The James Madison Dukes softball team represents James Madison University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) and plays home games in Veterans Memorial Park. JMU has won six CAA championships, including back-to-back Championships in 2016 and 2017. The Dukes have been to the NCAA Division I softball tournament nine times, hosting Regionals and Super Regionals in 2016. The team's head coach is Loren LaPorte, leading the Dukes to a 197–74 record in six seasons.
| James Madison Dukes Softball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | James Madison University |
| Head coach | Loren LaPorte (7th season) |
| Conference | Sun Belt |
| Location | Harrisonburg, VA |
| Home stadium | Veterans Memorial Park (Capacity: 1,500) |
| Nickname | Dukes |
| Colors | Purple and gold[1] |
| NCAA WCWS appearances | |
| 2021 | |
| NCAA Super Regional appearances | |
| 2016, 2019, 2021 | |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| 2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 | |
| Regular Season Conference championships | |
| 2009, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 | |
Coaching history
edit| Years | Coach | Record | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–2012 | Katie Flynn | 283–252 | .528 |
| 2013–2017 | Mickey Dean | 187–49 | .738 |
| 2017–present | Loren LaPorte | 197–74 | .727 |
Season results
edit| Season | Coach | Record | CAA Record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Katie Flynn | 25–24 | 5–9 | |
| 2003 | Katie Flynn | 19–31 | 5–3 | |
| 2004 | Katie Flynn | 30–32 | 12–6 | |
| 2005 | Katie Flynn | 28–27 | 8–10 | |
| 2006 | Katie Flynn | 24–28 | 9–12 | |
| 2007 | Katie Flynn | 38–16 | 16–4 | |
| 2008 | Katie Flynn | 32–22 | 16–8 | |
| 2009 | Katie Flynn | 35–16 | 12–8 | CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals |
| 2010 | Katie Flynn | 24–33 | 11–10 | |
| 2011 | Katie Flynn | 29–23 | 8–11 | |
| 2012 | Katie Flynn | 30–26 | 15–5 | |
| 2013 | Mickey Dean | 42–17 | 18–3 | NCAA Regionals |
| 2014 | Mickey Dean | 45–15 | 15–3 | CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals |
| 2015 | Mickey Dean | 48–10 | 19–0 | NCAA Regionals |
| 2016 | Mickey Dean | 50–6 | 18–1 | CAA Champions, NCAA Super Regionals |
| 2017 | Mickey Dean | 52–8 | 18–2 | CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals |
| 2018 | Loren LaPorte | 43–14 | 19–2 | NCAA Regionals |
| 2019 | Loren LaPorte | 51–10 | 20–1 | CAA Champions, NCAA Super Regionals |
| 2020 | Loren LaPorte | 13–6 | 0–0 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[2] |
| 2021 | Loren LaPorte | 41–4 | 17–1 | CAA Champions, Women's College World Series |
| 2022 | Loren LaPorte | 21–21 | 10–5 | |
| 2023 | Loren LaPorte | 28–19 | 13–11 |
2021 Season
After a dominant performance in the regular season, the Dukes entered the postseason with a 34–1 record. In the CAA tournament, the Dukes beat Delaware for their sixth conference title and were rewarded with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA softball tournament.
The Dukes advanced to the Super Regionals after beating #9 Tennessee[3] and #25 Liberty twice in the Knoxville Regional.[4] They then went on to beat #8 Mizzou on the road in the best-of-three series in Columbia, Missouri.[5]
After punching their ticket to the Women's College World Series (WCWS) for the first time, the James Madison Dukes advanced to the WCWS semifinals after beating #1 Oklahoma 4–3 in eight innings[6] and #5 Oklahoma State 2–1[7] in the first and second rounds of the tournament. In doing so, they became the first-ever unseeded team to start 2–0 in the WCWS and reach the semifinal games. Their historic run came to a close just short of the finals, falling to eventual champions #1 Oklahoma twice.
Championships
editConference Championships
edit| Season | Conference | Record | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Colonial Athletic Association | 35–16 | Katie Flynn |
| 2014 | Colonial Athletic Association | 45–15 | Mickey Dean |
| 2016 | Colonial Athletic Association | 50–6 | Mickey Dean |
| 2017 | Colonial Athletic Association | 52–8 | Mickey Dean |
| 2019 | Colonial Athletic Association | 51–10 | Loren LaPorte |
| 2021 | Colonial Athletic Association | 41–4 | Loren LaPorte |
NCAA Regional appearances
edit| NCAA Regional Results |
|---|
| 2009 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional Lost to Tennessee, 3–4 |
| 2013 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional Lost to NC State, 0–2 |
| 2014 Lexington, Kentucky Regional Defeated DePaul, 6–1 |
| 2015 Harrisonburg, Virginia Regional Defeated Binghamton, 10–15 |
| 2016 Harrisonburg, Virginia Regional Defeated Princeton, 7–0 |
| 2017 Waco, Texas Regional Defeated Oregon State, 3–2 |
| 2018 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional Defeated Ohio, 2–1 |
| 2019 Ann Arbor, Michigan Regional Defeated DePaul, 5–2 |
| 2021 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional Defeated Liberty, 4–310 |
Notable players
editNational awards
edit- Megan Good (2017)[8]
- Odicci Alexander (2021)[9]
- D1 Softball's Woman of the Year
- Odicci Alexander (2021)[10]
All-Americans
edit- 2014: Jailyn Ford (2nd team)
- 2015: Megan Good (2nd team)
- 2015: Jailyn Ford (3rd team)
- 2016: Jailyn Ford (1st team)
- 2016: Megan Good (1st team)
- 2017: Megan Good (1st team)
- 2018: Megan Good (1st team)
- 2018: Odicci Alexander (3rd team)
- 2018: Kate Gordon (3rd team)
- 2019: Odicci Alexander (3rd team)
- 2019: Megan Good (3rd team)
- 2019: Kate Gordon (3rd team)
- 2021: Odicci Alexander (2nd team)
Coaching Staff Awards
editReferences
edit- ^ "Color Information" (PDF). JMU Official Athletics Identity Usage and Style Guide. July 12, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. 2020-03-12. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Shiers, Mike. "JMU Softball beats Tennessee 3-1; Advances to Regional Final". www.nbc29.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ AL LESAR. "JMU Downs Liberty To Win Knoxville Regional". Daily News-Record. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "OKC BOUND! JMU Beats Mizzou to Reach First Women's College World Series". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "James Madison shocks No. 1 seed OU in WCWS". ESPN.com. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "JMU wins another WCWS shocker, stuns Okla. St". ESPN.com. 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "NFCA | National Fastpitch Coaches Association". nfca.org-gb. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "2021 NCAA Pitcher Of The Year: Odicci Alexander". Softball America. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ "D1 Woman of the Year: Odicci Alexander". D1Softball. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "College softball: JMU's historic run captures 2021 NFCA DI national coaching staff of the year honors | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "JMU Staff Named NFCA Northeast Coaching Staff of the Year". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-09-05.