THE 2024 SEASON
UT Tyler softball went on a storybook run in 2024, capping off their year with the NCAA Division II National Championship, their first Division II championship in program history and first Division II title for the entire athletic department.
The Patriots went 46-7 in the regular season and 37-5 in LSC play. That LSC record earned them a share of the LSC Regular Season Championship and a berth in the LSC Tournament. There, the Patriots battled their way to the championship game, but were unable to take down West Texas A&M.
That performance earned the Patriots the number two seed in NCAA South Central Regional, giving them the opportunity to host a portion of the regional tournament. The Patriots won all three games in convincing fashion, including an 8-2 win over Colorado Mesa to punch their ticket to the South Central Super Regionals.
In those super regionals, the Patriots looked the part yet again, sweeping Oklahoma Christian with a pair of three run wins to earn their third straight trip to the Division II World Series.
The closest game of the championship was the first, as the Patriots pulled out a 2-1 win in extra innings over Augustana. That run continued as the Patriots won their next four games, including a sweep of Western Washington in the championship series to take the Division II World Series title.
PRESEASON POLLS
In the preseason edition of the NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 poll, the Patriots were selected as the unanimous no. 1 team in the country after their championship season. They were joined by LSC foes #11 Angelo State, #13 West Texas A&M, and #24 Oklahoma Christian in the top 25.
In the LSC Preseason Poll, the Patriots were also selected number one overall, earning 34 of the possible 43 first place votes. Additionally,
JT Smith was selected as the LSC Preseason Player of the Year while
Primrose Aholelei was named an LSC Pitcher to Watch.
PATRIOTS NOTES AND TRENDS
- UT Tyler will open 2025 at the DII First Pitch Invitational in Conroe, Texas this weekend with five games over the course of three days at the Scrap Yards Sports Complex. The Patriots five opponents over the course of the weekend will include three RMAC opponents, two of which made the NCAA Tournament. The highlighted match-up of the weekend will take place on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. as the Patriots take on #21 Colorado Mesa, who the Patriots took down in the NCAA South Central Region tournament last season.
- Senior JT Smith was named the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year after a season in which she hit .373 with 34 extra base hits, 52 RBI, 66 runs scored, and an on-base percentage of .500.
- UT Tyler softball begins the 21st year of the program with an all-time record of 814-151 (.844) dating back to the inaugural 2005 campaign. The Patriots are 219-33 (.869) in five seasons of Division II play and have gone 134-17 (.887) in Lone Star Conference games over that timeframe.
- The Patriots have won 50-plus games in the last two seasons after going 50-5 back in 2015 and have not registered double-digit losses in a season in 13 straight years.
- UT Tyler has made 13 appearances in an NCAA National Championship Tournament between the Division II and III levels, and have advanced to the NCAA World Series in 10 of those 13 trips.
- Head coach Mike Reed and his staff garnered ATEC/NFCA South Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors for a fourth consecutive season. The honors come in each of the first four complete seasons at the NCAA Division II level. Coach Reed and his staff have been named regional staff of the year by the NFCA on 10 different occasions (2024,2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2009) dating back to the program's inaugural season in 2005.
- UT Tyler softball is 363-45 (.889) all-time on their home field at Irwin Field, and completed the 2024 season with a 26-2 mark at their home ballpark. The Patriots are 102-8 (.927) in home Lone Star Conference games and have never lost more than six games at home in a season.
- UT Tyler led all of Division II softball in 2024 in hit by pitches with 93. The Patriots ranked second in triples (25), sacrifice bunts (74), and sacrifice flies (29).
- JT Smith, Sam Schott, Taryn Barney, Angelique Rangel, Hailey Fannin, and Kaylee Davis mark a group of returners with national championship experience as they will look to lead a host of newcomers back to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.
- Head coach Mike Reed returns for his 21st season at the helm of the program after previously serving for three seasons as the head coach at East Texas Baptist before taking over at UT Tyler. Reed is tied for 1st among all NCAA divisions in career winning percentage (.835), posting a 919-182 career mark through 23 career seasons. He owns the second-highest all-time win percentage among Division III coaches, coaching 18 of his 23 seasons at the Division III level, and is a nine-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, and eight-time NFCA Regional Coach of the Year. He has helped develop 37 All-Americans, 112 all-region and 177 all-conference selections.
