# Sam Houston Bearkats softball

The Sam Houston Bearkats softball team represents Sam Houston State University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in Conference USA. The Bearkats are currently led by head coach Garrett Valis. The team plays its home games at the Bearkat Softball Complex located on the university's campus.

## History
### Early history (1980–1990)

Sam Houston softball first began in 1980. The team was immediately successful as it saw a 19-5 record in its very first season. In only its second season, the team captured its first of three national titles in the 1981 NAIA national softball championship with a 1-0 victory over the Emporia State Lady Hornets. Beginning with the 1982 season, the Bearkats moved up to NCAA Division II but saw no signs of slowing down as they earned three straight DII College World Series berths, with another national title in 1982. Following their third consecutive WCWS season in 1983, SHSU softball continued to win, and reached DII regionals the next two years. In 1987, the team failed to make a regional appearance despite a successful 34-26 campaign. This was the first season the softball team did not reach the playoffs since the team's first year. In the 1988 season, the Bearkats were invited to play in the Southland Conference, where the softball team reached the conference tournament in the next three years, including two conference championship seasons.

### Rebuilding (1991–2001)

Throughout the early part of the '90s the softball team continued to be a force, earning at least a top 2 conference finish through the 1993 season. In 1993, Sam Houston would win the last of its three claimed national titles, winning the Women's NIT softball tournament. After this successful season, however, the program would begin its run of mediocrity and never saw a top 4 conference finish again until current head coach Bob Brock took over in 2002.

### The Bob Brock era (2002–present)

Bearkat Softball had never seen as much stability in the head coach position as it has since 2002, as Bob Brock is still the most tenured coach in Sam Houston's history. In Bob Brock's 14 seasons, he coached the softball team to 9 Southland Tournament berths. The 2012 season was his most successful as the Bearkats lost a thriller to Northwestern State in the conference title game.

