Clemson Tigers softball
College softball team
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Clemson Tigers softball joined the Atlantic Coast Conference as a Division I varsity program in 2020. In November 2017, former Stanford coach John Rittman was named as Clemson's first head softball coach. Rittman spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at Kansas and USA Softball.[2][3][4][5]
| Clemson Tigers | |
|---|---|
 2026 Clemson Tigers softball team | |
| |
| Founded | 2020 (7 years ago) |
| University | Clemson University |
| Athletic director | Graham Neff |
| Head coach | John Rittman (7th season) |
| Conference | ACC Atlantic Division |
| Location | Clemson, South Carolina, US |
| Home stadium | McWhorter Stadium (capacity: 1,000) |
| Nickname | Tigers |
| Colors | Orange and regalia[1] |
| NCAA super regional appearances | |
| 2022, 2023, 2025 | |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 | |
| Conference tournament championships | |
| 2025 | |
| Regular-season conference championships | |
| 2021 | |
History
Coaching history
| Years | Coach | Record | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–present | John Rittman | 269–97 | .735 |
2020s
The Tigers' first season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers had started 19–8 overall and 5–1 in ACC play before the season was cancelled by Clemson and the ACC.[6][7] The NCAA tournament was also canceled.[8] 2021 was Clemson's first full season as a program and they finished 44–8 overall, with a 29–5 record in ACC play. They won the regular season championship, and made the final of the ACC tournament but fell short in the final, losing to Duke. They could not advance past the Regional in the NCAA Tournament. They were placed in a Regional with SEC champion Alabama and lost both games against the Crimson Tide. The program's success would continue in 2022 as they would finish 14–10 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. Despite their lower seed, they again reached the final of the ACC tournament, but could not overcome Florida State in the Final. They were selected to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament and won three games without allowing a run, to advance to the Super Regional. During the 2023 season, Clemson had its first perfect game in program history. Valerie Cagle recorded the perfect game by retiring all fifteen batters she faced in an 18–0 (5 inning) win over Mercer.[9] The 2024 season, was a down season by Clemson's lofty standards. The team finished with its lowest overall win total in a full season. However, they did keep their streak of NCAA tournament appearances alive, but did not advance past the regional round. in 2025 the Tigers got off to a slow start, but rebounded to finish as runner up during the ACC regular season. They would go on to win the ACC Tournament over Florida State 2–1.[10] They continued their streak of advancing to the NCAA tournament to five straight years. There they advanced out of their regional as host. They won their first Super Regional game in program history over Texas, but could not advance to the College World Series, losing the next two games.
Coaching staff
| Name | Position coached | Consecutive season at Clemson in current position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Rittman | Head coach | 7th | |
| Kyle Jamieson | Associate head coach | 7th | |
| Katie Repole | Assistant coach | 2nd | |
| Ryan Wieligman | Assistant coach | 2nd | |
| Taylor Roby | Director of Player Development | 3rd | |
| Jeannie Murphy | Director of Operations | 7th | |
| Reference:[11] | |||
Year-by-year record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Rittman (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2020–present) | |||||||||
| 2020 | Clemson | 19–8 | 5–1 | 3rd | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | ||||
| 2021 | Clemson | 44–8 | 29–5 | 1st | Tuscaloosa Regional | ||||
| 2022 | Clemson | 42–17 | 14–10 | 5th | Stillwater Super Regional | ||||
| 2023 | Clemson | 49–12 | 18–6 | 3rd | Norman Super Regional | ||||
| 2024 | Clemson | 35–19 | 15–9 | T–4th | Tuscaloosa Regional | ||||
| 2025 | Clemson | 48–14 | 19–5 | 2nd | Austin Super Regional | ||||
| 2026 | Clemson | 32–19 | 13–11 | ||||||
| John Rittman: | 269–97 (.735) | 113–47 (.706) | |||||||
| Total: | 269–97 (.735) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Awards
National awards
- Valerie Cagle (2023)[12]
- Valerie Cagle (2023)[13]
Conference awards
- ACC Player of the Year
- ACC Pitcher of the Year
- Reese Basinger (2025)[16]
- ACC Freshman of the Year
- ACC Coach of the Year
- John Rittman (2021)[14]