The Nebraska Cornhuskers softball team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. The team has played at Bowlin Stadium since 2002.

The program was founded in 1976 as a club sport and became an officially sanctioned varsity sport the next year. Nebraska has made twenty-eight appearances in the NCAA Division I tournament with nine Women's College World Series berths. Longtime head coach Rhonda Revelle is the school's leader in career victories across all sports.

History Early success Nebraska's softball program began in 1976 as a club sport and was officially sanctioned as a varsity sport in 1977 in the wake of Title IX. Don Isherwood led the program in its early years but was fired in 1980 as the university wanted a head coach with a college degree. NU hired Nancy Plantz, who led the Cornhuskers to the inaugural NCAA Division I Women's College World Series in 1982 (in its early years the tournament was held in Omaha, longtime host of the College World Series, meaning NU played the WCWS less than fifty miles from its Lincoln campus). Plantz's tenure ended in a disastrous 1983 season that was cut short by the university after player walkouts and a last-place conference finish.

Nebraska was nearly unable to field a team in 1984 before hiring former NAIA Coach of the Year Wayne Daigle to lead the program. Shortstop Denise Day was named the first All-American in program history and led the Cornhuskers to a school record for wins and a return to the WCWS. Daigle's second season saw the breakout of freshman pitcher Lori Sippel, whose no-hitter against Louisiana Tech in the WCWS opener helped Nebraska reach its first title game, where it lost to UCLA. Months later, Nebraska's national runner-up finish was vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions; according to the committee, Daigle allowed a redshirt player to travel with the team and purchased dinner for a recruit and her family. NU was ineligible for postseason play in 1986, which would be Daigle's last season at Nebraska. He resigned and returned to Texas, where he coached high school softball for the remainder of his career.

Athletic director Bob Devaney named pitching coach Ron Wolforth Daigle's successor. Wolforth led Nebraska back to the WCWS in each of his first two seasons, its fourth and fifth appearances in the event's first seven years. Wolforth's teams were less successful in the later years of his tenure and he grew weary of the NCAA's increasingly stringent rules and guidelines. He resigned in 1992 to start a baseball and softball academy in Vancouver.

Rhonda Revelle era Devaney hired former Nebraska pitcher Rhonda Revelle to replace Wolforth in 1993. Revelle inherited a program that hadn't made the NCAA tournament since 1988 but soon returned NU to national relevance. Nebraska did not miss the tournament from 1995 to 2007 and became a fixture in the national top twenty-five. In 1998, Nebraska completed the first undefeated season in Big 12 history and returned to the Women's College World Series – Revelle became the third person to reach the WCWS as a player and a head coach, and the first to do it at the same school. Nebraska won at least fifty games in each of the next three seasons, culminating in another WCWS appearance in 2002. NU's run of twelve consecutive top-twenty-five national finishes ended in 2007, and the following year the program missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994.

NU reached the WCWS in its second season in the Big Ten, the same year Revelle won her 768th game to pass former baseball coach John Sanders for the most victories by any coach at the university. Nebraska won the Big Ten for the first time in 2014. In 2019, Revelle was placed on paid administrative leave after allegations she harassed and emotionally abused players, but was reinstated after investigation without further punishment. Revelle won her 1,000th game at Nebraska in 2021. Revelle won her 1,200th game during a weekend series sweep over Rutgers in April 2026.

Conference affiliations Big Eight Conference (1977–1995) Big 12 Conference (1996–2011) Big Ten Conference (2012–present)

Coaches Coaching history

1 Don Isherwood 1976–1980 106–85 16–24 2 Nancy Plantz 1981–1983 77–53 17–16 3 Wayne Daigle 1984–1986 110–31 26–6 4 Ron Wolforth 1987–1992 188–126 29–25 5 Rhonda Revelle 1993–present

Coaching staff Rhonda Revelle Head coach 1993 Nebraska Diane Miller Associate head coach 2009 Missouri Southern State Olivia Ferrell Assistant coach 2024 Nebraska Jordy Frahm Assistant coach 2027 Nebraska Mandie Nocita Assistant coach 2027 Missouri Western State

Venues Nebraska played its first six seasons at Ballard Ballfield, a public park in Lincoln's Havelock District, before moving to the NU Softball Complex, which was located directly north of Mabel Lee Hall on the university campus. Bowlin Stadium has served as the program's home venue since it was built as part of the Haymarket Park complex in 2002. It has a listed capacity of 2,796, with nearly 1,000 chairback seats in addition to metal bleachers down the first base line and all-grass berms down both foul lines. Nebraska has ranked in the national top ten in attendance five times and hosted five NCAA Regionals since moving to Bowlin Stadium. On April 27, 2024, a stadium-record crowd of 2,691 saw Northwestern defeat Nebraska 8–1. Bowlin Stadium is adjacent to the larger Hawks Field, which hosts Nebraska's baseball team.

Championships and awards Conference championships Regular season Big Eight: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 Big 12: 1998, 2001, 2004 Big Ten: 2014, 2026

Tournament Big Eight: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 Big 12: 1998, 2000, 2004 Big Ten: 2022, 2026

National awards USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year: Jordy Frahm (2026) NFCA National Player of the Year: Jordy Frahm (2025, 2026) NFCA Catcher of the Year: Taylor Edwards (2014) Gold Glove Award: Courtney Wallace (2022) Honda Sports Award: Denise Day (1985), Jordy Frahm (2026)

Conference awards Player of the year Big 12: Ali Viola (1995, 1998), Peaches James (2004) Big Ten: Jordy Bahl (2025)

Pitcher of the year Big 12: Tatum Edwards (2013) Big Ten: Jordy Bahl (2025, 2026)

Freshman of the year Big 12: Jennifer Lizama (1997) Big Ten: Ava Bredwell (2022), Alexis Jensen (2026)

Coach of the year Big 12: Rhonda Revelle (1998, 2001) Big Ten: Rhonda Revelle (2014, 2026)

All-Americans Nebraska has had 20 players who have combined for 33 NFCA All-American awards. Ali Viola and Jordy (Bahl) Frahm are the only Cornhuskers to earn multiple first-team All-America honors; Frahm, who played two seasons at Oklahoma, was the fourteenth player in NCAA Division I history to be named a first-team All-American four times.

