2016 NCAA Division I softball season

The 2016 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 2016. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2016 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2016 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 in June 2016.

2016 NCAA Division I softball season
Defending Champions	Florida
Tournament
Women's College World Series
Champions	Oklahoma (3rd title)
Runners-up	Auburn (2nd WCWS Appearance)
Winning Coach	Patty Gasso (3rd title)
WCWS MOP	Paige Parker (Oklahoma)
Seasons

Conference standings

2016 American Athletic Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 25 South Florida  ‍†‍‍y 15 – 3   .833 45 – 16   .738 UCF  ‍‍‍y 12 – 4   .750 38 – 22   .633 Tulsa  ‍‍‡‍y 9 – 9   .500 35 – 21   .625 Houston  ‍‍‍ 9 – 9   .500 27 – 29   .482 Memphis  ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 26 – 31   .456 East Carolina  ‍‍‍ 5 – 13   .278 23 – 31   .426 UConn  ‍‍‍ 4 – 12   .250 19 – 33   .365 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 23, 2016[1] Rankings from Today/NFCA Coaches	2016 Big 12 Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Oklahoma ‍†‍‍y 17 – 1   .944 57 – 8   .877 No. 21 Baylor ‍‍‍y 13 – 4   .765 45 – 14   .763 Texas ‍‍‍y 10 – 7   .588 38 – 16   .704 Kansas ‍‍‍ 8 – 9   .471 31 – 20   .608 Oklahoma State ‍‍‍y 6 – 11   .353 32 – 26   .552 Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 6 – 12   .333 23 – 32   .418 Iowa State ‍‍‍ 1 – 17   .056 20 – 35   .364 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from NFCA [2]	2016 Big East Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT DePaul  ‍†‍‍ 16 – 3   .842 27 – 25   .519 Villanova  ‍‍‍ 14 – 6   .700 32 – 18   .640 St. John's  ‍‍‍ 12 – 7   .632 29 – 20   .592 Butler  ‍‍‡‍y 9 – 7   .563 28 – 24   .538 Creighton  ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 25 – 22   .532 Seton Hall  ‍‍‍ 7 – 12   .368 24 – 30   .444 Providence  ‍‍‍ 6 – 14   .300 21 – 28   .429 Georgetown  ‍‍‍ 3 – 14   .176 9 – 35   .205 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 2016[3] Rankings from NFCA
2016 Big Ten Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Michigan  ‍†‍‍y 21 – 2   .913 52 – 7   .881 No. 20 Minnesota  ‍‍‡‍y 19 – 3   .864 43 – 14   .754 Northwestern  ‍‍‍y 15 – 8   .652 27 – 28   .491 Penn State  ‍‍‍ 14 – 9   .609 30 – 24   .556 Nebraska  ‍‍‍y 13 – 9   .591 35 – 21   .625 Ohio State  ‍‍‍y 13 – 9   .591 34 – 20   .630 Illinois  ‍‍‍y 12 – 11   .522 36 – 23   .610 Wisconsin  ‍‍‍ 11 – 11   .500 28 – 24   .538 Indiana  ‍‍‍ 10 – 13   .435 29 – 25   .537 Michigan State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 15   .348 27 – 28   .491 Purdue  ‍‍‍ 8 – 15   .348 27 – 28   .491 Rutgers  ‍‍‍ 8 – 15   .348 24 – 33   .421 Maryland  ‍‍‍ 4 – 19   .174 12 – 40   .231 Iowa  ‍‍‍ 3 – 20   .130 13 – 39   .250 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 6, 2016[4] Rankings from NFCA	2016 Colonial Athletic Association softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT #8 James Madison ‍†‍‡‍y 18 – 1 – 0   .947 50 – 6 – 0   .893 Towson  ‍‍‍ 11 – 8 – 0   .579 37 – 17 – 0   .685 College of Charleston  ‍‍‍ 11 – 9 – 0   .550 35 – 23 – 0   .603 Elon  ‍‍‍ 9 – 8 – 0   .529 26 – 25 – 0   .510 Delaware  ‍‍‍ 9 – 9 – 0   .500 30 – 21 – 0   .588 UNC Wilmington  ‍‍‍ 8 – 10 – 0   .444 29 – 21 – 0   .580 Hofstra  ‍‍‍ 8 – 10 – 0   .444 24 – 22 – 0   .522 Drexel  ‍‍‍ 0 – 19 – 0   .000 20 – 35 – 0   .364 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion As of May 24, 2016[5] Rankings from USA Today/NFCA Coaches	2016 Ohio Valley Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Jacksonville State ‡  ‍‍‍ 26 – 0   1.000 43 – 17   .717 