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 United Athletic Conference and participate in NCAA Division I college softball. The team is currently led by head coach Kayla Lucas and plays home games at Farris Field.
History
The 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.
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.
Year-by-year results
Source: SeasonConferenceCoachOverallConferenceNotes Games Win Loss Tie Games Win Loss TieNCAA 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) TeamOverall – 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 ChampionNCAA 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 56 37 19 0 27 21 6 0 2nd2022ASUNJenny Parsons58372102417701st (West)2023ASUNJenny Parsons57451202422201st ASUN Tournament ChampsNCAA Tournament Regional2024ASUNJenny Parsons54262712315713rd2025ASUNJenny Parsons TeamOverall – Division I 810 366 444 0 380 183 197 0 TeamOverall – Program History 1,310 579 731 0 620 297 323 0
Post season appearances
Conference Tournaments Sources: Year Conference Record % NotesConference softball tournament Results 2012 Southland 0–2 .000 2013 Southland 2–2 .500 2014 Southland 1–2 .333 2015 Southland 4–0 1.000 Tournament Champion2016Southland0-2.0002017Southland2-2.5002018Southland0-1.0002019Southland0-1.0002020SouthlandNo Tournament - COVID2021Southland3-2.6002022ASUN2-2.5002023ASUN5-1.833Tournament Champion2024ASUN2-2.500 Total 21–19 .525 12 Appearances
NCAA Division I Tournament results The Sugar Bears have appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their record is 1-4.
Year Round Opponent Result/ScoreNCAA Division I Tournament Results 2015 First GameSecond Game OklahomaLehigh L 0–8L 0–32023First GameSecond GameThird GameMiddle TennesseeLIUMiddle TennesseeL 0-8 W 15-0 L 0-3
Awards NFCA Golden Shoe Award Jenna Wildeman (2021)
References
External links