The UCF Knights softball program represents the University of Central Florida in the sport of softball. The Knights compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Big 12 Conference. The Knights play their home games at the UCF Softball Complex on UCF's main campus in Orange County, Florida near Orlando.[3] The Knights are coached by head coach Cindy Ball-Malone.[4] In the twenty two year history of the program, the Knights have won three American regular season championships, five conference tournament championships, and have eleven appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
| UCF Knights Softball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2002 |
| University | University of Central Florida |
| Head coach | Cindy Ball-Malone (4th season) |
| Conference | Big 12 |
| Location | Orlando, FL |
| Home stadium | UCF Softball Complex (Capacity: 600[1]) |
| Nickname | UCF Knights |
| Colors | Black and gold[2] |
| NCAA Super Regional appearances | |
| 2022 | |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| 2005, 2008, 2015, 2022, 2023 | |
| Regular Season Conference championships | |
| 2014, 2015, 2022 | |
History
editThe UCF softball program was founded in 2002 under Renee Luers-Gillispie.[5] The Knights played their first games on February 2, losing the first contest 2–3 to Bethune–Cookman, and winning their second game against Arkansas, 6–5.[6] The program played its first four seasons in the Atlantic Sun Conference (now known as the ASUN Conference). In their last year in the conference, the Knights won their first conference tournament championship, defeating Troy twice in one day, and made their first NCAA tournament appearance.[6] In 2005, UCF moved to Conference USA, where they remained until joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013.[7] UCF joined the Big 12 Conference after the 2023 season.[8]
The UCF Softball Complex opened on March 14, 2006, with the Knights winning two games that day, a 10–9 victory over Marshall and a 7–3 win over Furman.[6][9] In 2008, Gillespie would lead the Knights to their second conference tournament championship, their first in C-USA, and their second appearance in the NCAA tournament, by defeating #9 Houston. During the tournament, UCF defeated #1 Florida 1–0. In both 2010 and 2012, Gillespie led the Knights to the NCAA tournament.[6]
In the past decade, the Knights own nine no-hitters, including two perfect games.[6] The first two no-hitters in program history were perfect games, and four no-hitters were pitched by Allison Kime.[6] Stephanie Best holds the club record for batting average with .384, home runs with 71 and triples with 13.[6] After their careers at UCF, three Knights have played in the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF); Stephanie Best, Allison Kime and Breanne Javier.[6]
Coaches
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Seasons
edit| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF Knights (Atlantic Sun) (2002–2005) | |||||||||
| 2002 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 46–19 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2003 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 37–31 | 13–7 | 4th | |||||
| 2004 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 42–21 | 16–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 2005 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 47–29–1 | 13–7 | 4th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| UCF Knights (Conference USA) (2006–2013) | |||||||||
| 2006 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 19–37 | 4–20 | 9th | |||||
| 2007 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 38–26 | 11–13 | 4th | |||||
| 2008 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 49–20 | 16–7 | 2nd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2009 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 27–27 | 11–12 | 5th | |||||
| 2010 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 36–23 | 16–7 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2011 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 22–32 | 11–13 | 6th | |||||
| 2012 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 39–19 | 15–9 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2013 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 29–25 | 10–14 | 3rd | |||||
| UCF Knights (American Athletic Conference) (2014–2023) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 43–18 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2015 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 48–7 | 15–2 | 1st | NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2016 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 38–22 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2017 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 29–23 | 11–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 2018 | Renee Luers-Gillispie | 34–22 | 12–9 | 3rd | |||||
| 2019 | Cindy Ball-Malone | 34–21 | 11–10 | 5th | |||||
| 2020 | Cindy Ball-Malone | 21–5–1 | 0–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2021 | Cindy Ball-Malone | 41–19–1 | 16–7–1 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2022 | Cindy Ball-Malone | 49–14 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2023 | Cindy Ball-Malone | 40–21 | 15–3 | 2nd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| UCF Knights (Big 12 Conference) (2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024 | Cindy Ball-Malone | ||||||||
| Total: | 707–414–3 | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ UCF Softball Complex
- ^ "Colors | University of Central Florida Brand Guide". Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ McMurphy, Brett. "Old Big East now American Athletic". ESPN. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ 2011 UCF Knights Softball Quick Facts Archived 2011-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 2010 UCF Knights Softball Media Guide
- ^ a b c d e f g h UCF Knights Softball History and Records Archived 2011-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ UCF Conference Affiliation History
- ^ "American Announces Agreements With UCF, Cincinnati and Houston on Departure" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- ^ UCF Softball Complex
External links
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