# 2018 NCAA Division I softball season

The 2018 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2018. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2018 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2018 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held annually in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on June 4, 2018.

## Conference standings

2018 American Athletic Conference softball standings :
| 2018 American Athletic Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT South Florida ‍†‍‍$^y$ 14–7 .66739–23 .629 Houston ‍‍‍$^y$ 13–8 .61937–22 .627 UCF ‍‍‍ 12–9 .57134–22 .607 Wichita State ‍‍‍$^y$ 12–9 .57132–23 .582 Memphis ‍‍‍ 10–11 .47637–21 .638 Tulsa ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 10–11 .47634–25 .576 East Carolina ‍‍‍ 8–13 .38123–32 .418 UConn ‍‍‍ 5–16 .23820–35 .364 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 31, 2018 Rankings from USA Today/NFCA Coaches | 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT Atlantic No. 1 Florida State $^x$‍‍‡‍$^y$ 21–3–0 .87558–12–0 .829 Notre Dame ‍‍‍$^y$ 13–10–0 .56534–23–0 .596 Boston College ‍‍‍ 13–10–0 .56530–23–0 .566 Louisville ‍‍‍ 10–12–0 .45533–20–0 .623 Syracuse ‍‍‍ 9–12–0 .42930–20–0 .600 NC State ‍‍‍ 5–18–0 .21723–31–0 .426 Coastal Pittsburgh $^x$‍‍‍ 16–6–0 .72733–18–1 .644 North Carolina ‍‍‍ 15–8–0 .65230–26–0 .536 Georgia Tech ‍‍‍ 13–11–0 .54228–26–0 .519 Duke ‍‍‍ 13–11–0 .54229–27–0 .518 Virginia Tech ‍‍‍ 7–16–0 .30423–30–0 .434 Virginia ‍‍‍ 3–21–0 .12512–41–0 .226 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 13, 2018 Rankings from NFCA/USA Today | 2018 Big 12 Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 Oklahoma ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 18–0 1.00057–5 .919 No. 19 Baylor ‍‍‍$^y$ 12–6 .66738–18 .679 Oklahoma State ‍‍‍$^y$ 12–6 .66739–22 .639 No. 25 Texas ‍‍‍$^y$ 10–8 .55633–26 .559 Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 5–13 .27831–28 .525 Iowa State ‍‍‍ 4–14 .22223–33 .411 Kansas ‍‍‍ 2–16 .11127–25 .519 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from NFCA |
| 2018 Big Ten Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 17 Michigan ‍†‍‍$^y$ 18–3 .85743–11 .796 No. 25 Minnesota ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 17–4 .81036–15 .706 Indiana ‍‍‍ 17–6 .73925–29 .463 Ohio State ‍‍‍$^y$ 14–8 .63634–13 .723 Northwestern ‍‍‍$^y$ 14–8 .63636–16 .692 Illinois ‍‍‍ 13–8 .61936–17 .679 Wisconsin ‍‍‍$^y$ 11–9 .55027–20 .574 Michigan State ‍‍‍ 10–12 .45524–25 .490 Nebraska ‍‍‍ 9–13 .40931–22 .585 Purdue ‍‍‍ 7–15 .31816–39 .291 Maryland ‍‍‍ 7–16 .30418–36 .333 Iowa ‍‍‍ 6–16 .27320–31 .392 Penn State ‍‍‍ 5–18 .2179–41 .180 Rutgers ‍‍‍ 4–16 .20019–31 .380 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 7, 2018 Rankings from NFCA | 2018 Pac-12 Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 6 Oregon ‍†‍‍$^y$ 21–3 .87553–10 .841 No. 3 UCLA ‍‍‍$^y$ 20–4 .83358–7 .892 No. 7 Arizona State ‍‍‍$^y$ 16–8 .66748–13 .787 No. 2 Washington ‍‍‍$^y$ 15–8 .65252–10 .839 No. 11 Arizona ‍‍‍$^y$ 13–11 .54243–16 .729 Oregon State ‍‍‍$^y$ 9–14 .39130–28 .517 California ‍‍‍$^y$ 7–16 .30435–21 .625 Stanford ‍‍‍ 3–21 .12524–31 .436 Utah ‍‍‍ 2–21 .08720–30 .400 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 2018 Rankings from NFCA/USA Today | 2018 Southeastern Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 Florida ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 20–4 .83347–8 .855 No. 8 Georgia ‍‍‍ 16–8 .66743–10 .811 No. 12 South Carolina ‍‍‍ 15–9 .62543–13 .768 No. 7 Tennessee ‍‍‍ 14–10 .58344–11 .800 No. 11 LSU ‍‍‍ 13–10 .56540–13 .755 No. 14 Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 13–11 .54240–15 .727 No. 18 Arkansas ‍‍‍ 12–12 .50037–14 .725 No. 13 Alabama ‍‍‍ 12–12 .50032–17 .653 No. 15 Auburn ‍‍‍ 11–12 .47840–14 .741 No. 19 Kentucky ‍‍‍ 8–15 .34831–18 .633 No. 25 Mississippi State ‍‍‍ 7–17 .29235–20 .636 Ole Miss ‍‍‍ 7–17 .29230–22 .577 Missouri ‍‍‍ 6–17 .26128–27 .509 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of Mar. 25, 2018 Rankings from NFCA |
| 2018 Southland Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Nicholls ‍†‍‍ 21–6–0 .77840–15–0 .727 McNeese State** ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 18–9–0 .66741–21–0 .661 Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍ 18–9–0 .66738–21–0 .644 Stephen F. Austin ‍‍‍ 18–9–0 .66731–24–0 .564 Central Arkansas ‍‍‍ 16–11–0 .59329–27–0 .518 Abilene Christian ‍‍‍ 15–12–0 .55623–26–0 .469 Northwestern State ‍‍‍ 14–13–0 .51928–25–0 .528 Sam Houston State ‍‍‍ 13–14–0 .48124–33–0 .421 Lamar ‍‍‍ 11–16–0 .40727–28–0 .491 Incarnate Word ‍‍‍ 7–20–0 .25915–34–0 .306 Houston Baptist ‍‍‍ 6–21–0 .2229–34–0 .209 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi ‍‍‍ 5–22–0 .18514–37–1 .279 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 19, 2018 Rankings from NFCA | 2018 Sun Belt Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 18 Louisiana ‍†‍‍$^y$ 21–6 .77841–16 .719 No. 25 Texas State ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 18–5 .78343–16 .729 UT Arlington ‍‍‍ 15–11 .57731–27 .534 Georgia State ‍‍‍ 13–12 .52030–25 .545 Troy ‍‍‍ 14–13 .51934–26 .567 South Alabama ‍‍‍ 13–13 .50029–27 .518 Georgia Southern ‍‍‍ 12–15 .44428–25 .528 Louisiana–Monroe ‍‍‍ 10–17 .37024–29 .453 Coastal Carolina ‍‍‍ 9–17 .34626–28 .481 Appalachian State ‍‍‍ 4–20 .16717–35 .327 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of February 27, 2019 Rankings from NFCA |

## National Invitational Softball Championship

Loyola Marymount Lions defeated the UC Riverside Highlanders in the championship; Hannah Bandimere was named MVP for the series.

## Women's College World Series

The 2018 Women's College World Series began on June 1–4 in Oklahoma City.
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | |
| 1 | Oregon | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Arizona State | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Arizona State | 6 | 1 | Oregon | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Washington | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 0 | 5 | Washington | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Washington | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Washington | 2 | | | | 5 | Washington | 3 | — | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Oklahoma | 0 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Arizona State | 0 | | | | | | | | 4 | Oklahoma | 0 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 2 | 2 | Florida | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Oklahoma | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Washington | 0 | 3 | — | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Florida State | 1 | 8 | — | |
| 3 | UCLA | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Florida State | 1 | 8 | — |
| 6 | Florida State | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Florida State | 4 | 3 | UCLA | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Florida | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Florida | 11$^{(5)}$ | 2 | Florida | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Georgia | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Georgia | 3 | | | | 3 | UCLA | 1 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Florida State | 3 | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Florida State | 7 | | | | | | | | 6 | Florida State | 3 | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Georgia | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | Oregon | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Florida State | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Season leaders

Batting
* Batting average: .483 – Holly Speers, Kent State Golden Flashes
* RBIs: 76 – Brook Miko, Towson Tigers
* Home runs: 30 – Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Sooners
Pitching
* Wins: 33-6 – Meghan Beaubien, Michigan Wolverines
* ERA: 0.48 (7 ER/102.1 IP) – Brittany Gray, Georgia Bulldogs
* Strikeouts: 353 – Lindsey Bert, Furman Paladins

## Records

NCAA Division I single game combined strikeouts: 46 – Brianna Jones, Southern Illinois Salukis (20) & Morgan Florey, Evansville Purple Aces (26); April 28, 2018 (16 innings)
Senior class single game walks: 6 – Ivie Drake, Georgia State Panthers; April 18, 2018
Senior class 7 inning single game strikeouts: 21 – Alexis Osorio, Alabama Crimson Tide; March 10, 2018
Freshman class doubles: 29 – Sydney Sherrill, Florida State Seminoles
Freshman class saves: 15 – Taylor Bauman, Florida Gulf Coast Eagles
Team walks: 360 – Florida Gators

