Clemson Tigers softball


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.

History

2020s

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. The NCAA tournament was also canceled. 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 win over. 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. 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.

Awards

National awards

;USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
;Softball America Player of the Year
  • Valerie Cagle

Conference awards

;ACC Player of the Year
  • Valerie Cagle
;ACC Pitcher of the Year
  • Reese Basinger
;ACC Freshman of the Year
;ACC Coach of the Year

All-Americans

  • NCFA 1st Team: Valerie Cagle
  • NCFA 2nd Team: Valerie Cagle
  • NFCA 3rd Team: Maddie Moore