The Grand Canyon Antelopes softball team represents Grand Canyon University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Western Athletic Conference. The Lopes are currently led by head coach Shanon Hays. The team plays its home games at GCU Softball Stadium located on the university's campus.
| Grand Canyon Antelopes softball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2004 |
| University | Grand Canyon University |
| Head coach | Shanon Hays (1st season) |
| Conference | WAC West Division |
| Location | Phoenix, AZ |
| Home stadium | GCU Softball Stadium (Capacity: 1,200) |
| Nickname | Lopes |
| Colors | Purple, black, and white[1] |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2022, 2023, 2024 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| WAC: 2022, 2023, 2024 | |
| Regular Season Conference championships | |
| 2014, 2017, 2022, 2024 | |
History
editIn 2002, GCU announced it would start a softball program that would compete in the 2004 season. On November 18, 2002, it announced the hiring of Arizona State assistant coach Ann Pedersen as its first head coach.[2]
GCU qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times at the Division II level (2010, 2012, 2013).
The Lopes won the Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship in their first year (2014) at the Division I level. GCU also won the regular-season title in 2017.
GCU and Ann Pierson parted ways on May 20, 2021, after the program posted back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2008.[3]
Shanon Hays was hired as the program's second head coach on June 11, 2021.[4] In Hays' first season, he brought in 15 newcomers and led Grand Canyon to its third WAC regular-season title, first WAC Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance.[5]
Conference membership (Division I only)
edit- 2014–present: Western Athletic Conference
Coaching history
edit| Years | Coach | Record | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2021 | Ann Pierson | 511–416-3 | .551 |
| 2022–present | Shanon Hays | 136–42 | .764 |
GCU Softball Stadium
editGCU Softball Stadium is a softball stadium on the Grand Canyon campus in Phoenix, Arizona that seats 1,200 people. The new artificial turf playing surface was used in the 2017 season while a permanent stadium was built around it and opened on February 8, 2018.
GCU Softball Stadium replaced Stapleton-Pierson Stadium as the primary venue for the program.[6]
Year-by-year NCAA Division I results
edit| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon (Western Athletic Conference) (2014–2024) | ||||||||||
| 2014 | Ann Pierson | 27-21 | 12-3 | 1st | ||||||
| 2015 | Ann Pierson | 28-22 | 9-6 | 2nd | ||||||
| 2016 | Ann Pierson | 35-15 | 10-5 | 2nd | ||||||
| 2017 | Ann Pierson | 36-18 | 11-4 | t-1st | ||||||
| 2018 | Ann Pierson | 31-28 | 8-6 | 4th | ||||||
| 2019 | Ann Pierson | 33-24 | 12-6 | t-2nd | ||||||
| 2020 | Ann Pierson | 7-20 | 0-0 | -- | ||||||
| 2021 | Ann Pierson | 19-30 | 8-9 | 3rd | ||||||
| 2022 | Shanon Hays | 39-16 | 19-5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 2023 | Shanon Hays | 47-13 | 17-7 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 2024 | Shanon Hays | 50-13 | 23-3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | |||||
| Total: | 352-220 | 129-54 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| ||||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Grand Canyon University Athletic Brand Standards". September 20, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ McCurdy, Jim (19 Nov 2002). "Pederson picked to launch Grand Canyon softball". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "GCU announces softball coaching change". GCULopes.com. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ Obert, Richard (11 June 2021). "Former Texas Tech coach Shanon Hays replaces Ann Pierson as Grand Canyon softball coach". Arizona Central. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ Obert, Richard (19 May 2022). "Grand Canyon softball makes first NCAA Tournament regional, will face No. 5 UCLA". Arizona Central. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ Cruz, Jeanette (18 Feb 2019). "Softball Stadium opener is truly Grand". GCU Today. Retrieved 18 June 2022.