## Year-by-year results

| Year | Head coach | Collegiate Record | Conference Record | Notes |
| Independent (Lone Star Conference in Other Sports) |||||
| 1980 | Wayne Daigle | 19–5 | – | |
| 1981 | Wayne Daigle | 32–11 | – | NAIA Women's College World Series Champions |
| 1982 | Wayne Daigle | 40–6 | – | Division II Women's College World Series Champions |
| 1983 | Wayne Daigle | 43–17 | – | NCAA Division II Women's College World Series (2nd Place) |
| Gulf Star Conference - NCAA Division II |||||
| 1984 | Brenda Marshall | 32–22 | 0–0 | |
| 1985 | Brenda Marshall | 37–11 | 10–4 | NCAA Division II Regionals |
| 1986 | Brenda Marshall | 39–16 | 14–6 | NCAA Division II Regionals |
| Gulf Star Conference - Begin NCAA DI Play |||||
| 1987 | Kalum Haack | 34–26 | 13–7 |
| Southland Conference |||||
| 1988 | Annie Westfall | 49-17 | 13–1 | Conference Regular Season Champions SLC Tournament Champion |
| 1989 | Annie Westfall | 37–20 | 9–3 | 2nd, Conference Regular Season, SLC Tournament, 3rd Place National NIT (8th place) |
| 1990 | Annie Westfall | 25–34 | 9–3 | Conference Regular Season Champions SLC Tournament, 3rd Place |
| 1991 | Marty Blowers | 37–23 | 18–6 | 2nd, Conference Regular Season |
| 1992 | Marty Blowers | 41–21 | 18–10 | 2nd Conference Regular Season (T) |
| 1993 | Marty Blowers | 39–15 | 24–4 | Conference Regular Season Champions National NIT Champions |
| 1994 | Marty Blowers | 18–35–1 | 13–18–1 | 6th Regular Season |
| 1995 | Marty Blowers | 19–33 | 15–17 | 5th Regular Season |
| 1996 | Marty Blowers | 23–25 | 12–12 | 5th Regular Season |
| 1997 | Laniegh Clark | 14–32 | 9–15 | 7th Regular Season |
| 1998 | Laniegh Clark | 14–35 | 4–22 | 10th Regular Season |
| 1999 | John Garris | 18–38 | 6–21 | 10th Regular Season |
| 2000 | John Garris | 18–38 | 4–22 | 9th Regular Season |
| 2001 | John Garris | 20–34 | 2–25 | 10th Regular Season |
| 2002 | Bob Brock | 11–31 | 9–18 | 8th Regular Season |
| 2003 | Bob Brock | 23–33 | 12–15 | 6th Regular Season, SLC Tournament, 3rd Place |
| 2004 | Bob Brock | 29–23 | 17–9 | 3rd Regular Season, SLC Tournament, 3rd Place |
| 2005 | Bob Brock | 29–25 | 19–7 | 2nd Regular Season, SLC Tournament Finalist |
| 2006 | Bob Brock | 18–30 | 11–16 | 7th Regular Season |
| 2007 | Bob Brock | 38–26 | 20–10 | 2nd Regular Season, SLC Tournament Champion NCAA Division I Regional (1 win–2 losses) |
| 2008 | Bob Brock | 30–31 | 15–15 | 7th Regular Season, SLC Tournament, 1st Round |
| 2009 | Bob Brock | 28–26 | 15–14 | 6th Regular Season, SLC Tournament, 3rd Place |
| 2010 | Bob Brock | 21–28 | 13–16 | 9th Regular Season |
| 2011 | Bob Brock | 22–32 | 14–15 | 7th Regular Season |
| 2012 | Bob Brock | 29–21 | 14–6 | 2nd Regular Season, SLC Tournament Finalist |
| 2013 | Bob Brock | 37–34 | 17–10 | 3rd Regular Season, SLC Tournament Finalist |
| 2014 | Bob Brock | 27–27 | 15–11 | 3rd Regular Season, SLC Tournament, 3rd Round |
| 2015 | Bob Brock | 19–28 | 10–15 | 3rd (West) |
| 2016 | Bob Brock | 21–31 | 13–14 | 3rd (West), SLC Tournament, Second Round |
| 2017 | Bob Brock | 24–27 | 14–13 | 2nd (West), SLC Tournament, Second Round |
| 2018 | Bob Brock | 24–33 | 13–14 | 2nd (West), SLC Tournament, Second Round |
| 2019 | Garrett Valis | 35–23 | 22–5 | SLC Regular Season Champions, SLC Tournament Champions, NCAA Regionals |
| 2020 | Garrett Valis | 11–17 | 2–3 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | Garrett Valis | 19–30 | 14–13 | 6th Regular Season, SLC Tournament, Second Round |

## Postseason appearances
### Conference tournaments

Sources:
| Year | Head Coach | Record | % | Notes |
| Southland Conference Tournament Results |||||
| 1988 | Annie Westfall | 4–0 | 1.000 | Tournament Champion |
| 1989 | Annie Westfall | 2–2 | .500 | Semi-Finalist |
| 1990 | Annie Westfall | 2–2 | .500 | Semi-finalist |
| 1991-95 No Conference Tournament |||||
| 2003 | Bob Brock | 2–2 | .500 | 3rd Round |
| 2004 | Bob Brock | 2–2 | .500 | 3rd Round |
| 2005 | Bob Brock | 3–2 | .600 | Finalist |
| 2007 | Bob Brock | 4–1 | .800 | Tournament Champion |
| 2008 | Bob Brock | 0–1 | .000 | 1st Round |
| 2009 | Bob Brock | 2–2 | .500 | 2nd Round |
| 2012 | Bob Brock | 3–2 | .600 | Finalist |
| 2013 | Bob Brock | 5–2 | .714 | Finalist |
| 2014 | Bob Brock | 1–2 | .333 | 2nd Round |
| Total | | 31–20 | .608 | 12 Appearances |

### NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Bearkats have appeared in one NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
| NCAA Division I Tournament Results ||||
| 2007 | First Game Second Game Third Game | Texas A&M Louisiana–Lafayette Texas A&M | L 5–9 W 2–1 (8) L 0–11 |
Source:

### NIT Division I Tournament results

In 1993, the Bearkats appeared in the Division I NIT softball tournament. They won the tournament championship with a record of 3–0.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
| NCAA Division I Tournament Results ||||
| 1993 | First Game Second Game Third Game | DePaul Princeton Chicago–Illinois | W 7–2 W 3–0 W 3–2 |
Source: