NFCA Announces 2011 NFCC Four-Star Master Coach Recipients

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Fourteen coaches were honored at the 2011 Convention In Las Vegas for having achieved the prestigious rank of Four-Star Master Coach, an honor bestowed to those that have completed all eight National Fastpitch Coaches Colleges courses.

These fourteen join 82 other coaches who have also reached the milestone since the program began in 2002. The first class of Four-Star Master Coaches was recognized at the 2005 Convention and included 22 members. … Continue Reading

Olympian Hogshead-Makar to Keynote 2011 NFCA Convention

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Four-time Olympic medalist in swimming, Title IX advocate and current senior director of Advocacy for the Women’s Sports Foundation Nancy Hogshead-Makar will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2011 NFCA Convention at Bally’s in Las Vegas on Nov. 30, the Association announced on Tuesday. … Continue Reading

Cypress Named 2011 Cal JC National Coaching Staff Of The Year

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The coaching staff of Cypress led by head coach Brad Pickler and assisted by Dennis Blas, Amanda Fernandez, Mike Hicks, Frank Mendoza and Mandy Rockwell have been named as the 2011 NFCA Cal JC National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced Tuesday.

The Chargers captured their second state title in as many years this season to increase their overall total to seven Cal JC crowns under Pickler. The back-to-back championships marks the first time that Cypress has accomplished that feat since the 1998-1999 seasons. … Continue Reading

Linfield Named 2011 Division III National Coaching Staff Of The Year

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Linfield head coach Jackson Vaughan, along with assistant coaches Erica Hancock, Greg Herman and Shelley Vaughan, have been named as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced on Thursday.

The Wildcats went 51-3 on the year, culminating in their second national championship in five seasons. Linfield set NCAA Division III records for wins and home runs (103) in a season. … Continue Reading

Arizona State Named 2011 Division I National Coaching Staff Of The Year

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Head coach Clint Myers, associate head coach Robert Wagner and assistant coach Chuck D’Arcy of the 2011 NCAA Division I National Champions Arizona State have been named as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced on Wednesday.

The Sun Devils went 60-6 on the year and a perfect 10-0 in the national tournament en route to the program’s second national championship in the span of just four years. … Continue Reading

NFCA Announces 2011 Louisville Slugger/NFCA High School All-American Teams

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Forty-eight student-athletes representing 43 different member high schools from 17 states have earned the honor of being named to one of three 2011 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American teams, the Association announced on Tuesday.

Texas 5A semi-finalist Pearland netted the highest number of total All-Americans this season with three, one on each team, while Ohio Division II runner-up Keystone was the only school with two first-team honorees.

California’s Rodriguez and Arizona’s Canyon del Oro were the only other schools with multiple selections this season, placing two players each on one of the three teams.

In total, 36 of this year’s 48 All-Americans have committed to play softball at the collegiate level, with 31 of those commitments choosing to continue their academic and playing careers at a NCAA Division I institution. … Continue Reading

NFCA Announces 2011 Louisville Slugger/NFCA High School All-Region Teams

STARKVILLE, Miss. – This year, 160 student-athletes from 107 high schools spanning 33 states have earned the distinguished honor of being named to one of 10 2011 Louisville Slugger/NFCA High School All-Region teams, the Association announced on Wednesday.

Texas 5A semi-finalist Pearland led the way in total selections this season with five. The Oilers had three players placed on the South Central Region first team and two on the second team after advancing to the state tournament for the third straight season.

While Pearland led in total selections, fellow South Central Region team Olathe East led the nation in first-team choices with four. The Hawks won 23 straight games this season before falling in the Kansas 6A semi-finals. … Continue Reading

Gloucester County Named 2011 NJCAA Division III National Coaching Staff Of The Year

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The coaches of 2011 National Champion Gloucester County has been names as this year’s NFCA NJCAA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced on Monday.

Head coach Steve DePasquale and assistant Mark Enders led the Roadrunners to a 49-5 record in 2011 and the program’s first-ever national title. … Continue Reading

Softball Rules Committee Proposes Change On Early Base Departures

By Greg Johnson
NCAA.org

The NCAA Softball Rules Committee at its meeting earlier this month in Oklahoma City recommended a “delayed dead ball” in cases when a runner leave a base before a pitch is thrown.

