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 David Kuhn and plays home games at Farris Field.
| Central Arkansas Sugar Bears softball | |
|---|---|
 2021 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears softball team | |
 | |
| University | University of Central Arkansas |
| Head coach | David Kuhn (7th season) |
| Conference | ASUN |
| Location | Conway, AR |
| Home stadium | Farris Field (Capacity: 500) |
| Nickname | Sugar Bears |
| Colors | Purple and gray[1] |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2015, 2023 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| Southland 2015 ASUN 2023 | |
History
editThe 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.[2]
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.[3]
Year-by-year results
edit| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall | Conference | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Win | Loss | Tie | Games | Win | Loss | Tie | ||||
| 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 | 52 | 34 | 18 | 0 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 2nd |
| 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
editConference Tournaments
editSources:[6]
| Year | Conference | Record | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference softball tournament Results | ||||
| 2012 | Southland | 0–2 | .000 | |
| 2013 | Southland | 2–2 | .500 | |
| 2014 | Southland | 1–2 | .333 | |
| 2015[7] | Southland | 4–0 | 1.000 | Tournament Champion |
| Total | 7–6 | .538 | 4 Appearances | |
NCAA Division I Tournament results
editThe Sugar Bears have appeared in one NCAA Division I Tournament Their record is 0–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I Tournament Results | |||
| 2015[8] | First Game Second Game |
Oklahoma Lehigh |
L 0–8 L 0–3 |
Awards
edit- Jenna Wildeman (2021)
References
edit- ^ UCA Standards Guide (PDF). September 28, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ a b "Softball Coaching Records". UCA Athletics. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ "UCA falls to Oklahoma in NCAA tournament". THV11, a Gannett Company. May 15, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
The Central Arkansas softball team took the field for its first-ever NCAA Division I Softball Championship game on Friday afternoon, facing off against Norman Regional Host Oklahoma.
[permanent dead link] - ^ "Archived Team-By-Team Final Statistics". NCAA. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- ^ "Softball Coaching Records". University of Central Arkansas Athletic Department. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ^ "Southland Conference 2015 Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. pp. 31–38. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ "2015 Southland Conference softball tournament" (PDF). Southland Conference. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ "2015 NCAA softball tournament Schedule, Results". espnW.com. May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
