USF's softball team has won two national championships, both coming before softball was an NCAA sanctioned sport. They won in the American Softball Association in 1983 and 1984.[3] They have also won eight conference championships, seven of which were regular season titles and one of which was in the conference tournament.[4] They have reached 17 NCAA tournaments
History
Pre-NCAA
Before softball officially became an NCAA sport in 1985, the Bulls (known as the Lady Brahmans until 1987) played in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the American Softball Association. Unfortunately, not many records exist from this era of USF softball, and 1985 is recognized by the school as the first official season of the team as that is the year they joined the NCAA. However, it is known that the team's actual first season of play was in 1973 and that the team went to the AIAW Quarterfinals in 1976 and 1981.[5] Hildred Deese was USF's only head coach for this entire era; she also coached the USF volleyball team from 1979–1983.[6] After the AIAW disbanded in 1982, the American Softball Association (now USA Softball) took over as the top collegiate governing body for the sport. The Lady Brahmans won the national championship in both years of the ASA before joining the NCAA in 1985, making them the first team in USF history to win a national championship.[7][8]
Early NCAA years (1985–1996)
Hildred Deese continued as head coach for the early years of USF in the NCAA. For most of these years, USF competed without a conference affiliation as their main conferences during this time did not sponsor softball as a sport, but they joined the softball-only Southern Atlantic Softball Alliance in 1995 along with big-name teams like Florida State. Although the Bulls finished with a winning percentage of .500 or better during every year of Deese's tenure, they were not selected for the NCAA tournament until her final year coaching the team in 1996, in which they won their first conference title.[9]
Ken Eriksen era (1996–present)
Following Deese's retirement, she was replaced by Ken Eriksen, who played on the USF baseball team from 1981–1984. Under the new coach, the Bulls won the SASA title in 1997 and 1998, with the 1998 team finishing with a .803 win percentage, the best record in team history to that point. Conference USA started sponsoring softball in 2000, so the Bulls left SASA after 1999. They had less success in CUSA and never won a title in that league, but started to become mainstays in the NCAA tournament during their time in the conference, reaching the tournament in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2003, Leigh Ann Ellis became the first USF softball pitcher to throw a perfect game.
The Bulls left Conference USA for the Big East starting in 2006, and reached their first NCAA Super Regional that year where they fell to UCLA. The Bulls won their first Big East title in 2008. In 2011, the new USF Softball Stadium opened. USF's 2012 season was their most successful since joining the NCAA. Pitcher Sara Nevins threw a perfect game in March, the Bulls hosted a Super Regional for the first time, and secured their first-ever NCAA Women's College World Series berth. USF won their first conference tournament in 2013 (albeit the SASA did not have a conference tournament while USF was a member) before joining the American Athletic Conference in 2014.
Sara Nevins threw another perfect game in 2014 en route to another NCAA tournament appearance. USF won its first American Athletic Conference crown in 2016, then won again in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, Ken Eriksen temporarily took a leave of absence from the team to coach the USA national team for the 2020 Summer Olympics and assistant coach Jessica Moore was named the interim coach.[10] The season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Eriksen returned the following year.
In 2021, Eriksen became the first USF coach in any sport to lead his team to 1,000 wins, doing so during a no hitter pitched by Georgina Corrick (the first of two no hitters Corrick pitched in back-to-back days).[11] Corrick is not only considered the greatest USF softball player of all time, but also one of the greatest college softball players ever. She holds USF's all time records in many categories including wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts, and opponent batting average.[12] Despite an injury that prevented her from playing in the conference or NCAA tournaments, Corrick's 2022 season was one of the most dominant college softball seasons ever, achieving a 37–5 record with 21 shutouts and 34 complete games, 418 strikeouts, an ERA of 0.51, and two perfect games. She was unanimously named the 2022 NCAA Pitcher of the Year and was the first college softball pitcher to win a Triple Crown.[13][14][15]
Softball is one of USF's only sports to have its own Hall of Fame outside of the USF Athletic Hall of Fame. The inductees as of 2022 are:[12]
Name
Position
Years with USF
Leslie Kanter
Shortstop
1983–86
Denise Rubio
Second Base
1985–88
Susan Main
Outfield
1986–87
Debbie Morash
Pitcher
1986–87
Lisa Wunar
Third Base
1986–89
Dawn Melfi
Second Base
1991–92
Amy Putnam
Catcher
1993–96
1996 NCAA Tournament Team
–
1996
Jennifer Thompson
Pitcher
1996–99
Monica Triner
Pitcher
1996–99
Lea Mishlan
Shortstop
1997–2000
Ginny Georgantis
Infielder
1998–2001
Courtney Lewellen
Catcher
2000–03
Renee Oursler
Infielder/Outfielder
2000–03
Shelly Riker
Outfielder
2001–04
Holly Groves
Designated Player
2002–04
Carmela Liwag
First Base
2002–05
Leigh Ann Ellis
Pitcher
2003–04
Christie Chapman
Shortstop
2003–06
Krista Holle
Infielder
2003–06
Tiffany Stewart
Outfielder
2004–06
2006 Super Regional Team
–
2006
Britta Giddens
Second Base
2006–09
Kit Dunbar
Outfielder
2007–08
Gina Kafalas
Outfielder
2009–12
Janine Richardson
Shortstop
2009–12
Lindsey Richardson
Pitcher
2010–13
Ashli Goff
Outfielder
2011–14
Stephanie Medina
First Base
2011–14
Sara Nevins
Pitcher
2011–14
Kourtney Salvarola
Shortstop
2011–14
Jessica Mouse
Third Base
2012
2012 WCWS Team
–
2012
Kenshyra Jackson
Third Base
2012–13
Erica Nunn
Pitcher
2013–16
Lee Ann Spivey
Catcher/Outfielder
2013–16
Note: Bold indicates members of the USF Athletic Hall of Fame
Media
Under the current American Athletic Conference TV deal, all home and in-conference away softball games are shown on one of the various ESPN networks or streamed live on ESPN+.[27] Live radio broadcasts of games are also available worldwide for free on the Bulls Unlimited digital radio station on TuneIn.[28]
^While the team started play in the AIAW in 1973, the university considers 1985 to be the founding year because it is the year the team joined the NCAA.