Umpires will still signal that the runner left the base early, but the play will continue. The defense would then be allowed to choose the result of the play, or it could opt to have the runner called out and the count would return to what it was on the hitter before the pitch was thrown. … Continue Reading

NFCA Announces Debut of BATS Testing

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association is pleased to announce that all participants attending a 2011 NFCA Administered Recruiting Camp will take part in the next level of baseball/softball athlete skill evaluation, the Baseball/Softball Athletic Testing System or BATS.

BATS is a comprehensive battery of skill evaluations developed by Dr. Frank Spaniol, a world-renowned baseball and softball researcher and Professor of Kinesiology at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. Designed using the latest in sport science and technology, the goal of BATS is to assist softball and baseball players in achieving maximum performance and to provide college coaches with a uniform method of evaluating the athleticism of potential recruits. … Continue Reading

Grand Canyon’s Lucas And Wingate’s Smith Named NFCA Division II National Player & Pitcher of the Week

NFCA Release
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Infielder Montana Lucas of Grand Canyon and Allison Smith of Wingate have been named as the NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games played April 4-10, 2011.

Lucas went-14-for-17 last week in a four-game sweep of Dominican (CA) that included 17 RBIs, eight runs, four home runs and three doubles. For the week, Lucas turned in a .824 batting average and on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of 1.706. … Continue Reading

The National Foundation For Cancer Research Joins Softball Teams To “Beat Cancer With A Bat”

Bethesda, Md. – Feb. 1, 2011 – The National Foundation for Cancer Research is teaming up with softball players around the country for a nationwide fundraiser entitled “Beat Cancer with a Bat!” … Continue Reading

NFCA Announces 2010 Diamond Sports Catchers of the Year

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Diamond Sports have announced the ten student-athletes who are the recipients of the 2010 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award.

The Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award is presented annually to the top catcher from an NFCA member institution in each of the following divisions: NCAA (Divisions I, II and III), NAIA, NJCAA (Divisions I, II and III), Cal JC, NWAACC and high school. … Continue Reading

UCLA Named NFCA Division I National Coaching Staff Of The Year

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The coaches of the 2010 NCAA Division I National Champions UCLA have been named as the 2010 National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced on Wednesday.

The Bruins went 50-11 on the year and were led by fourth-year head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, assistant coaches Lisa Fernandez and Gina Veccione and volunteer assistant coach Natasha Watley. … Continue Reading

Washington Unanimous Choice in Latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll

STARKVILLE, Miss. – For the third time in four weeks, the Washington Huskies received all 30 first-place votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll . The Huskies have now held the No. 1 spot for four consecutive editions of the poll.

Arizona, Florida and UCLA held on to their spots from last week in second, third and fifth, respectively. Missouri joined the Top 5 at fourth this week, bumping previous No. 4 Michigan down three spots to seventh.

Illinois and Oklahoma State both make their 2010 Top 25 debuts in this week’s poll at No. 21 and No. 25, forcing last week’s No. 23 Northwestern and No. 25 North Carolina out of the poll. … Continue Reading

UMSL’s Bartlett Named & Midwestern’s Petersen Named Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Player of the Week

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Senior catcher Katie Bartlett of Missouri-St. Louis and senior pitcher Katie Petersen of Midwestern St., have been named as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games played Feb. 15-21.

Bartlett went 8-for-14 over four games and helped guide her team to a 3-1 record on the week. She finished the week with a .571 batting average, four runs, six RBIs, a double and a home run. … Continue Reading

Washington Maintains Top Spot in USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Despite suffering their first loss of the season last week, the Washington Huskies held on to the top spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll for the third consecutive poll. Arizona, Florida and Michigan maintained their respective positions at two, three and four, while UCLA moved into the top five for the first time this season.

Baylor, who came in at No. 25 last week, was the only team to drop from the poll and was replaced by the lone newcomer, Texas A&M, at No. 24.

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. 2010 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses. … Continue Reading

New Mexico Highlands Martinez Named Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Player of the Week

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Freshman pitcher/first baseman Melissa Martinez of New Mexico Highlands has been named the first Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Player of the Week of the 2010 season.

In the first two weeks of the season, Martinez excelled both at the plate and in the circle. Through the first nine games of the season, Martinez posted a .372 batting average with 11 runs, 16 RBIs, one double and seven home runs.

The Albuquerque, N.M., native jumpstarted her collegiate career by completing two amazing feats in back-to-back games. … Continue Reading

Washingtons Lawrie Nabs First Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Senior Danielle Lawrie of Washington has been named as the NCAA Division I Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week for games played during the week of Feb. 11-14.

Lawrie, who split time between pitcher and designated player, was 6-for-15 at the plate on the week with five runs, nine RBIs and four home runs, including a grand slam against Cal State Northridge. … Continue Reading

Washington Repeats as Unanimous No. 1 in USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll

STARKVILLE, Miss. – On the strength of a 5-0 opening weekend record, Washington received all 30 first place votes for the second-consecutive week to lead the first USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll of the 2010 regular season. Fellow unbeaten Arizona jumped four spots to claim the No. 2 position in the poll, while Florida, Michigan and Arizona St. rounded out the top five, respectively.

DePaul was the only team to fall out of the poll this week dropping from No. 21, while Texas was the only addition and joined the fray at No. 20. … Continue Reading

Perfect Start Propels Siskiyous to Top of Cal JC Rankings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A 4-0 start to the season was enough to move previous No. 4, Siskiyous, past Sierra and into the No. 1 spot in the latest California Community College Athletic Association Softball Top 20 Coaches’ Poll.

Former No. 1, Sierra, dropped just one spot to No. 2, while East Los Angeles made the week’s biggest jump soaring 15 spots from No. 18 to No. 3. … Continue Reading

Defending National Champion California Baptist No. 1 in NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Defending national champion California Baptist has been tabbed as the No. 1 team in the NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll, the NAIA announced Tuesday. The Lancers were the unanimous pick, earning all 23 first-place votes and tallying 653 points. Dickinson State (N.D.) is listed second with 629 points. Oklahoma City and Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) are tied for third with 594 points and Lubbock Christian rounds out the top-five teams with 549 points.

No. 1 California Baptist returns 12 starters from its 2009 national championship team, including 2009 NAIA Pitcher of the Year, Tory Ferreira. Ferreira became the first pitcher in NAIA history to go undefeated and have at least 20 wins, as a freshman. The 2009 NAIA National Championship MVP Ashley Boyd returns for her senior season. The senior shortstop set school single-season records for home runs (16), hits (100), runs scored (82) and total bases (178). The Lancers finished last season with a school record 61 wins, on their way to winning the school’s first softball championship. … Continue Reading

NFCA Announces Elected Board Members

Kathryn Gleason, who will take over as NFCA first vice president at the end of the 2009 NFCA National Convention, is entering her seventh year on the Michigan State softball staff. This is her fifth season as the associate head coach after being promoted to the position in the summer of 2005. Previously, she was an assistant coach at Purdue for three years and an assistant at Massachusetts, also for three years.

Gleason just completed a two-year term as NFCA second vice president after serving two terms as the assistant coach representative for the Association. A native of Country Club Hills, Ill., she was inducted into the Marian Catholic High School Hall of Fame as “Athlete of the Year” in the 2002 induction class. Gleason was also inducted into the East Suburban Catholic Conference High School Hall of Fame in March 2008. … Continue Reading

Play it Forward Wants To Honor Coaches Who Have Made a Difference

The Play it Forward campaign is a collaboration of Up2Us and YouthNoise that seeks to promote the importance of youth sports and to recognize the role of coaches in shaping young people’s futures.

Play it Forward centers around the Coach Appreciation Week Resolution, which was introduced with the help of Rep. McIntyre, N.C. and will go to a House of Representatives vote on September 14. Coach Appreciation Week is intended to spark a national dialogue about the importance of sports as a vehicle for youth development and to inspire volunteerism around youth sports. The Play it Forward campaign will highlight the stories of coaches from around the country who have made a difference in the lives of their players, both on and off the field. Three winning coaches will win a trip to Washington, D.C. and be honored with the National Coach Appreciation Week “Coach of the Year Award at the Up2Us National Conference.
… Continue Reading

NFCA Announces 2009 Diamond Catcher of the Year Award Recipients

08/05/09 – NFCA Release
The NFCA and Diamond Sports, the NFCA’s “Official Protective Equipment,” have released the 10 catchers who have been named the winners of the 2009 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award.

Diamond Sports and the NFCA present the award annually to the top catcher from NFCA member schools in each of the following divisions: NCAA (Divisions I, II and III), NAIA, NJCAA (Divisions I, II and III), Cal JC, Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) and high school. … Continue Reading

NFCA Names 2009 adidas Golden Shoe Award Winners

The NFCA and adidas have released the 10 student-athletes who have been named the winners of the 2009 adidas Golden Shoe award.

NFCA and adidas present the award annually to the top base stealer from NFCA member schools in each of the following divisions: NCAA (Divisions I, II and III), NAIA, NJCAA (Divisions I, II and III), Cal JC, Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) and high school. … Continue Reading

Softball Pitching Distance to Increase to 43 Feet in 2010-11

NDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 7, 2009/courtesy NFHS) — Effective with the 2010-11 school year, the pitching distance for high school varsity softball pitchers will increase from 40 feet to 43 feet.

The new pitching distance was one of four rules revisions made by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Softball Rules Committee at its annual meeting June 8-10 in Indianapolis. The rules changes subsequently were approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Although the new pitching distance is mandatory beginning with the 2010-11 school year, NFHS-member state high school associations may adopt the 43-feet distance in 2009-10, if desired. … Continue Reading

Junior College Individual Award Winners Announced

The Diamond Catcher of the Year and adidas Golden Shoe award winners for all three NJCAA divisions were announced today by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The Diamond Catcher of the Year award honors the division’s top catcher while the adidas Golden Shoe award honors the division’s top base stealer. … Continue Reading

Washington Wins 2009 NCAA Division I Championship

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Washington Huskies fought for a 3-2 victory over top-ranked and top-seeded Florida on Tuesday night at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, capturing the program’s first NCAA softball championship. The third-seeded Huskies finish with a 51-12 record while Florida ends its season with a 63-5 record.

The Gators wasted no time getting on the board, plating a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Aja Paculba led off the game with a triple and came home on passed ball before Kristina Hilberth reached on a fielding error, went to second on a Francesca Enea single, stole third base and scored on a sacrifice fly from Megan Bush to make the score 2-0. … Continue Reading

Division I Super Regional Games Times, TV Networks Set

Game times and television networks were announced Monday for the NCAA Division I Softball Super Regionals, which begin Thursday at campus sites throughout the nation.

Each campus will host a best-of-three series with the series winner advancing to the Women’s College World Series, beginning May 28 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. … Continue Reading

Messiah Wins School’s First Division III Championship

Messiah College freshman Jessica Rhoads had dominated all tournament long from the circle, and the Division III national championship game was no different. Rhoads gave up just two hits in the 2-0 complete game victory over Coe, giving Messiah its first national championship.

Rhoads received all the offensive support she would need in the top of the fourth, when Jaclyn Merkel led off with a double that just failed to clear the left field fence. Coe would intentionally walk Rhoads, who was responsible for all four RBIs in Messiah’s two previous wins. A sacrifice bunt by Lindsay Hall put the two runners in scoring position, and an intentional walk to Abby Bergakker loaded the bases. Lauren Seneca would drive a pitch to right center for a sacrifice fly, scoring Merkel for the game’s first run. … Continue Reading

NCAA Legislative Council Approves Division I Recruiting Calendar Change

Board of Directors Still To Review April 30

The NCAA Division I Legislative Council has approved Proposal No. 2008-67, legislation sponsored by the Big East Conference that reestablishes a recruiting contact and evaluation period from August 1 through the day prior to Thanksgiving (excluding the early signing dead period dates). … Continue Reading