2021 NCAA Division I softball season
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| 2021 NCAA Division I softball season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duration | February 11 – June 10, 2021 |
| Number of teams | 286 |
| Preseason No. 1 | UCLA |
| Defending Champions | UCLA |
| TV partner/s | ESPN & ESPN+ |
| NCAA Tournament | |
| Duration | May 21 – June 10, 2021 |
| Most conference bids | SEC (12) |
| Women's College World Series | |
| Duration | June 3–10, 2021 |
| Champions | Oklahoma (5th title) |
| Runners-up | Florida State (11th WCWS Appearance) |
| Winning Coach | Patty Gasso (5th title) |
| WCWS MOP | Giselle Juarez (Oklahoma) |
| Seasons | |
The 2021 NCAA Division I Softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2021. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2021 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament was held in Oklahoma City at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, and ended on June 10, 2021.
For 2021 season
- Four schools began transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I on July 1, 2020.
- Bellarmine joined D-I for softball and all other sports as a new member of the ASUN Conference.[1]
- Dixie State[2] and Tarleton State[3] joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
- UC San Diego, already a de facto D-I member in women's water polo and men's volleyball (which do not have D-II championship events) as an associate member of the Big West Conference, moved the rest of its athletic program to the Big West.[4]
- La Salle dropped softball after this season.[5]
- Cal State Bakersfield moved from the WAC to the Big West.
Future moves
The following conference moves for the 2022 season were announced:
- Five schools left the Southland Conference. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin moved to the WAC,[6] and Central Arkansas left for the ASUN.[7]
- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lost three members. Bethune–Cookman[8] and Florida A&M[9] joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and North Carolina A&T went to the Big South Conference.[10]
- The Ohio Valley Conference saw Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State also join the ASUN.[7]
- The Summit League gained St. Thomas from NCAA Division III's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after the reception of a waiver for a direct transition to D-I.[11]
Season outlook
Conference standings
Women's College World Series
| First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Oklahoma | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 4(8) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Oklahoma | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Oklahoma | 8(6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Oklahoma | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Oklahoma | 4 | 6 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Florida State | 8 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Alabama | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Arizona | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Alabama | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Florida State | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Alabama | 0 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Florida State | 2 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Arizona | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Florida State | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Florida State | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season leaders
- Batting average: .495 – Kayla Kowalik, Kentucky Wildcats
- RBIs: 92 – Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners
- Home runs: 34 – Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma
- Wins: 32-5 – Gabbie Plain, Washington Huskies
- ERA: 0.92 (20 ER/151.0 IP) – Courtney Coppersmith, UMBC Retrievers
- Strikeouts: 349 – Montana Fouts, Alabama Crimson Tide
Records
Freshman class RBIs: 92 – Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners[40]
Freshman class slugging percentage: 1.000% – Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners
Team home runs: 161 – Oklahoma Sooners
Team slugging percentage: .777% – Oklahoma Sooners
Team runs scored: 638 – Oklahoma Sooners
Team total bases: 1,279 – Oklahoma Sooners
Awards
- USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year: Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Sooners[41]
- Softball America Player of the Year: Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Sooners[42]
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2021 | 60 | 183 | 71 | 87 | .475 | 89 | 34 | 1 | 12 | 203 | 1.109% | 38 | 16 | 3 | 3 |
- Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Honda Sports Award Softball: Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins[43]
- Honda Sports Award Softball: Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins[44]
- NFCA National Player of the Year: Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins[45]
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2021 | 45 | 120 | 23 | 41 | .341 | 35 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 85 | .708% | 30 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 2021 | 18 | 3 | 29 | 18 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 136.1 | 91 | 35 | 27 | 29 | 183 | 1.39 | 0.88 |
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 2021 | 27 | 4 | 36 | 32 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 213.1 | 143 | 59 | 49 | 49 | 349 | 1.61 | 0.90 |
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 2021 | 18 | 3 | 23 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 143.2 | 80 | 46 | 35 | 45 | 204 | 1.71 | 0.87 |
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2021 | 29 | 82 | 13 | 26 | .317 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 36 | .439% | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
- NFCA National Freshman of the Year: Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners[47]
- Softball America Freshman of the Year: Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma Sooners[48]
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2021 | 60 | 197 | 81 | 91 | .462 | 92 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 197 | 1.000% | 26 | 17 | 2 | 2 |