 26, 2021. January 28, 2021.
14. Web site: 2021 D1Softball Preseason Top 25 Rankings. d1softball.com. D1Softball. January 18, 2021. January 20, 2021.
15. Web site: 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Top 25. softballamerica.com. Baseball America Enterprises. February 1, 2021. February 2, 2021.
16. Coppersmith Named Pitcher of Year Again to Headline #AESB Award Winners . America East Conference . May 12, 2021 . June 8, 2021.
17. Wichita State’s McKinney Named American Player Of The Year; USF’s Corrick Earns Third Consecutive Pitcher Of The Year Award . American Athletic Conference . May 12, 2021 . June 8, 2021.
18. Liberty's Bishop-Riley and Kirby Highlight 2021 @ASUNSoftball Postseason Honors . ASUN Conference . May 18, 2021 . June 8, 2021.
19. Cone, Lange, Miller, Winkler Earn Major A-10 Softball Honors; 22 Players Selected for All-Conference . Atlantic 10 Conference . May 13, 2021 . June 9, 2021.
20. ACC Softball Announces 2021 Individual Awards . Atlantic Coast Conference . May 11, 2021 . June 9, 2021.
21. 2021 All-Big 12 Awards Unveiled . Big 12 Conference . May 12, 2021 . June 8, 2021.
22. Web site: Big Ten Announces 2021 Softball Postseason Honors . https://web.archive.org/web/20210519183049/https://bigten.org/news/2021/5/19/general-big-ten-announces-2021-softball-postseason-honors.aspx . dead . May 19, 2021 . Big Ten Conference . BigTen.org . May 19, 2021 . June 8, 2021.
23. JMU Receives Four Top Softball All-Conference Honors; Drexel's Linda Rush Named Player of the Year . Colonial Athletic Association . May 11, 2021 . June 8, 2021.
24. 2021 SEC Softball Awards Announced . Southeastern Conference . May 10, 2021 . June 9, 2021.
25. Web site: Division I Softball Records . NCAA.org . June 14, 2021.
26. News: Jocelyn Alo named 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year . https://web.archive.org/web/20210602004643/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/News/2021/June/01/Jocelyn-Alo-named-2021-USA-Softball-Collegiate-Player-of-the-Year . dead . June 2, 2021 . teamusa.org . June 1, 2021 . June 1, 2021.
27. News: 2021 NCAA Player Of The Year: Jocelyn Alo . softballamerica.com . June 14, 2021 . June 14, 2021.
28. Web site: Softball . CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com . THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program . 8 July 2021.
29. Web site: Softball . CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com . THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program . 11 June 2021.
30. Web site: UCLA’S GARCIA, ALABAMA’S FOUTS GARNER SCHUTT SPORTS / NFCA DI POSTSEASON HONORS . Nfca.org . NFCA . 14 June 2021.
31. News: 2021 NCAA Pitcher Of The Year: Odicci Alexander . softballamerica.com . June 14, 2021 . June 14, 2021.
32. News: Oklahoma’s Tiare Jennings named 2021 NFCA / Schutt Sports Division I National Freshman of the Year . nfca.org . June 1, 2021 . June 1, 2021.
33. Web site: 2021 NCAA Freshman Of The Year: Tiare Jennings . softballamerica.com . June 15, 2021 . June 21, 2021.
34. Web site: 2021 NCAA Defensive Player Of The Year: Sis Bates . softballamerica.com . June 16, 2021 . June 21, 2023.
35. Web site: 2021 NFCA Division I All-America Teams . Nfca.org . June 14, 2021.