# Central Arkansas Sugar Bears softball

The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears softball team represents the University of Central Arkansas, located in Conway, Arkansas. The Sugar Bears are a member of the ASUN Conference and participate in NCAA Division I college softball. The team is currently led by head coach Jenny Parsons and plays home games at Farris Field.

## History

The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears inaugural softball season was in 1996. From 1996 to 2006, the Sugar Bears competed in the Gulf South Conference at the NCAA Division II level. In 2007, the university moved to NCAA Division I play with the university's move to the Southland Conference. Three coaches have led the Sugar Bears. Natalie Shock coached the team in all but the final year of the Division II period as well as the second year at the Division I level. The team compiled and overall record of 207–296 and a conference record of 109–127 during Shock's eleven-year tenure. Steve Kissel coached the Sugar Bears for their last year in the Gulf South Conference and their first year as a Southland Conference member. His teams compiled an overall record of 28–76 and 15–48 record in conference play. David Kuhn, the Sugar Bears current head coach, has led the team for seven seasons. As of the conclusion of the 2015 season, the team has compiled a 209–189 overall record and a 95–88 record in conference play.
In 2015, the Sugar Bears won their first conference tournament championship and received the Southland Conference auto-bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I softball tournament. The team competed in their first NCAA tournament at the Norman Regional.

## Year-by-year results

Source:
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Notes |
| Season | Conference | Coach | Games | Win | Loss | Tie | Games | Win | Loss | Tie | Notes |
| NCAA Year-by-Year Results ||||||||||||
| 1996 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3rd (West) |
| 1997 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 39 | 12 | 27 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 4th (West) |
| 1998 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 48 | 20 | 28 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3rd (West) |
| 1999 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 45 | 26 | 19 | 0 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 3rd (West) |
| 2000 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 50 | 29 | 21 | 0 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 3rd (West) |
| 2001 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 52 | 21 | 31 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 4th (West) |
| 2002 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 57 | 26 | 31 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 4th (West) |
| 2003 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 44 | 17 | 27 | 0 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 4th (West) |
| 2004 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 44 | 17 | 27 | 0 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 5th (West) |
| 2005 | Gulf South | Natalie Shock | 47 | 19 | 28 | 0 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 5th (West) |
| 2006 | Gulf South | Steve Kissel | 56 | 12 | 34 | 0 | 33 | 9 | 24 | 0 | 7th (West) |
| Team Overall – Division II | | | 500 | 213 | 287 | 0 | 240 | 114 | 126 | 0 | |
| 2007 | Southland | Steve Kissel | 58 | 16 | 42 | 0 | 30 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 10th |
| 2008 | Southland | Natalie Shock | 49 | 6 | 43 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 11th |
| 2009 | Southland | David Kuhn | 55 | 24 | 31 | 0 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 7th |
| 2010 | Southland | David Kuhn | 56 | 25 | 31 | 0 | 29 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 8th |
| 2011 | Southland | David Kuhn | 56 | 26 | 30 | 0 | 30 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 8th |
| 2012 | Southland | David Kuhn | 58 | 36 | 32 | 0 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 3rd |
| 2013 | Southland | David Kuhn | 58 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 4th |
| 2014 | Southland | David Kuhn | 59 | 25 | 34 | 0 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 6th |
| 2015 | Southland | David Kuhn | 56 | 35 | 21 | 0 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 3rd (East) SLC Tournament Champion NCAA Tournament, 1st Round |
| 2016 | Southland | David Kuhn | 57 | 35 | 22 | 0 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 4th (East) |
| 2017 | Southland | David Kuhn | 59 | 25 | 34 | 0 | 27 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 4th (East) |
| 2018 | Southland | David Kuhn | 56 | 29 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 4th (East) |
| 2019 | Southland | David Kuhn | 54 | 26 | 28 | 0 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 8th |
| 2020 | Southland | David Kuhn | 27 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | Southland | David Kuhn | 56 | 37 | 19 | 0 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 2nd |
| 2022 | ASUN | Jenny Parsons | 58 | 37 | 21 | 0 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 1st (West) |
| 2023 | ASUN | Jenny Parsons | 57 | 45 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1st ASUN Tournament Champs[[2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament NCAA Tournament Regional]] |
| 2024 | ASUN | Jenny Parsons | 54 | 26 | 27 | 1 | 23 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 3rd |
| 2025 | ASUN | Jenny Parsons | | | | | | | | | |
| Team Overall – Division I | | | 810 | 366 | 444 | 0 | 380 | 183 | 197 | 0 | |
| Team Overall – Program History | | | 1,310 | 579 | 731 | 0 | 620 | 297 | 323 | 0 | |

## Post season appearances
### Conference Tournaments

Sources:
| Year | Conference | Record | % | Notes |
| Conference softball tournament Results |||||
| 2012 | Southland | 0–2 | .000 | |
| 2013 | Southland | 2–2 | .500 | |
| 2014 | Southland | 1–2 | .333 | |
| 2015 | Southland | 4–0 | 1.000 | Tournament Champion |
| 2016 | Southland | 0-2 | .000 | |
| 2017 | Southland | 2-2 | .500 | |
| 2018 | Southland | 0-1 | .000 | |
| 2019 | Southland | 0-1 | .000 | |
| 2020 | Southland | | | No Tournament - COVID |
| 2021 | Southland | 3-2 | .600 | |
| 2022 | ASUN | 2-2 | .500 | |
| 2023 | ASUN | 5-1 | .833 | Tournament Champion |
| 2024 | ASUN | 2-2 | .500 | |
| Total | | 21–19 | .525 | 12 Appearances |

### NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Sugar Bears have appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their record is 1-4.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
| NCAA Division I Tournament Results ||||
| 2015 | First Game Second Game | Oklahoma Lehigh | L 0–8 L 0–3 |
| 2023 | First Game Second Game Third Game | Middle Tennessee LIU Middle Tennessee | L 0-8 [5] W 15-0 [5] L 0-3 |

## Awards
### NFCA Golden Shoe Award

* Jenna Wildeman (2021)