2023 NCAA Division I softball season explained

2023 NCAA Division I softball season
Duration:	February 11 – June 8, 2023
No Of Teams:	286
Defendingchampions:	Oklahoma
Tv:	ESPN & ESPN+
Tournament Link:	2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament
Tournament:	NCAA Tournament
Tourneyduration:	May 19 – June 8
Conferencebids:	SEC, 12 bids
Wcwsduration:	June 1 – June 8
Wcws Link:	2023 Women's College World Series
Wcws:	Women's College World Series
Wcwschamp:	Oklahoma
Wcwstitlecount:	7th
Wcwsrunnerup:	Florida State
Wcwscount:	12th
Wcwscoach:	Patty Gasso
Wcwscoachcount:	7th
Wcwsmop:	Jordy Bahl
Prevseason Year:	2022
Nextseason Year:	2024

The 2023 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 2023. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2023 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 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, ended in June 2023.

Realignment

Five schools began transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I on July 1, 2022.^[1]

• Lindenwood and Southern Indiana joined the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
• Queens joined the ASUN Conference (which has since reverted to its past name of Atlantic Sun Conference).
• Stonehill joined the Northeast Conference (NEC).
• Texas A&M–Commerce joined the Southland Conference (SLC).

A total of 17 softball-sponsoring schools changed conferences after the 2022 season.

• Austin Peay, Belmont, and Murray State left the Ohio Valley Conference. Peay joined the ASUN,^[2] and Belmont and Murray State joined the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).^{[3] [4]}
• Bryant and Mount St. Mary's left the NEC, respectively for the America East Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).^{[5] [6]}
• Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, and Stony Brook joined the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA; since renamed the Coastal Athletic Association). Hampton and A&T left the Big South Conference (the latter after only one season), Monmouth the MAAC, and Stony Brook the America East.^{[7] [8]}
• Hartford, which began a transition to NCAA Division III in the 2021–22 school year, left the America East to become an independent for 2022–23 before joining the D-III Commonwealth Coast Conference in 2023.^[9]
• James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss joined the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). James Madison left the CAA, while the others left Conference USA (CUSA).^{[10] [11]}
• Lamar, which had announced it would leave the WAC to return to its former home of the SLC in 2023–24,^[12] expedited this move to 2022–23.^[13]
• UIC left the Horizon League for the MVC.^[14]
• UT Arlington left the SBC for the WAC.^[15]

Incarnate Word had announced plans to leave the SLC for the WAC after the 2022 season,^[16] but days before that move was to take effect, the school announced it was staying in the SLC.^[17]

The 2023 season was the last for 14 softball schools in their current conferences, as well as the aforementioned Hartford's only season as a D-I independent.

• BYU, Houston, and UCF moved to the Big 12 Conference. BYU left the West Coast Conference, while the others left the American Athletic Conference (The American).^{[18] [19]}
• Campbell left the Big South for the CAA.^[20]
• Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, UAB, and UTSA left CUSA for The American.^[21]
• Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston joined CUSA. Jacksonville State and Liberty left the ASUN, and New Mexico State and Sam Houston the WAC.^[22]
• Western Illinois left the Summit League for the Ohio Valley Conference.^[23]

Other changes from 2022

Two Division I members, both sponsoring softball, adopted new names after the 2022 season. Neither school's nickname was affected.

• Dixie State University changed its forward-facing name to Utah Tech University in May 2022, ahead of the legal name change on July 1. The nickname remains Trailblazers.^[24]
• Houston Baptist University became Houston Christian University on September 21, 2022. The nickname remains Huskies.^[25]

Other headlines

• On December 29, 2022, the Big West Conference announced it would add a softball tournament effective as early as the 2025 season.^[26] The 2025 start date was later confirmed by a vote of the conference chancellors and presidents, with an official announcement in October 2023.^[27]

Season outlook

USA Today/NFCA DI Coaches Poll^[28] Ranking Team 1 Oklahoma 2 UCLA 3 4 5 6 Texas 7 8 9 10 Clemson 11 12 13 Tennessee 14 15 16 17 18 19 Oregon State 20 21 22 23 24 25

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Poll^[29] Ranking Team 1 Oklahoma 2 UCLA 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Texas 10 Clemson 11 12 Tennessee 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Louisiana 25 Oregon State

D1Softball^[30] Ranking Team 1 Oklahoma 2 UCLA 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Clemson 10 11 12 Tennessee 13 14 Texas 15 16 17 18 19 20 Louisiana 21 22 23 24 25

Softball America^[31] Ranking Team 1 Oklahoma 2 3 4 UCLA 5 6 7 8 9 Texas 10 Clemson 11 12 13 Tennessee 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Michigan 22 Louisiana 23 24 Oregon State 25