First Team Denise Day – 1985 Lori Richins – 1986 Ali Viola – 1996, 1998 Jenny Voss – 1998 Jennifer Lizama – 1999 Taylor Edwards – 2014 M. J. Knighten – 2016 Jordy (Bahl) Frahm – 2025, 2026

Second Team Denise Day - 1984 Lori Sippel - 1986, 1987 Lori Richins - 1987 Tobin Echo-Hawk - 1995 Ali Viola - 1995 Jennifer Lizama – 1997, 2000 Christie McCoy - 1998 Leigh Ann Walker - 2000 Peaches James - 2004 Tatum Edwards - 2013

Third Team Tobin Echo-Hawk - 1996 Kim Ogee - 2002 Anne Steffan - 2005 Taylor Edwards - 2011 Tatum Edwards - 2014 Kiki Stokes - 2015, 2016 Cam Ybarra - 2022 Billie Andrews - 2023, 2024 Alexis Jensen - 2026

NCAA Division I tournament results Nebraska has appeared in twenty-nine NCAA Division I tournaments with a record of 75-60, including eight trips to the Women's College World Series.

1982 Regional Missouri W 1–0, L 1–0, W 4–1 Women's College World Series Creighton Arizona State Fresno State W 3–2 L 2–0 L 1–0 1984 Regional Oklahoma State W 3–2, W 2–1 Women's College World Series Fresno State Texas A&M Adelphi UCLA W 2–0 L 5–2 W 2–1 L 1–0 1985 Regional Kansas L 4–1, W 6–1, W 2–0 Women's College World Series Louisiana Tech Cal Poly Pomona Cal State Fullerton UCLA W 6–0 W 2–0 W 5–1 L 3–0, L 2–1 1987 Regional Utah W 6–0, W 3–2 Women's College World Series Fresno State UCLA Central Michigan Texas A&M W 1–0 L 3–0 W 2–1 L 4–0 1988 Regional Iowa State Creighton W 5–2 L 3–2, W 7–2, W 4–1 Women's College World Series Cal Poly Pomona Adelphi Fresno State L 3–0 W 5–1 L 1–0 1995 Regional Florida State Arizona W 6–1, L 6–2 L 9–1 1996 Regional Minnesota Southwest Louisiana Nicholls State W 5–0 L 9–4 2–0 1997 Regional Arizona State Arizona W 10–1, W 2–1 L 2–0, L 5–1 1998 Regional Coastal Carolina Iowa Oregon W 7–0 W 1–0 W 9–7 Women's College World Series Fresno State Texas Washington L 6–1 W 2–1 L 3–1 1999 Regional Notre Dame Arizona State Florida Atlantic W 2–0, W 4–3 L 1–0, W 2–1, L 4–2 W 4–2 2000 Regional Illinois State South Carolina Arizona W 8–0 W 11–1, W 9–0 L 13–0, L 5–0 2001 Regional BYU Pacific Stanford W 3–1 W 2–1, L 3–1 L 5–1 2002 Regional UIC Iowa Oregon State Notre Dame W 1–0 W 3–0 W 7–0 W 5–3 Women's College World Series Arizona Michigan Florida State L 1–0 W 1–0 L 4–3 2003 Regional Hofstra Pacific Mississippi State Iowa L 3–1, W 6–0 W 11–7 W 8–0 L 2–1 2004 Regional Lehigh Creighton California W 6–0 W 2–0, W 3–1 L 2–0, L 2–0 2005 Regional Iowa Washington W 4–0, L 1–0 L 7–6 2006 Regional Iowa California Illinois State W 1–0 L 4–2, L 6–1 W 3–1 2007 Regional Georgia Creighton L 3–2 L 2–1 2009 Regional Jacksonville State Tennessee W 4–2, L 4–1 L 5–2 2010 Regional North Carolina L 1–0, L 1–0 W 5–1 2011 Regional Fresno State Pacific Stanford L 1–0, W 5–0 W 11–1 L 4–1 2013 Regional Northern Iowa Stanford W 4–0 W 7–1, W 10–5 Super regional Oregon Women's College World Series Washington Florida L 4–3 L 9–8 2014 Regional Kansas Bradley Missouri L 3–1, W 2–1 W 9–0 W 11–4, W 8–1 Super regional Alabama L 6–5, L 2–1 2015 Regional Arizona State Texas Southern LSU L 5–2 W 5–0 L 3–2 2016 Regional Louisville Missouri BYU W 3–2 L 8–0, L 9–0 W 2–0 2022 Regional North Texas Oklahoma State W 3–0, L 3–0 L 7–4 2023 Regional Wichita State UMBC Oklahoma State L 6–5, W 9–8 W 3–2 L 5–2 2025 Regional Connecticut Southeastern Louisiana W 10–2 W 14–1, W 8–0 Super regional Tennessee W 5–2, L 3–2, L 1–0 2026 Regional South Dakota Grand Canyon W 4–1 W 2–0, W 1–0 Super regional Oklahoma State W 8–1, W 9–1(5) Women's College World Series Arkansas Alabama Texas W 5–3(10) L 5–1 L 3–1

NCAA Tournament seeding history National seeding began in 2005.

Years →'13'26Seeds →144

Seasons