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Troy Trojans softball

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Troy Trojans softball
2022 Troy Trojans softball team
Founded1994
UniversityTroy University
Head coachEric Newell (1st season)
ConferenceSun Belt
LocationTroy, AL
Home stadiumTroy Softball Complex (Capacity: 800)
NicknameTrojans
ColorsCardinal, silver, and black[1]
     
NCAA Tournament appearances
1996, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
1996
Regular Season Conference championships
2005

The Troy Trojans softball team represents Troy University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans play their home games at Troy Softball Complex located on the university's campus. The program is one of the Top 50 winningest softball programs in the Division I, and has an overall record of 988–660–4 (.599) as of the end of the 2021 season.

History

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Upon Troy University's athletics moving all sports to the NCAA's Division I in 1993, the Troy softball program was started that same year and officially began their first season in 1994 under head coach Melanie Davis. Under Davis' leadership, the program immediately became a competitive softball program, finishing their first season in Division I with a 40–13 record, including a 4–3 win over an already prominent program in Georgia Tech.[2]

In just Troy's third season of playing softball (1996), the team managed to make history by winning their first ever conference title and receiving a bid to play in an NCAA Regional. The team finished the season with a 47–22–1 record, winning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament title. The Lady Trojans would receive a bid to play in the NCAA Play-In Series versus Southeast Missouri State, where they would sweep the Redhawks by scores of 3–2 and 1–0. The ladies would then receive a bid to play in the NCAA West Regional as the #4 seed. In their first game against Arizona, the Trojans were outmatched, losing 0–8 to the Wildcats. The Trojans were knocked out of the tournament after dropping a heartbreaker in the Regional's elimination game against South Florida, 5–6.[3]

Melanie Davis would resign as head coach of Troy at the end of the 2014 season, compiling a 780–506–4 record. Under Davis' direction, her Trojans defeated many Top 25 teams and other prominent programs, including Florida State, Louisiana, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Michigan, Ole Miss, and Penn State.[4]

In 2015, Beth Mullins was hired as head coach where she led the Trojans to 208 victories in her eight seasons, 30 or more wins in the last three seasons, and a trip to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, a first in 25 years. Mullins abruptly resigned in March 2022 following medical issues.[5] Assistants Taylor Smartt and Holly Ward finished the season at the helm of the program. On June 2, Troy hired Auburn–Montgomery head coach Eric Newell as the program's third head coach. Newell led the Warhawks to three top 5 finishes in the NCAA Division II and 302 victories with the program.[6]

Coaches

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Years Coach Record
1994–2014 Melanie Davis 780–506–4
2015–2022 Beth Mullins 208–150
2022 Taylor Smartt & Holly Ward (interim) 31–21
2023–future Eric Newell

Attendance Records

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NCAA Top 50 Attendance

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Year National Rank Avg. attendance
2021 45th 189
2019 40th 539
2018 38th 575

Highest Game Attendance

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Below is a list of Troy's top single-game attendance records.

Attendance Year Opponent
2,121 2022 Florida State
2,078 2014 Alabama
1,852 2019 Alabama
1,837 2019 Alabama
1,822 2023 Auburn
1,351 2011 Alabama
1,482 2018 Auburn
1,837 2019 Alabama
1,087 2018 Mississippi State
1,067 2019 Maryland
1,025 2008 Alabama

National Award Winners

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Libby Baker – 2024

Facilities

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The place the Trojans call home is the Troy Softball Complex, built in 2002 on the campus of Troy University. In 2014, the entire complex underwent a $3 million renovation project. The official seating capacity was expanded to 800, with 120 of the seats being chairback seating. The Dodds Center was also built in 2014 during the renovation, which is an 8,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility that houses coaches offices, player lounge, locker rooms, athletic training rooms, pitching area, and indoor batting cages.

Troy Softball Complex

Additionally, the natural grass playing surface was replaced and ProGrass artificial turf was installed in the outfield. The press box and coaches offices were completely renovated and modernized. The Troy Softball Complex saw an upgrade to the seating areas and a large patio was installed over the visitor's dugout.[7]

Wins vs. Top 25

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Troy has collected 24 wins versus Top 25 ranked competition during the program's relatively short existence.

