Kentucky Wildcats softball
Kentucky Wildcats | |
---|---|
| |
University | University of Kentucky |
Athletic director | Mitch Barnhart |
Head coach | Rachel Lawson (10th season) |
Conference |
SEC Eastern Division |
Location | Lexington, KY |
Home stadium | John Cropp Stadium (Capacity: 1,500) |
Nickname | Wildcats |
Colors |
Blue and White[1] |
NCAA WCWS appearances | |
2014 | |
NCAA Super Regional appearances | |
2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
The Kentucky Wildcats softball team represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of softball. The Kentucky Wildcats compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Wildcats play their home games at John Cropp Stadium on the university's Lexington, Kentucky campus, and are currently led by head coach Rachel Lawson. In the history of the Wildcats softball program, the team has made appearances in ten NCAA Division I Softball Championship, six Super Regionals, and one Women's College World Series (WCWS).
Head coaches
Name | Years | Record |
---|---|---|
Beth Pruit | 1997–2004 | 181–297–1 (52–146 SEC) |
Eileen Schmidt | 2005–2007 | 61–108 (12–74 SEC) |
Rachel Lawson | 2008–present | 361–232 (118–136 SEC) |
History
The University of Kentucky softball team had their inaugural season in 1997.[2]
University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart hired Rachel Lawson in July 2007. Since Lawson's hire she has become the winningest coach in program history. She has also guided UK to six NCAA Super Regionals since 2011 including an appearance in the 2014 College World Series, the program's first.
Now sitting at 361–232 in her eleven seasons at Kentucky, Lawson is the winningest head coach in school history and already has more wins in SEC play than UK had total as a program when she took over in 2007. UK also finished 2016 in the top 14 of both collegiate softball rankings for the third time in school history with eleven wins over ranked teams.
Another accomplishment since Lawson's hire in 2007 is the integration of John Cropp Stadium. The facility cost $9.5 million, and debuted for the 2013 season. UK hosted the 2013 SEC Tournament as well as an NCAA regional, another first for the program. Since 2013, UK has hosted an NCAA regional in 2014 and 2016-2018.
Year-by-year records
Season | Coach | Record | SEC Record | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Beth Pruit | 11–44 | ||
1998 | Beth Pruit | 19–43 | 6–22 | |
1999 | Beth Pruit | 23–44 | 6–22 | |
2000 | Beth Pruit | 36–29 | 15–13 | |
2001 | Beth Pruit | 27–34 | 10–18 | |
2002 | Beth Pruit | 24–32 | 6–21 | |
2003 | Beth Pruit | 16–40 | 3–26 | |
2004 | Beth Pruit | 25–31–1 | 6–24 | |
2005 | Eileen Schmidt | 20–41 | 4–25 | |
2006 | Eileen Schmidt | 21–36 | 4–26 | |
2007 | Eileen Schmidt | 20–31 | 4–24 | |
2008 | Rachel Lawson | 17–37 | 3–25 | |
2009 | Rachel Lawson | 34–23 | 13–14 | NCAA Tournament Participant |
2010 | Rachel Lawson | 32–27 | 13–15 | NCAA Tournament Participant |
2011 | Rachel Lawson | 40–16 | 14–9 | NCAA Super Regional Participant |
2012 | Rachel Lawson | 30–30 | 15–13 | NCAA Tournament Participant |
2013 | Rachel Lawson | 41–21 | 13–11 | NCAA Super Regional Participant
Hosted SEC Tournament & Regional |
2014 | Rachel Lawson | 50–19 | 13–11 | WCWS Participant
Hosted Regional |
2015 | Rachel Lawson | 32–26 | 5–19 | NCAA Super Regional Participant |
2016 | Rachel Lawson | 46–14 | 17–7 | NCAA Tournament Participant
Hosted Regional |
2017 | Rachel Lawson | 39-19 | 12-12 | NCAA Super Regional Participant
Hosted Regional |
2018 | Rachel Lawson | NCAA Super Regional Participant
Hosted Regional | ||
Reference:[3] |
All-Americans
Player | Year(s) | Team | Organization |
---|---|---|---|
Molly Johnson [4] | 2009 | 2nd | Louisville Slugger/NFCA |
Kelsey Nunley [5] | 2016 | 1st | NFCA |
Katie Reed [6] | 2017 | 3rd | NFCA |
Other Awards
Player | Year(s) | Team | Organization |
---|---|---|---|
Molly Johnson [7] | 2010 | 2nd | Senior CLASS Award |
Griffin Joiner [8] | 2015 | 1st | Senior CLASS Award |
Kelsey Nunley [9] | 2016 | 1st | Senior CLASS Award |
References
- ↑ Primary Color Palette (PDF). University of Kentucky Athletics Brand Identity Guidelines. February 5, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- ↑ "UK Athletics".
- ↑ "UK Athletics History & Records".
- ↑ "2009 DI All American Teams".
- ↑ "2016 ALL-AMERICAN AWARDS".
- ↑ "2017 ALL-AMERICAN AWARDS".
- ↑ "2010 Senior CLASS Award".
- ↑ "2015 Senior CLASS Award".
- ↑ "2016 Senior CLASS Award".