While playing for Team USA, Fernandez would post a 7-1 record with a .37 earned run average and a .36 WHIP. Third-base voting for the all-time college softball team shocks the panel, Best outfielders include ESPN's own Jessica Mendoza. Four-time First Team All-American. Cochran also scored 86 runs in 71 games and set the NCAA record with 29 intentional walks. Mix and match eligible items for extrasavings! 1998 Fresno State. The Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year for her final prep season, Bahl lived up to enormous expectations by sliding with ease into the ace role left behind by former Sooners star Giselle Juarez, the experienced hurler who led the OU rotation during its 2021 national title run. That's not a coincidence, and it's the kind of individual impact that generally only pitchers provide. League ages vary but many start with 8-9-10 age groups and run up to unlimited, including 16-18 years old. Here are the latest 64-team college baseball bracket projections entering mid-May. JustBats has the answers. Oh, and Bustos replaced softball legend Dot Richardson on the 2000 Olympic team because then-coach Ralph Raymond felt "this move will make the infield defense a lot better.". She had over 100 hits in each of her last three seasons, leading the Bruins in hits, as well as stolen bases, all four years. 10. So I might go back to the Jennings/Coleman debate. The Arizona Wildcats star posted a 119-16 record on the mound to go along with a 1.08 earned run average while also batting .301 at the plate with 50 home runs and 195 runs batted in. Lacey Fincher, 1B, Georgia The senior first baseman could be one of the strongest players in the nation. For a sport that has been played in the United States since the 1930s, Fastpitch's popularity has only recently continued to grow. But speed only gets you to the wall. Dot was always considered a top athlete, as she became the youngest player ever to play in the ASA Women's Major Fastpitch National Championships in 1975 when she was only 13 years old. That's true most of all for Finch, whose Olympic medals and star power propelled her into the mainstream sports consciousness during the first decade of the new century (and still now). Purple Haze, Your email address will not be published. Did she sidearm her throw to second base for the out while sprawled completely prone in the dirt at shortstop? Rachel Garcia Pitcher (2017-2019) Garcia has been a star in college softball for the past . I love it for its little nuances, the strategy involved, the drama of a close game, late innings situation, and its deep history. In womens fastpitch softball, Dot Richardson tops our list as the best of all time, while others such as Jennie Finch and Lisa Fernandez are close behind. Macenko, who is only one of two players inducted into the Amateur Softball Association (ASA), United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), Independent Softball Association (ISA), and National Softball Association (NSA) Hall of Fame, hit nearly 7,000 home runs and a career batting average of .721 over his long-storied career. Smith pitched 41.2 innings over her time with Team USA, allowing just a .51 earned run average. Key players: Kylee Hanson, Jessie Warren, Sydney Sherrill. May 25, 2023In "Baseball Listicles, Blog", Your email address will not be published. Rounding out the top 5 on the best softball players of all time list is the former Stanford Cardinal and Team USA outfielder, Jessica Mendoza. Like in every sport in this world, there are good players, great players, and the absolute best of the best. Alo finishes her college career as the All-Time home run leader with 122 home runs. She ultimately finished with. Over four years of playing with the Cowgirls, Smith pitched to an astonishing .75 earned run average while allowing just 76 runs over 707.1 innings of work. You can fill up a hard drive with all the numbers that prove Romero is among the sport's all-time greats, but you still need to account for the magnetism she brought to Michigan. There are so many reasons why I love baseball - I played from a young age through college and it's my favorite sport to watch so I've always followed it very closely. Ever seen a ball sail into the trees beyond centerfield in Athens. My favorite sports teams are the Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, and Boston Celtics.Every piece of equipment reviewed on this blog is one that has been tested and thoroughly read about, to tell you everything you need to know. WELCOME TO THE BULLDOG FAMILY. She has been in Sports Illustrated multiple times as a cover athlete and in the SI Swimsuit edition. Fastpitch softball will be included in the 2020 Olympics, 295 teams exist through Division I colleges and universities, TIME magazine as "the most famous softball player in history.". Will there ever be another 100-point scorer in college hockey? In addition, Osterman also wore 38 over her career. Along with dynasties created, there also have been upsets and underdogs that rival the NCAA's best moments. OBrien, who