Eastern Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 17 – 8   .680 37 – 17   .685 Eastern Illinois  ‍‍‍ 17 – 8   .680 25 – 28   .472 SIU Edwardsville  ‍‍‍ 15 – 11   .577 28 – 26   .519 Tennessee–Martin  ‍‍‍ 14 – 13   .519 30 – 26   .536 Tennessee Tech  ‍‍‍ 14 – 13   .519 23 – 33   .411 Morehead State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 11   .500 26 – 27   .491 Murray State  ‍‍‍ 12 – 14   .462 14 – 31   .311 Belmont  ‍‍‍ 11 – 16   .407 19 – 35   .352 SE Missouri State  ‍‍‍ 10 – 17   .370 16 – 33   .327 Austin Peay  ‍‍‍ 5 – 22   .185 9 – 387   .023 Tennessee State  ‍‍‍ 3 – 22   .120 10 – 45   .182 ‡ – OVC Tournament champion As of May 9, 2016[6] Rankings from USA Today/NFCA Coaches
2016 Southeastern Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Florida ‍‍‍ 20 – 4   .833 52 – 4   .929 No. 12 Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 17 – 7   .708 43 – 11   .796 No. 10 Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 16 – 7   .696 40 – 13   .755 No. 6 Auburn  ‍‍‡‍ 16 – 7   .696 46 – 9   .836 No. 4 Alabama  ‍‍‍ 16 – 8   .667 45 – 11   .804 No. 16 Missouri  ‍‍‍ 14 – 10   .583 39 – 13   .750 No. 13 LSU  ‍‍‍ 13 – 11   .542 42 – 14   .750 No. 15 Georgia  ‍‍‍ 12 – 12   .500 40 – 16   .714 Ole Miss  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13   .458 38 – 19   .667 No. 17 Texas A&M  ‍‍‍ 9 – 15   .375 37 – 17   .685 South Carolina  ‍‍‍ 7 – 17   .292 35 – 20   .636 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍ 3 – 21   .125 25 – 30   .455 Arkansas  ‍‍‍ 1 – 23   .042 17 – 39   .304 ‡ – Tournament champion As of May 8, 2016[7] Rankings from NFCA	2016 Southland Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Division McNeese State **  x‍‍‡‍y 23 – 4   .852 42 – 12   .778 Nicholls  ‍‍‍ 21 – 5   .808 39 – 17   .696 Lamar  ‍‍‍ 18 – 9   .667 35 – 22   .614 Central Arkansas  ‍‍‍ 16 – 11   .593 35 – 22   .614 Northwestern State  ‍‍‍ 10 – 17   .370 27 – 25   .519 Southeastern Louisiana  ‍‍‍ 6 – 21   .222 23 – 32   .418 West Division Abilene Christian * x‍‍‍ 19 – 8   .704 26 – 21   .553 Stephen F. Austin  ‍‍‍ 13 – 13   .500 28 – 29   .491 Sam Houston  ‍‍‍ 13 – 14   .481 21 – 33   .389 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi  ‍‍‍ 7 – 19   .269 18 – 30   .375 Houston Baptist  ‍‍‍ 7 – 19   .269 15 – 29   .341 Incarnate Word *  ‍‍‍ 7 – 20   .259 18 – 34   .346 ‡ – SLC Tournament Champion *ineligible for postseason play due to Div. I transition **Southland Tournament #1 seed champion As of May 13, 2016[8] Rankings from USA Today/NFCA Coaches	2016 Sun Belt Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 12 Louisiana–Lafayette  ‍†‍‡‍y 21 – 2   .913 46 – 9   .836 South Alabama  ‍‍‍ 17 – 6   .739 33 – 18   .647 Texas State ‍‍‍y 15 – 9   .625 40 – 22   .645 Georgia State  ‍‍‍ 13 – 11   .542 33 – 28   .541 Georgia Southern  ‍‍‍ 13 – 11   .542 30 – 27   .526 Troy  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13   .458 31 – 25   .554 UT Arlington  ‍‍‍ 8 – 16   .333 29 – 20   .592 Louisiana–Monroe  ‍‍‍ 7 – 17   .292 24 – 34   .414 Appalachian State  ‍‍‍ 2 – 22   .083 11 – 45   .196 ‡ – Tournament champion As of March 18, 2019[9] Rankings from NFCA
2016 West Coast Conference softball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT BYU  ‍†‍‍y 11 – 2 – 0   .846 36 – 20 – 0   .643 Loyola Marymount  ‍‍‍ 10 – 5 – 0   .667 32 – 21 – 0   .604 San Diego  ‍‍‍ 7 – 6 – 0   .538 21 – 28 – 0   .429 Saint Mary's  ‍‍‍ 6 – 7 – 0   .462 19 – 26 – 1   .424 Santa Clara  ‍‍‍ 4 – 9 – 0   .308 9 – 40 – 0   .184 Pacific  ‍‍‍ 3 – 12 – 0   .200 20 – 28 – 0   .417 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 17, 2016[10] Rankings from USA Today/NFCA Coaches

