James Madison Dukes Softball

The James Madison Dukes softball team represents James Madison University in NCAA Division I college softball. . The team participates in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and plays home games in Veterans Memorial Park. JMU has won three CAA championships and has been to the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament four times. The team is coached by Mickey Dean.

Head coaches

Mickey Dean

Dean has brought JMU to new heights and in the national spotlight of collegiate softball since his arrival four years ago. He guided the Dukes to NCAA postseason each of the past four seasons after setting a single-season wins record in each year. He has won more than 79 percent of his games as JMU’s head coach with a record of 185-48, including an impressive 70-7 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association.^[2] Coach Dean rewrote the record books in the 2016 season winning the program's third CAA Championship, first NCAA Regional title and first NCAA Super Regional appearance. With a 50-6 mark, the Dukes finished the season with the best record in history (most wins and fewest losses). Dean coached the program's first ever First Team All-American selections, Jailyn Ford and Megan Good, along with six All-CAA and All-Region selections. The Colonial Athletic Association named Coach Dean the Coach of the Year after a 18-1 record in conference and claiming the 2016 regional title. In 11 seasons at the college ranks, Dean has amassed a 491-169 (.744) career record and a nine-year, Division I coaching record of 426-164 (.722), having coached one season at the junior college level. He has also been named conference coach of the year seven times, with four in the Big South and three in the CAA.

Katie Flynn

In 10 seasons at James Madison University, Katie Flynn’s Dukes have averaged 28 wins per season, and in 2009 she led her team to its most successful season to date. Madison won the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Championship, ending Hofstra's seven-year run as conference champions. The Dukes advanced to Knoxville Regional of the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first team in program history to qualify for the postseason event. Entering her 11th season at the helm for JMU, Flynn has recorded a 283-252 record and is 443-426 in her 17-year career.The Dukes have reached the CAA Championships seven times in the program's ten-year history, including two appearances in the championship game. In 2008 Madison finished second in the conference tournament after four third-place finishes in the previous six seasons. The Dukes finished 2008 on a 13-game winning streak, including five come-from-behind wins, as they advanced to the championship game for the first time in five CAA tournament appearances. The 2008 team's success came one year after Flynn led the team to a school-record 38 victories in 2007, including tying for the CAA regular season crown with a 17-3 mark. That year the Dukes ended the regular season on an 18-game winning streak, setting yet another school mark.

Season Results

References