played her college softball with the Arizona Wildcats as well as Team USA, made the game look easy. 19. Our aim is to provide our expertise on everything you need to know when buying baseball & softball equipment. Sometimes she simply reached an uneasy truce with walls, as when she bounced off one after securing a catch to protect a tie against Japan while playing for Team USA. 2019 champs: How UCLA took home the national time. It is college softball canon by now that Michigan ushered in a new age for the sport with its 2005 national championship, the first from a team east of the Mississippi River, let alone one from a cold-weather campus. Along with two national championships at Texas A&M, Brock's teams also finished as national runner-up twice. Rick Scherr Honorable Mentions FAQ Who Are the Top Three Men's Professional Softball Players of All Time? Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners. Let us know. Two players who aren't even done playing, thanks to the NCAA allowing schools to extend eligibility in response to the coronavirus pandemic, finished atop their respective positions. Two-time Olympic gold medal winner. With the popularity of softball picking up in the early 2000s, the success of the Team USA softball team landed many of their players to rise to the top of the most famous softball players to play list. But it is telling that despite going head-to-head with arguably the sport's most popular player, she still managed a greater percentage of the vote than any other second-place finisher. Cooper was a member of Team USA that took home the gold medal at the 2016 Softball World Championship and the Silver Medal at the World Cup of Softball in 2016. Cooper finished her college career with the Auburn Tigers as a .385 hitter with 67 home runs and 270 runs batted in. Far from looking fallible in the near-miss, she patiently turned it into another chapter in her legend. They include the runs scored, home runs, hits, batting average, and slugging percentage. Here's onelook at an all-time roster for this program, as in the best player at every position to ever play at UCLA. But it was her lone hit -- Arizona's lone hit -- in the the 1993 championship game that stands out. Mike Macenko Bruce Meade Rick Scherr 1. Browser Not Supported. A born Texan, Osterman is somewhat of a legend at the University of Texas. Oklahoma was the favorite to win the Women's College World Series from the opening pitch of the 2013 season after coming just a hair's breadth from winning it all in 2012, when the Sooners lost to Alabama in three games in the best-of-three national championship series. Jessica Mendoza Stanford Cardinal, Team USA, 4. The Bruins pitcher would pitch to a .22 earned run average over 694.2 innings while striking out 784 batters. In fact, if not for a loss in the national title game against UCLA in 1995, she would have completed her career with seven NCAA/Olympic titles in as many attempts. Lisa Fernandez is a former four-time medal winner with Team USA, including winning Gold Medals during the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics, making her one of the top five fastpitch softball players of all time, if not the best. Allaboutfastpitch.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. One of the most popular numbers to wear in most sports if allowed is the famous double zero or 00. On top of that, she also won USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, and NFCA National Pitcher of the Year. As you look around the game of softball, many great famous softball players come to mind. Head coach: Margie Wright. There are some other shortstop legends such as Dot Richardson, but Watley without adoubt deserves this spot. Mendoza, who also appeared on the 2004 and 2008 Team USA teams that took home a Gold Medal and Silver Medal, now does color commentating for the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB. Is your favorite player on this list? All in all, a pretty impressive career. Mims finished her career with 61 home runs and 228 RBIs, thats third all-time in home runs and RBIs at UCLA. Thats a pretty big deal. Named the most famous softball player in history by TIME, Jennie Finch struck out three players at the 2004 Pepsi All-Star Softball Game: Albert Pujols, Brian Giles, and Mike Piazza, gaining popularity along the way. Mike Macenko 2. Key players: Nina Lindenberg, Laura Berg, Amanda Scott, Becky Witt. Alexander finished as the CAA Player of the Year, the Softball America Pitcher of the Year, and a selection on the WCWS All-Tournament Team. National player of the year Jocelyn Alo was the star for the Sooners. Softball Chants and Cheers for Batting, Pitching, and the Dugout, 50 Best Baseball Chants and Cheers to Drive Motivation and Excitement. This was the second national championship won by Texas A&M in the 1980s under head coach Bob Brock following the 1983 team. She played before the NCAA tracked on-base percentage as an official statistic, but she reached base roughly 60% of the time. She played as if she had something