Women's College World Series

The 2016 Women's College World Series began on June 2–8 in Oklahoma City.^[11]

	First round					Second round					Semifinals						Finals
	16	Georgia	5
	8	Florida State	4
						16	Georgia	3
						4	Auburn	4
	4	Auburn	10
	12	UCLA	3
											4	Auburn	8(8)	—
											8	Florida State	7	—
	8	Florida State	8
	12	UCLA	4
						2	Michigan	0
						8	Florida State	1
																	4	Auburn	2	11(8)	1
																	3	Oklahoma	3	7	2
	3	Oklahoma	3(8)
	6	Alabama	0
						3	Oklahoma	7
						2	Michigan	5
	2	Michigan	2
	10	LSU	0
											3	Oklahoma	7	—
											10	LSU	3	—
	6	Alabama	4
	10	LSU	6
						16	Georgia	1
						10	LSU	4

Season leaders

Batting

• Batting average: .504 – Danielle Smith, Coppin State Eagles
• RBIs: 87 – Tina Iosefa, Georgia Bulldogs
• Home runs: 23 – Tina Iosefa, Georgia Bulldogs & Morgan Noad, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Pitching

• Wins: 38-3 – Paige Parker, Oklahoma Sooners
• ERA: 0.76 (24 ER/221.0 IP) – Kylee Hanson, Florida Atlantic Owls
• Strikeouts: 336 – Savannah Jo Dorsey, Ohio Bobcats & Sara Groenewegen, Minnesota Golden Gophers

Records

NCAA Division I single game intentional walks: 5 – Darian Tautalafua, Long Beach State 49ers; May 8, 2016^[12]

NCAA Division I single game total bases: 17 – Carli Kayler, Troy Trojans; March 19, 2016

Freshman class hits: 104 – Tatyana Forbes, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Awards

• USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year:

Sierra Romero, Michigan Wolverines^[13]

• NFCA National Player of the Year:

Sierra Romero, Michigan Wolverines^[14]

• Honda Sports Award Softball:

Sierra Romero, Michigan Wolverines^[15]

YEAR	G	AB	R	H	BA	RBI	HR	3B	2B	TB	SLG	BB	SO	SB	SBA
2016	59	162	76	73	.450	79	19	1	11	143	.882%	52	12	15	17

• espnW National Player of the Year:

Kasey Cooper, Auburn Tigers^[16]

YEAR	G	AB	R	H	BA	RBI	HR	3B	2B	TB	SLG	BB	SO	SB	SBA
2016	70	187	69	79	.422	83	21	1	19	163	.871%	71	15	6	7

• NFCA National Freshman of the Year:

