Stanford Cardinal softball

The Stanford Cardinal softball team represents Stanford University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cardinal are currently led by head coach Jessica Allister. The team plays its home games at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium located on the university's campus.^[2] However, due to renovations, the Cardinal played its 2025 home games at Stanford Stadium, the university's on-campus football venue.^[3]

Stanford Cardinal softball
2025 Stanford Cardinal softball team
Founded	1994
University	Stanford University
Athletic director	Bernard Muir
All-time Record	1,088–678–3 (.616)
Head coach	Jessica Allister (8th season)
Conference	ACC
Location	Stanford, California
Home stadium	Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium (Capacity: 1,500)
Nickname	Cardinal
Colors	Cardinal and white[1]
NCAA WCWS appearances
2001, 2004, 2023, 2024
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Regular Season Conference championships
2005

History

Coaching history

Years	Coach	Record	%
1994–1996	Sandy Pearce	44–96	.314
1997–2014	John Rittman	750–351–3	.681
2015–2017	Rachel Hanson	49–104	.320
2018–Present	Jessica Allister	245–127	.659

^[4]

Championships

Conference Championships

Season	Conference	Record	Head coach
2005	Pac-12 Conference	13–8	John Rittman

Coaching staff

Name	Position coached	Consecutive season at Stanford in current position
Jessica Allister	Head coach	5th
Jessica Merchant	Associate head coach	5th
Tori Nyberg	Assistant coach	5th
Caleb Feist	Director of operations	1st
Reference:[5]

Head coaching record

Sources:^[6][7][8]

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Sandy Pearce (Independent) (1994–1994)
1994	Sandy Pearce	5–30
Sandy Pearce (Pac-10 Conference) (1995–1996)
1995	Sandy Pearce	15–37	1–27	8th
1996	Sandy Pearce	24–29	7–19	6th
Sandy Pearce:		44–96 (.314)	8–46 (.148)
John Rittman (Pac-10 Conference) (1997–2011)
1997	John Rittman	31–27–1	10–18	5th
1998	John Rittman	41–18	17–11	3rd	NCAA Regional
1999	John Rittman	40–25	10–18	T–6th	NCAA Regional
2000	John Rittman	45–18	9–12	4th	NCAA Regional
2001	John Rittman	54–16–1	11–10	T–3rd	Women's College World Series (T–3rd)
2002	John Rittman	44–20	7–14	T–6th	NCAA Regional
2003	John Rittman	41–26	7–14	T–6th	NCAA Regional
2004	John Rittman	49–19	13–8	T–2nd	Women's College World Series (T–3rd)
2005	John Rittman	43–16	13–8	T–1st	NCAA Super Regional
2006	John Rittman	42–18	10–11	6th	NCAA Super Regional
2007	John Rittman	35–21–1	7–13–1	6th	NCAA Regional
2008	John Rittman	49–15	11–10	4th	NCAA Super Regional
2009	John Rittman	48–11	13–8	4th	NCAA Super Regional
2010	John Rittman	37–19	8–13	T–6th	NCAA Regional
2011	John Rittman	42–17	10–11	5th	NCAA Super Regional
John Rittman (Pac-12 Conference) (2012–2014)
2012	John Rittman	40–19	11–13	6th	NCAA Regional
2013	John Rittman	39–21	13–11	4th	NCAA Regional
2014	John Rittman	30–25	5–19	8th
John Rittman:		750–351–3 (.681)	185–222–1 (.455)
Rachel Hanson (Pac-12 Conference) (2015–2017)
2015	Rachel Hanson	17–37	2–22	9th
2016	Rachel Hanson	13–35	0–24	9th
2017	Rachel Hanson	19–32	2–22	9th
Rachel Hanson:		49–104 (.320)	4–68 (.056)
Jessica Allister (Pac-12 Conference) (2018–Present)
2018	Jessica Allister	24–31	3–21	8th
2019	Jessica Allister	32–18	8–13	5th	NCAA Regional
2020	Jessica Allister	22–4	0–0	5th	Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Jessica Allister	33–22	9–12	6th	NCAA Regional
2022	Jessica Allister	39–22	11–13	4th	NCAA Super Regional
2023	Jessica Allister	47–15	14–10	T–4th	Women's College World Series (T–3rd)
2024	Jessica Allister	50–17	17–3	2nd	Women's College World Series (T–3rd)
Jessica Allister:		247–129 (.657)	62–62 (.500)
Total:		1,090–680–3 (.616)
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

Notable players

National awards

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

• Ashley Hansen (2011)
• NiJaree Canady (2024)

Softball America Pitcher of the Year

• NiJaree Canady (2024)

NFCA National Pitcher of the Year

• NiJaree Canady (2024)

NFCA National Freshman of the Year

• NiJaree Canady (2023)

Softball America Freshman of the Year

• NiJaree Canady (2023)

Conference awards

Pac-12 Player of the Year

• Jessica Mendoza (2000)
• Ashley Hansen (2011)

Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year

• NiJaree Canady (2024)

Pac-12 Freshman of the Year

• Jessica Mendoza (1999)
• Ashley Hansen (2009)
• Kayla Bonstrom (2013)

Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year

• Lauren Lappin (2005, 2006)
• Rosey Neill (2008, 2009, 2010)
• Ashley Hansen (2012)

Pac-12 Coach of the Year

• John Rittman (2001, 2004)
• Jessica Allister (2019)