Awards

• USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Valerie Cagle, Clemson^[32]

• NFCA National Player of the Year

Skylar Wallace, Florida^[33]

• Softball America Player of the Year

Valerie Cagle, Clemson^[34]

• NFCA National Pitcher of the Year

Ashley Rogers, Tennessee

• Softball America Pitcher of the Year

Montana Fouts, Alabama^[35]

• NFCA National Freshman of the Year

NiJaree Canady, Stanford^[36]

• Softball America Freshman of the Year

NiJaree Canady, Stanford^[37]

• Softball America Defensive Player of the Year

Grace Turk, Oklahoma^[38]

• NFCA Catcher of the Year

Terra McGowan, Oregon

• NFCA Golden Shoe Award

Mihyia Davis, Louisiana

All-America Teams

The following players were members of the All-American Teams.^[39]

First Team

Position	Player	Class	School
	Ashley Rogers	GS	Tennessee
		R-SR.	UCLA
		GS	Alabama
C	Terra McGowan	R-SR.	Oregon
1B		GS	Washington
2B		JR.	Oklahoma
3B		SO.	Oklahoma
SS		R-JR.	Florida
OF	Kiki Milloy	SR.	Tennessee
		JR.	Oklahoma
	Jayda Kearney	JR.	Georgia
UT		JR.	Clemson
	Rylin Hedgecock	R-JR.	Arkansas
AT-L	Sydney McKinney	SR.	Wichita State
		R-JR.	UCLA
		SO.	Oklahoma
	Maddie Penta	JR.	Auburn
		JR.	Oklahoma

Second Team

Position	Player	Class	School
	Kathryn Sandercock	R-SR.	Florida State
	Kelly Maxwell	R-SR.	Oklahoma State
	Alana Vawter	SR.	Stanford
C	Kayla Kowalik	GS	Kentucky
1B	Shaylon Govan	SO.	Baylor
2B	Allee Bunker	GS	Oregon
3B	Megan Grant	FR.	UCLA
SS	Erin Coffel	JR.	Kentucky
OF	Yannira Acuña	GS	Arizona State
	D'Auna Jennings	FR.	Duke
	Alex Honnold	JR.	Missouri
UT	Taylor Roby	R-SR.	Louisville
	Karly Heath	JR.	Louisiana
AT-L	Taryn Kern	FR.	Indiana
	McKenna Gibson	SO.	Tennessee
	Rachel Becker	GS	Oklahoma State
	Autumn Pease	GS	Minnesota
	Chenise Delce	R-SR.	Arkansas

Third Team

Position	Player	Class	School
	Lexi Kilfoyl	SR.	Oklahoma State
	Sydney Berzon	FR.	LSU
	Mariah Lopez	JR.	Utah
C	Taylor Krapf	SO.	Minnesota
	Julia Cottrill	JR.	Texas A&M
1B	Jordan Woolery	FR.	UCLA
2B	Sydney Kuma	JR.	Georgia
3B	Makena Smith	SR.	California
SS	Billie Andrews	SR.	Nebraska
OF	Sami Reynolds	GS	Washington
	Mihyia Davis	FR.	Louisiana
	Ashley Trierweiler	R-SO.	Santa Clara
UT	Brianna Copeland	FR.	Indiana
	Kayla Konwent	GS	Wisconsin
AT-L	Ruby Meylan	FR.	Washington
	Taylor Minnick	SO.	Indiana
	Autumn Owen	SO.	Marshall
	Kiley Naomi	GS	Oklahoma State
	Kayla Roncin	JR.	Boston University