All-Time Wins Against Top 25
Year Opponent Score
1996 #13 Florida State 2–1
1998 #21 Florida State 5–0
2001 #17 Florida State 2–1
2002 #20 Florida State 4–2
2003 #3 Nebraska 4–3
2005 #17 Georgia Tech 8–2
2006 #1 Michigan 4–2[8]
2006 #13 Louisiana 3–2
2007 #21 Louisiana 8–5
2012 #21 Auburn 7–1
2012 #8 Louisiana 9–4
2012 #22 Florida State 4–3
2013 #25 Florida State 6–3
2014 #21 South Alabama 1–0
2015 #10 Florida State 6–4
2015 #7 Louisiana 9–5
2015 #22 South Alabama 6–3
2017 #19 Pittsburgh 7–2
2018 #21 Louisiana 2–1
2018 #21 Texas State 4–3
2018 #21 Texas State 1–0
2020 #16 South Carolina 2–1
2022 #25 Ohio State 4–0
2022 #21 LSU 5–4
  • All rankings from NFCA Coaches' Poll

Yearly Results

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Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Troy State (East Coast Conference) (1994–1994)
1994 Melanie Davis 40–13 2–1
Troy State (Mid-Continent Conference) (1995–1997)
1995 Melanie Davis 52–18 8–4 2nd (East)
1996 Melanie Davis 47–22–1 8–4 2nd (East) NCAA Regional
1997 Melanie Davis 31–25–1 5–7 3rd (East)
Troy State (Atlantic Sun Conference) (1998–2005)
1998 Melanie Davis 46–17 13–4 2nd (West)
1999 Melanie Davis 48–23 13–3 1st (West)
2000 Melanie Davis 34–30 8–6 T-3rd
2001 Melanie Davis 38–23 7–7 6th
2002 Melanie Davis 46–20 13–5 2nd
2003 Melanie Davis 39–23 16–6 2nd
2004 Melanie Davis 35–30 15–5 3rd
2005 Melanie Davis 47–21 17–3 1st
Troy (Sun Belt Conference) (2006–Present)
2006 Melanie Davis 31–40 5–10 5th
2007 Melanie Davis 42–20 17–10 3rd
2008 Melanie Davis 33–23 14–10 3rd
2009 Melanie Davis 38–19 15–8 3rd
2010 Melanie Davis 27–29 10–13 6th
2011 Melanie Davis 32–27 11–12 5th
2012 Melanie Davis 31–24 10–14 6th
2013 Melanie Davis 21–32 7–14 4th
2014 Melanie Davis 22–30–2 5–13 7th
Melanie Davis: 780–509–4 219–159
2015 Beth Mullins 32–23 14–9 4th
2016 Beth Mullins 31–25 11–13 6th
2017 Beth Mullins 20–34 8–19 9th
2018 Beth Mullins 34–26 14–13 5th
2019 Beth Mullins 37–20 19–8 2nd
2020 Beth Mullins 17–6 1–2 T-2nd Season Canceled
2021 Beth Mullins 37–17 17–6 3rd NCAA Regional
Beth Mullins: 208–150 87–70
2022 Taylor Smartt
Holly Ward
31–21 15–12 4th
Taylor Smartt & Holly Ward: 31–21 15–12
2023 Eric Newell
Total: 1,003–666–4

      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

Championships

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NCAA Regional Results

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Year Record Regional Results
1996 2–0 NCAA Play-In Series W 3–2 vs. Southeast Missouri State
W 1–0 vs. Southeast Missouri State
1996 0–2 Midwest Regional L 0–8 vs. Arizona
L 5–6 vs. South Florida
2021 0–0 Tuscaloosa Regional L 0–8 vs. Clemson
W 8–0 vs. Alabama State
L 2–4 vs. Clemson
Totals 3–4 2 Appearances

References

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  1. ^ "Trojan 2.0 Best Practices and Style Guide". Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "2018 Troy Softball Media Guide by Troy University Athletics - Issuu".
  3. ^ "2018 Troy Softball Media Guide by Troy University Athletics - Issuu".
  4. ^ "2018 Troy Softball Media Guide by Troy University Athletics - Issuu".
  5. ^ McNelley, Justin. "Beth Mullins resigns as Troy softball coach". wsfa.com. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Troy Tabs Eric Newell to Lead Softball Program". Troy University Athletics. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  7. ^ "The Official Site of Troy Athletics". troytrojans.com.
  8. ^ "Ritter Tosses One-Hitter to Defeat 17th-Ranked Auburn – University of Michigan". University of Michigan Athletics.