to prove to everyone but herself. The best softball player of all time could vary based on the metrics used to rate them and personal opinion. It was also UCLA's first national championship without legendary head coach Sharron Backus, and the first since they were forced to vacate their 1995 title due to using an ineligible player. Like Dot Richardson, Lisa Fernandez also spent her college days playing for UCLA Browns, where she now works as an assistant coach. Stacey Nuveman UCLA Bruins, Team USA, 8. UCLA had four first-team All-Americans in 1999, led by pitcher Courtney Dale, who went 33-1 with a 0.98 ERA and was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. Macy Chamberlain, Evergreen. They were also the first team east of the Mississippi River to win it all. One softball player loaded with accolades over her playing career is Leah OBrien. Her performance on the softball field earned her a spot in the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame in 2006. But she was all of that in college, an uncommon blend of power and speed. Michigan wasn't just the first team from the Big Ten to win the championship. NCAA.com's Michella Chester takes a look at 11 of the best pitchers in NCAA softball history, including Cat Osterman, Monica Abbott and Jennie Finch. Another top Fastpitch player, another UCLA alum and a Team USA member. That first-inning single off Lisa Fernandez drove in the only run in Arizona's 1-0 win that featured just three total hits against Fernandez and Arizona's Susie Parra. Here is a look at the best softball players of all time for Womens Fast Pitch Softball as well as the Best Male Slow Pitch Softball Player of all time: Coming in at number 10 on the 10 Best Women Softball Players of All Time is Michele Mary Smith, who played her collegiate career with the Oklahoma State Cowgirls.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'thebatnerds_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_3',134,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thebatnerds_com-medrectangle-3-0'); In addition, Smith was a member of the 1996 and 2000 Team USA softball teams that won Gold Medals during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The Sun Devils scored 480 runs and hit 99 home runs and set the NCAA record with an 11-0 win over Texas A&M to clinch the national championship. Osterman is a three-time National Player of the Year and back-to-back Honda Award winner for the best player in college softball. Our experts picked a different Mike Candrea-led team. They were led by Jocelyn Alo, the most powerful hitter the sport has ever seen, whose legendary career concluded in fitting fashion: as a champion. Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings, Alyssa Brito, Jayda Coleman and Jordy Bahl make . Reality is more interesting. In addition, she played professionally with the NPF, where she was a six-time All-NPF selection and four-time NPF Champion. They avenged those defeats with a 2-0 win over the Wildcats in the NCAA championship game. Finch is beautiful and one of the best softball players to play the game of softball. Few things are as boring as a legend without drama. The Big Bruiser is highly decorated. The former Arizona Wildcats standout and Team USA softball player is arguably the most famous softball player and one of the best softball players of All-Time. In addition, Romero was a three-time All-Big Ten First Team selection, Big Ten Tournament MVP, and even the Big Ten Triple Crown. LaRosa is another powerful bat on this all-time roster. UCLA won a national championship with a star pitcher who also possessed one of the greatest sports names of all time. She also posted a .49 WHIP and a .50 earned run average over 1105.2 innings of work while striking out 2265 batters. Key players: Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Grace Lyons. The number 8 in softball is the number one of the famous softball players jersey numbers. Watley put together a fantastic college career, including finishing her career to have at least a .400 batting average with at least 200 runs scored, 100 stolen bases, and 300 total hits. The Oklahoma Sooners rewrote the NCAA record books in 2021 on the way to winning the fifth national championship in program history. Nuveman is one of the greatest Bruins in history and greatest sluggers. Monica Abbott Tennessee 2004-2007 Next up is Monica Abbott, another pitcher on this list that I suspect won't be arguable. One of those players who is well-deserving of the honor as one of the best softball players in 2022 is Jocelyn Alo. Like Dot, Lisa Fernandez attended UCLA. Arizona Wildcat is one of my favorites of all times! Jessica Mendoza, Jen Schroeder, Michele Smith, Holly Rowe and Amanda Scarborough debate how to set up the batting lineup on the greatest team of all-time. Two national championships (1990 and 1992) and three Olympic gold medals later, the legend became the first player to have hernumber retired at UCLA and she is enshrined in the UCLA Hall of Fame. The junior infielder is committed