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    Clemson Tigers softball

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min
    Clemson Tigers
    2025 Clemson Tigers softball team
    Founded2020 (5 years ago)
    UniversityClemson University
    Head coachJohn Rittman (6th season)
    ConferenceACC
    Atlantic Division
    LocationClemson, SC
    Home stadiumMcWhorter Stadium (Capacity: 1,000)
    NicknameTigers
    ColorsOrange 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

    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]

    History

    [edit]

    Coaching history

    [edit]
    Years Coach Record %
    2020–present John Rittman 237–78 .752

    2020s

    [edit]

    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

    [edit]
    Name Position coached Consecutive season at
    Clemson in current position
    John Rittman Head coach 6th
    Kyle Jamieson Associate head coach 6th
    Katie Repole Assistant coach 1st
    Ryan Wieligman Assistant coach 1st
    Jessie Harper Director of Player Development 3rd
    Jeannie Murphy Director of Operations 6th
    Reference:[11]

    Year-by-year record

    [edit]
    Statistics overview
    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
    John Rittman: 237–78 (.752) 100–36 (.735)
    Total: 237–78 (.752)

          National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
          Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
          Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
          Conference tournament champion

    Awards

    [edit]

    National awards

    [edit]
    USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
    • Valerie Cagle (2023)[12]
    Softball America Player of the Year
    • Valerie Cagle (2023)[13]

    Conference awards

    [edit]
    ACC Player of the Year
    ACC Pitcher of the Year
    • Reese Basinger (2025)[16]
    ACC Freshman of the Year
    • Valerie Cagle (2021)[14]
    • Macey Cintron (2025)[16]
    ACC Coach of the Year
    • John Rittman (2021)[14]

    All-Americans

    [edit]
    • NCFA 1st Team: Valerie Cagle (2022, 2023, 2024)[17][18][19]
    • NCFA 2nd Team: Valerie Cagle (2021)[20]
    • NFCA 3rd Team: Maddie Moore (2024)[19]

    See also

    [edit]
    • List of NCAA Division I softball programs

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ "Clemson Athletics Style Guide". Retrieved November 3, 2018.
    2. ^ "College softball: John Rittman selected as Clemson's first softball coach". NCAA. November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
    3. ^ "Clemson hires former Stanford coach to lead Tigers' program". USA Today. November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
    4. ^ "Clemson hires first-ever softball coach for new program". Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
    5. ^ Mandy Gaither (November 3, 2017). "Clemson University announces first ever softball team". Greenville, South Carolina: WYFF. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
    6. ^ "Clemson online instruction through at least Sunday, April 5; all events suspended". clemson.edu. Clemson University. March 15, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
    7. ^ "ACC Cancels All Athletic Activities Through End of 2019-20 Academic Year". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
    8. ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
    9. ^ Raynor, Grace (March 8, 2023). "Clemson's Valerie Cagle pitches first perfect game in program history". The Athletic. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
    10. ^ Kassim, Ehsan (May 10, 2025). "ACC softball championship recap: Highlights from Clemson's comeback win over Florida State". USA Today. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
    11. ^ "Clemson Softball Staff". ClemsonTigers.com. CLEMSON UNIVERSITY. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
    12. ^ Long, Christina (May 30, 2023). "Clemson's Valerie Cagle named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year". The Greenville News. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
    13. ^ "2023 NCAA Player Of The Year: Clemson's Valerie Cagle". softballamerica.com. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
    14. ^ a b c "ACC Softball Announces 2021 All-Conference Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. May 11, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
    15. ^ "2023 All-ACC Softball Awards Announced". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
    16. ^ a b "ACC Unveils 2025 Softball Awards". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. May 7, 2025. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
    17. ^ "2022 NFCA DI All-Americans released". nfca.org. National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
    18. ^ "2023 NFCA DI All-Americans revealed". nfca.org. National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
    19. ^ a b "2024 All-American Awards". nfca.org. National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
    20. ^ "Valerie Cagle earns All-American honors". Tigernet.com. Clemson University Athletics. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
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