Amanda Lorenz, Florida Gators^[17]

YEAR	G	AB	R	H	BA	RBI	HR	3B	2B	TB	SLG	BB	SO	SB	SBA
2016	63	181	56	73	.403	48	8	1	14	113	.624%	48	19	10	12

• NFCA Catcher of the Year:

Lexie Elkins, Louisiana^[18]

• NFCA Golden Shoe Award:

Katie Lacour, Southeastern Louisiana^[19]

All America Teams

The following players were members of the All-American Teams.^[20]

First Team

Position	Player	Class	School
P	Delanie Gourley	JR.	Florida Gators
	Paige Parker	SO.	Oklahoma Sooners
	Megan Good	SO.	James Madison Dukes
C	Lexie Elkins	SR.	ULL Ragin' Cajuns
1B	Tera Blanco	SO.	Michigan Wolverines
2B	Sierra Romero	SR.	Michigan Wolverines
3B	Kasey Cooper	JR.	Auburn Tigers
SS	Kristen Brown	SR.	North Carolina Tar Heels
OF	Haylie McCleney	SR.	Alabama Crimson Tide
	Emily Crane	SR.	Missouri Tigers
	Koral Costa	SR.	Oregon Ducks
UT	Jailyn Ford	SR.	James Madison Dukes
	Kimberlee Souza	SR.	Washington Huskies
AT-L	Sierra Lawrence	SR.	Michigan Wolverines
	Aleshia Ocasio	SO.	Florida Gators
	Sara Groenewegen	JR.	Minnesota Golden Gophers
	Kelsey Nunley	SR.	Kentucky Wildcats
	Marjani Knighten	JR.	Nebraska Cornhuskers

Second Team

Position	Player	Class	School
P	Kylee Hanson	JR.	FAU Owls
	Megan Betsa	JR.	Michigan Wolverines
	Alex Stewart	JR.	ULL Ragin' Cajuns
C	Erika Piancastelli	SO.	McNeese State Cowgirls
1B	Alex Powers	JR.	FSU Seminoles
2B	Emily Carosone	SR.	Auburn Tigers
3B	Mysha Sataraka	SR.	UCLA Bruins
SS	Delaney Spaulding	JR.	UCLA Bruins
OF	Aleah Craighton	SO.	ULL Ragin' Cajuns
	Erin Miller	SR.	Oklahoma Sooners
	Lindsey Stephens	SR.	Texas Longhorns
UT	Erica Nunn	SR.	USF Bulls
	Kayli Kvistad	SO.	Florida Gators
AT-L	Sydney Littlejohn	JR.	Alabama Crimson Tide
	Nikki Udria	JR.	Oregon Ducks
	Shay Knighten	FR.	Oklahoma Sooners
	Leona Lafaele	SR.	Alabama Crimson Tide
	Ali Aguilar	JR.	Washington Huskies

Third Team

Position	Player	Class	School
P	Cheridan Hawkins	SR.	Oregon Ducks
	Jessica Burroughs	JR.	FSU Seminoles
	Nisa Ontiveros	SR.	California Golden Bears
C	Emily Naegele	SR.	Northern Illinois Huskies
1B	Jade Rhodes	SR.	Auburn Tigers
2B	Hannah Flippen	JR.	Utah Utes
3B	Bianka Bell	SR.	LSU Tigers
SS	Sami Fagan	SR.	Missouri Tigers
OF	Amanda Lorenz	FR.	Florida Gators
	Karley Wester	JR.	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
	Allexis Bennett	SR.	UCLA Bruins
UT	Rainey Gaffin	SR.	Tennessee Lady Vols
	Cammi Prantl	SR.	Ohio State Buckeyes
AT-L	Tina Iosefa	SR.	Georgia Bulldogs
	Vanessa Shippy	SO.	Oklahoma State Cowgirls
	Jessica Warren	SO.	FSU Seminoles
	Victoria Vidales	SO.	Texas A&M Aggies
	Sahvanna Jaquish	JR.	LSU Tigers
	Kiki Stokes	SR.	Nebraska Cornhuskers
	Taylor Glover	JR.	CSUN Matadors