to Penn State and is considered one of the top catchers in . Born in Orlando, Florida, the two-time Olympic Gold medal winner, Dot Richardson is the greatest softball player of all time. Lisa Fernandez, RHP, UCLA: It would be nice to build this team around arguably the greatest all-around player in the sport's history. With no time to use her glove, Cooper plucked the ball out of the air barehanded and cocked to throw in almost the same motion. Here are the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 college softball rankings for May 9. pic.twitter.com/kczyWd5LEB. A willingness to run through walls isn't a cliche in Lowe's case, even if she was far from unbeaten in her encounters with outfield boundaries. Why did America settle on this particular collection of all-time greats? The Blue Knights have been led by the pitching duo of Stella Blanchard and Maddie . She won the Honda Award for the best player in softball three times, and then became the first softball player to win the Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993. Cunningham was ranked the No. But 13 years after the last Olympic softball games were played, there are many new players to get to know on the No. Head coaches: Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist, Key players: Joanne Alcin, Yvonne Gutierrez, Lisa Fernandez, Kathy Evans. The Bat Nerds is a blog run by a group of friends. Vecchione is one of four players in UCLA history to have their number retired. In addition, the Sooners star took home three First-Team All-American honors and back-to-back USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Awards. The Seminoles showed they were a team that could handle adversity at critical times. Fernandezs resume speaks for itself, so its no surprise she is always considered as one of the games all-time greats. Last season when Southington won its third straight Class LL state tournament, it broke the national record for most state titles with 20. Multiple variations of a UCLA all-time lineup would all be dangerous. The 2021 first-team MaxPreps Underclass All-America player was one of the top hitters in the country with 17 home runs, 85 RBI and a .517 batting average. Mirroring a surge in fan interest in recent years, as measured by attendance and television ratings for the Women's College World Series, voters selected a team rooted in the very recent past. She was always a little ahead of her time, which is one of her strongest credentials as an all-time great but also what sometimes keeps her from getting her due. So much could have gone wrong after UCLA lost at home early in the regional. pic.twitter.com/NgdhIqt5wJ Fresno State Softball Updates (@FSSoftballNews) July 2, 2021 Stacy May-Johnson played third base and shortstop during her four-year college career at Iowa. Take a look at UCLAs all-time records and you will see Nuveman's name everywhere. These are the greatest college softball teams of all time from the pool of national championship winners. Theyre all insanely good. Over her career, she posted a record 25 strikeouts in a game for Team USA, was four-time First-Team All-American, and racked up a 93-7 record with the Bruins and a 7-1 record for Team USA.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'thebatnerds_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_10',119,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thebatnerds_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); One of the top softball players over the past five years, Sis Bates, lands 5th on the list as one of the most famous softball players. She played severalpositions at UCLA and ranks second in career home runs at UCLA behind Nuveman. The former Stanford Cardinals holds numerous NCAA records, was a four-time First Team All-American, a member of the United States women's national softball team from 2004 to 2010, and played professionally in National Pro Fastpitch. At least as determined by the largest share of voters. 15. Dot Richardson Dot Richardson began receiving attention for her softball skills when she was just 13 years old. Key players: Jennie Finch, Toni Mascarenas, Lauren Bauer, Leah Manuma, Nicole Giordano. Number one on the 10 best softball players of all time list for fastpitch softball is legendary softball player Dot Richardson. Speed helped make her an all-time great at the plate and in center field. We looked at some of the most famous softball players of all time and the best softball players of all time be sure that the list will continue to grow as the next wave of softball players build their softball resumes. Garcia helped the Bruins win the 2019 College World Series while also taking home multiple honors, including Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year in 2019 and being named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019. Finch would win a Gold and Silver Medal with Team USA during the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. Well, we can't get inside the brain of every voter, but it isn't difficult to come up with a snapshot