See also

• 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season

Notes and References

1. Web site: What July 1st Means for College Softball Realignment . extrainningsoftball.com . Justin . McLeod . July 1, 2022 . December 24, 2022.
2. ASUN Conference Welcomes Austin Peay State University as its Newest Member . ASUN Conference . September 17, 2021 . September 17, 2021.
3. Belmont to Join MVC in 2022–23 . Missouri Valley Conference . September 28, 2021 . April 26, 2022.
4. Murray State University Joins The Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri Valley Conference . January 7, 2022. January 7, 2022.
5. Bryant University to Join America East Conference as Newest Member Institution . America East Conference . March 29, 2022 . March 30, 2022.
6. MAAC Welcomes Mount St. Mary’s University as Newest Member Institution . Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference . May 2, 2022 . May 2, 2022.
7. CAA Welcomes Hampton University, Monmouth University and Stony Brook University as New Members . Colonial Athletic Association . January 25, 2022 . January 25, 2022.
8. CAA Welcomes North Carolina A&T as Newest Member of the Conference . Colonial Athletic Association . February 22, 2022 . February 22, 2022.
9. CCC Grants Full Membership to University of Hartford, Beginning Competition in 2023–24 . Commonwealth Coast Conference . June 21, 2022 . June 21, 2022.
10. James Madison to Compete in the Sun Belt Conference Beginning Fall 2022 . Sun Belt Conference . February 2, 2022 . February 2, 2022.
11. News: Thamel . Pete . Pete Thamel . 2022-03-29 . Move of Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss from Conference USA to Sun Belt now complete . ESPN.com . 2022-03-29.
12. Lamar University Is Coming Home to the Southland Conference . Southland Conference . April 8, 2022 . April 8, 2022.
13. Lamar University Prepares for Early Move to Southland Conference . Southland Conference . July 11, 2022 . July 12, 2022.
14. UIC to Join the Missouri Valley Conference . Missouri Valley Conference . January 26, 2022 . January 26, 2022.
15. University of Texas at Arlington Accepts Invitation to Join WAC . Western Athletic Conference . January 21, 2022 . January 21, 2022.
16. University of the Incarnate Word Accepts Invitation to Join the WAC . Western Athletic Conference . November 12, 2021 . November 12, 2021.
17. University of the Incarnate Word Staying in the Southland Conference . Southland Conference . June 24, 2022 . June 24, 2022.
18. Big 12 Extends Membership Invitations . Big 12 Conference . September 10, 2021 . September 10, 2021.
19. American Announces Agreements With UCF, Cincinnati and Houston on Departure . American Athletic Conference . June 10, 2022 . June 10, 2022.
20. Campbell University Accepts Invitation To Join The CAA In 2023. Colonial Athletic Association . August 3, 2022 . August 3, 2022.
21. American Announces Entrance Agreements With Incoming Members for 2023-24 Season . American Athletic Conference . June 16, 2022 . June 16, 2022.
22. Conference USA Adds Four Members . Conference USA . November 5, 2021 . November 5, 2021.
23. Western Illinois University to Join the OVC in 2023-24 . Ohio Valley Conference . May 12, 2023 . May 12, 2023.
24. News: Tanner . Courtney . Dixie State gets final approval from Utah lawmakers to drop contentious name . November 11, 2021 . . November 10, 2021.
25. Houston Baptist University Changes Name to Houston Christian University . Houston Christian University . September 21, 2022 . September 26, 2022 . September 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220925075603/https://hbu.edu/news-and-events/2022/09/21/hbu-changes-name-to-houston-christian-university/ . live .
26. Big West Board of Directors Address NCAA Transformation and Future Championships at Annual Fall Meeting . Big West Conference . December 9, 2022 . February 15, 2024.
27. The Big West Expands Fall Championship Broadcast Coverage . Big West Conference . October 23, 2023 . February 15, 2024.
28. Web site: USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll (Preseason) . January 31, 2023 . January 31, 2023 . NFCA.org . National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
29. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Preseason . https://web.archive.org/web/20230124160558/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/NCAA-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls . dead . January 24, 2023 . teamusa.org . USA Softball . January 24, 2023 . January 24, 2023.
30. Web site: 2023 D1Softball Preseason Top 25 Rankings . d1softball.com . D1Softball . January 17, 2023 . January 18, 2023.
31. Web site: 2023 NCAA Division I Softball Top 25 . softballamerica.com . Baseball America Enterprises . January 24, 2023 . January 24, 2023.
32. Web site: Valerie Cagle Named 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year . clemsontigers.com . May 30, 2023 . May 30, 2023.
33. News: Florida’s Wallace, Tennessee’s Rogers capture major DI end-of-year awards . nfca.org . June 9, 2023 . June 9, 2023.
34. Web site: 2023 NCAA Player Of The Year: Clemson's Valerie Cagle . softballamerica.com . June 16, 2023 . June 16, 2023.
35. Web site: 2023 NCAA Pitcher Of The Year: Alabama's Montana Fouts . softballamerica.com . June 19, 2023 . June 19, 2023.
36. News: Stanford's Canady named 2023 TUCCI/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year . nfca.org . May 30, 2023 . May 30, 2023.
37. Web site: 2023 NCAA Freshman Of The Year: NiJaree Canady . softballamerica.com . June 20, 2023 . June 20, 2023.
38. Web site: 2023 NCAA Defensive Player Of The Year: Oklahoma's Grace Lyons . softballamerica.com . June 21, 2023 . June 21, 2023.
39. Web site: 2023 NFCA Division I All-America Teams . NFCA.org . May 31, 2023 . May 31, 2023.