James Madison Dukes softball

The James Madison Dukes softball team represents James Madison University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) and plays home games in Veterans Memorial Park. JMU has won six CAA championships, including back-to-back Championships in 2016 and 2017. The Dukes have been to the NCAA Division I softball tournament nine times, hosting Regionals and Super Regionals in 2016. The team's head coach is Loren LaPorte, leading the Dukes to a 197–74 record in six seasons.

James Madison Dukes Softball
University	James Madison University
Head coach	Loren LaPorte (7th season)
Conference	Sun Belt
Location	Harrisonburg, VA
Home stadium	Veterans Memorial Park (Capacity: 1,500)
Nickname	Dukes
Colors	Purple and gold^[1]
NCAA WCWS appearances
2021
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2016, 2019, 2021
NCAA Tournament appearances
2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021
Regular Season Conference championships
2009, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021

Coaching history

Years	Coach	Record	%
2002–2012	Katie Flynn	283–252	.528
2013–2017	Mickey Dean	187–49	.738
2017–Present	Loren LaPorte	148–34	.813

Season Results

Season	Coach	Record	CAA Record	Notes
2002	Katie Flynn	25–24	5–9
2003	Katie Flynn	19–31	5–3
2004	Katie Flynn	30–32	12–6
2005	Katie Flynn	28–27	8–10
2006	Katie Flynn	24–28	9–12
2007	Katie Flynn	38–16	16–4
2008	Katie Flynn	32–22	16–8
2009	Katie Flynn	35–16	12–8	CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals
2010	Katie Flynn	24–33	11–10
2011	Katie Flynn	29–23	8–11
2012	Katie Flynn	30–26	15–5
2013	Mickey Dean	42–17	18–3	NCAA Regionals
2014	Mickey Dean	45–15	15–3	CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals
2015	Mickey Dean	48–10	19–0	NCAA Regionals
2016	Mickey Dean	50–6	18–1	CAA Champions, NCAA Super Regionals
2017	Mickey Dean	52–8	18–2	CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals
2018	Loren LaPorte	43–14	19–2	NCAA Regionals
2019	Loren LaPorte	51–10	20–1	CAA Champions, NCAA Super Regionals
2020	Loren LaPorte	13–6	0–0	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[2]
2021	Loren LaPorte	41–4	17–1	CAA Champions, Women's College World Series

2021 Season

After a dominant performance in the regular season, the Dukes entered the postseason with a 34–1 record. In the CAA tournament, the Dukes beat Delaware for their sixth conference title and were rewarded with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA softball tournament.

The Dukes advanced to the Super Regionals after beating #9 Tennessee^[3] and #25 Liberty twice in the Knoxville Regional.^[4] They then went on to beat #8 Mizzou on the road in the best-of-three series in Columbia, Missouri.^[5]

After punching their ticket to the Women's College World Series (WCWS) for the first time, the James Madison Dukes advanced to the WCWS semifinals after beating #1 Oklahoma 4–3 in eight innings^[6] and #5 Oklahoma State 2–1^[7] in the first and second rounds of the tournament. In doing so, they became the first-ever unseeded team to start 2–0 in the WCWS and reach the semifinal games. Their historic run came to a close just short of the finals, falling to eventual champions #1 Oklahoma twice.

Championships

Conference Championships

Season	Conference	Record	Head Coach
2009	Colonial Athletic Association	35–16	Katie Flynn
2014	Colonial Athletic Association	45–15	Mickey Dean
2016	Colonial Athletic Association	50–6	Mickey Dean
2017	Colonial Athletic Association	52–8	Mickey Dean
2019	Colonial Athletic Association	51–10	Loren LaPorte
2021	Colonial Athletic Association	41–4	Loren LaPorte

Notable players

National awards

NFCA National Player of the Year

• Megan Good (2017)^[8]

Softball America Pitcher of the Year

• Odicci Alexander (2021)^[9]

D1 Softball's Woman of the Year

• Odicci Alexander (2021)^[10]

All-Americans

• 2014: Jailyn Ford (2nd team)
• 2015: Megan Good (2nd team)
• 2015: Jailyn Ford (3rd team)
• 2016: Jailyn Ford (1st team)
• 2016: Megan Good (1st team)
• 2017: Megan Good (1st team)
• 2018: Megan Good (1st team)
• 2018: Odicci Alexander (3rd team)
• 2018: Kate Gordon (3rd team)
• 2019: Odicci Alexander (3rd team)
• 2019: Megan Good (3rd team)
• 2019: Kate Gordon (3rd team)
• 2021: Odicci Alexander (2nd team)

Coaching Staff Awards

• NFCA Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year (2021)^[11]
• NFCA Northeast Coaching Staff of the Year (2021)^[12]

References

1. "JMU Athletics Identity Guide" (PDF). January 3, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
2. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. 2020-03-12. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
3. Shiers, Mike. "JMU Softball beats Tennessee 3-1; Advances to Regional Final". www.nbc29.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
4. News-Record, AL LESAR Special to The Daily. "JMU Downs Liberty To Win Knoxville Regional". Daily News-Record. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
5. "OKC BOUND! JMU Beats Mizzou to Reach First Women's College World Series". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
6. "James Madison shocks No. 1 seed OU in WCWS". ESPN.com. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
7. "JMU wins another WCWS shocker, stuns Okla. St". ESPN.com. 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
8. "NFCA | National Fastpitch Coaches Association". nfca.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
9. "2021 NCAA Pitcher Of The Year: Odicci Alexander". Softball America. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
10. "D1 Woman of the Year: Odicci Alexander". D1Softball. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
11. "College softball: JMU's historic run captures 2021 NFCA DI national coaching staff of the year honors | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
12. "JMU Staff Named NFCA Northeast Coaching Staff of the Year". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-09-05.