of each player -- a moment in time, a trait or even a particular statistic -- that helps explain their appeal. The Wildcats featured a staggering five first-team All-Americans with Parra, catcher Leah Braatz, first baseman Amy Chellevold, shortstop Laura Espinoza and outfielder Leah O'Brien, who was named to ESPN's All-Time College Softball Team. Finch's fame in the nascent days of the internet was great and all, but it overshadowed the most dominant pitching season in NCAA history. The former Stanford Cardinals star and current broadcaster on ESPN, Jessica Mendoza, has made a name for herself while also becoming a fan favorite softball player. We'll provide in-depth equipment reviews, new product announcements, useful tips & tricks and a whole lot more. One of the most dominant softball players of All-Time, Lisa Fernandez, was a three-time Gold Medal standout and a two-time National Champion with the UCLA Bruins. Fernandez was a four-time first team All-American and was named to theAll-College World Series team four years in a row. Fastpitch softball is played by females of all ages starting at a very young age of four within Little League while moving up to professional softball leagues worldwide. Overall record . And yet come the final, in the biggest of moments, Finch threw the shutout. Remember, we're here for you from click to hit! Key players: Keilani Ricketts, Lauren Chamberlain, Shelby Pendley, Brianna Turang. https://t.co/AChZo4MIfS pic.twitter.com/Qao1a3ucxB In addition, Dot Richardson helped the UCLA Bruins win their first NCAA Championship during the 1982 NCAA Softball Season. She has launched a. The four-time first team All-American and three-time Olympian is No. Stacey Nuveman, C, UCLA: Stealing analysis from Natasha Watley, one of her teammates in college and with Team USA, Nuveman wasn't so much a great home run hitter as a great hitter who happened to deposit a lot of balls over the fence. Her name floods OU's all-time record. At the plate, Fernandez would also add a .381 career batting average with 128 runs batted in. It was actually the third consecutive national title for Clark after she led Central Arizona Junior College to back-to-back titles under head coach Mike Candrea, who would eventually win eight national championships at the University of Arizona. Mike Macenko Inducted into the NSA Hall of Fame on November 11, 1998 Inducted into the ISA Hall of Fame on December 4, 1998 She was also the two-time All-NPF team from 2017 to 2018, three-time Big Ten Player of the Year between 2013 and 2014 and in 2016, Winner of the 2016 Honda Sports Award, USA softball Collegiate Player of the Year in 2016, the NFCA National Player of the Year in 2016 also. Cal State Fullerton was the first school to win a national championship outside of the Power Five conferences and one of only two in Women's College World Series history alongside Fresno State in 1998. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Baseball continues to expand worldwide, and the sport's popularity increases yearly. WCWS championship series: OU takes Game 1, but can FSU rebound? The former Michigan Wolverines player accomplished as much as many of these players on this list, including helping Team USA take home the Silver Medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. Your email address will not be published. One of those players is Alicia Hollowell, a 2006 Womens College World Series Championship Wildcats team member. In the 1996 Summer Olympics, Richardson would pick up two doubles, three home runs, and drive in nine runs. (3:36). The mens slow pitch softball list is less extensive but does feature some big-time players who have dominated the sport over the years. There are so many reasons why I love baseball - I played from a young age through college and it's my favorite sport to watch so I've always followed it very closely. Finchs media presence, her appearance on the cover of the Sports Illustrated, and even her performance at the MLB All-Star game striking out Albert Pujols. Those accolades alone were enough to get her inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, but she is also ranked in the top 10 in six statistical categories all-time at UCLA. Key players: Jocelyn Forest, Candace Harper. Arizona may have set the NCAA single-season record with 126 home runs and featured five first-team All-Americans, but no star shined brighter than right-handed pitcher Jennie Finch, who quickly became as famous as any softball player ever has been. Oklahoma authored one of the great moments in Women's College World Series history in Game 1 of the championship series against Tennessee. Florida's season wasn't without adversity. Two Olympic gold medals, three Pan American Games gold medals, two World Cup gold medals, as well as a National Pro Fastpitch championship with the Akron Racers. All of which is remarkable, considering she already was one of the most dominant pitchers in college softball history by the time she finished at Tennessee. 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