## Awards

* USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year:
Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins
* Honda Sports Award Softball:
Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins
* NFCA National Player of the Year:
Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins
* espnW National Player of The Year:
Rachel Garcia, UCLA Bruins
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2018 | 61 | 174 | 29 | 59 | .339 | 54 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 98 | .563% | 23 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 2018 | 29 | 4 | 39 | 27 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 208.0 | 104 | 48 | 39 | 48 | 315 | 1.31 | 0.73 |
* NFCA National Freshman of the Year:
Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Sooners
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2018 | 62 | 174 | 64 | 73 | .445 | 72 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 170 | .977% | 49 | 19 | 4 | 5 |
* NFCA Catcher of the Year:
Gwen Svekis, Oregon
* NFCA Golden Shoe Award:
Cortni Emanuel, Georgia

## All America Teams

The following players were members of the All-American Teams.
First Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Kelly Barnhill | JR. | Florida Gators |
| P | Megan Kleist | JR. | Oregon Ducks |
| P | Giselle Juarez | SO. | Arizona State Sun Devils |
| C | Gwen Svekis | SR. | Oregon Ducks |
| 1B | Alyssa Palomino | SO. | Arizona Wildcats |
| 2B | Aubrey Leach | JR. | Tennessee Lady Vols |
| 3B | Sydney Romero | JR. | Oklahoma Sooners |
| SS | Sis Bates | SO. | Washington Huskies |
| OF | Aaliyah Jordan | FR. | UCLA Bruins |
| OF | Jessie Scroggins | SR. | Baylor Bears |
| OF | Amanda Lorenz | JR. | Florida Gators |
| UT | Rachel Garcia | SO. | UCLA Bruins |
| UT | Jocelyn Alo | FR. | Oklahoma Sooners |
| AT-L | Holly Speers | JR. | Kent State Golden Flashes |
| AT-L | Paige Parker | SR. | Oklahoma Sooners |
| AT-L | Vanessa Shippy | SR. | Oklahoma State Cowgirls |
| AT-L | Meghan Beaubien | FR. | Michigan Wolverines |
| AT-L | Ivie Drake | SR. | Georgia State Panthers |
Second Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Miranda Elish | SO. | Oregon Ducks |
| P | Kylee Hanson | SR. | FSU Seminoles |
| P | Brittany Gray | SR. | Georgia Bulldogs |
| C | Kendyl Lindaman | SO. | Minnesota Golden Gophers |
| 1B | Victoria Vidales | SR. | Texas A&M Aggies |
| 2B | Kylee Perez | SR. | UCLA Bruins |
| 3B | Nicole DeWitt | SR. | Florida Gators |
| SS | Lili Piper | JR. | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| OF | Kaylee Tow | FR. | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| OF | Cortni Emanuel | SR. | Georgia Bulldogs |
| OF | Annie Murphy | SR. | Boston College Eagles |
| UT | Savannah Heebner | JR. | Houston Cougars |
| UT | Taylor Rowland | SO. | Long Beach State 49ers |
| AT-L | Allie Walljasper | SR. | LSU Tigers |
| AT-L | Rachel Lewis | FR. | Northwestern Wildcats |
| AT-L | Jessie Warren | SR. | FSU Seminoles |
| AT-L | Janae Jefferson | FR. | Texas Longhorns |
| AT-L | Taran Alvelo | JR. | Washington Huskies |
Third Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Carly Hoover | SR. | LSU Tigers |
| P | Nicole Newman | JR. | Drake Bulldogs |
| P | Randi Rupp | SR. | Texas State Bobcats |
| C | Libby Sugg | JR. | BYU Cougars |
| 1B | Jessica Hartwell | JR. | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
| 2B | Sydney Sherrill | FR. | FSU Seminoles |
| 3B | Jena Cozza | SR. | UMass Minutewomen |
| SS | Alyssa DiCarlo | JR. | Georgia Bulldogs |
| OF | Kara Shutt | SR. | Elon Phoenix |
| OF | Kate Gordon | SO. | James Madison Dukes |
| OF | Paige Murphy | SR. | Eastern Kentucky Colonels |
| UT | Odicci Alexander | SO. | James Madison Dukes |
| UT | Maddie Roth | JR. | Kennesaw State Owls |
| AT-L | Meghan Gregg | SR. | Tennessee Lady Vols |
| AT-L | Faith Canfield | JR. | Michigan Wolverines |
| AT-L | Gabbie Plain | FR. | Washington Huskies |
| AT-L | Katie Prebble | FR. | Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs |
| AT-L | Jenna Lilley | SR. | Oregon Ducks |