One BYU team has 17 NCAA tournament appearances and 16 conference championships since 2000 — and it’s not basketball or football.
There is one team that has quietly been making its mark — BYU softball, one of the university's most consistent programs.
The Cougars began their reign in 2000 under coach Mary Jo Amicone. She was at the helm for three seasons, taking BYU to the NCAA regional in 2001 after winning both the regular-season and tournament Mountain West championships. The Cougars went 0-2 at the NCAA regional in just their second season as a program.
Assistant Gordon Eakin took over following the 2002 season. In his first season at BYU, the Cougars finished with a 36-17 (.679) record and third in the Mountain West Conference.
Eakin described the early program fondly.
“[We] were new, directionless, we didn't really know where we were going, because we were brand new," he said.
Eakin is heading into his 24th season as head coach for BYU softball. In his tenure at BYU, Eakin has led the Cougars to 16 conference championships through four conferences, including 11 consecutive titles during stints across four conferences: Mountain West Conference, Western Athletic Conference, Pacific Coast Softball Conference and West Coast Conference.
“Well, we got kicked from one conference to the next to the next to the next, and we won the championship in all four conferences in four straight years," Eakin said. "But the Big 12 is a much bigger challenge for not only softball, but for every sport, at BYU. We don’t ever want to go back [to G5].”
All of softball’s 21 All-Americans have come under Eakin, in addition to 16 Players of the Year, 12 Freshmen of the Year, eight Pitchers of the Year and six Defensive Players of the Year.
Freshman standout I'lovea Brittingham was awarded All-American and Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors last season. The lone exception is Oli Keohohou, who was honored as Freshman of the Year in 2001 under Amicone.
NFCA THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICAN🏆 pic.twitter.com/RmocntKLUP
— BYU Softball (@byusoftball) May 28, 2025
All of these accolades come from players he’s helped coach.
“We had to develop our athletes in the early days because the blue chip athletes weren't interested in coming here," he said. "So we had to kind of find the gems out there that were overlooked, and then we had to develop them, so that kind of was the early process.”
However, Eakin doesn’t take all of the credit.
“What's unique about BYU is the kind of student-athlete that it attracts. They are hard working, accountable, responsible," he said. "They worked really hard, and so we developed them through those traits that they already had. [We] had some success, then success builds on more success, and then pretty soon, we're
getting higher level players that are interested in us, and it just kind of built brick by brick until now."
The story has changed.
“Now that we're power five and we have a resume of excellence that we've built … they're calling me and telling me we have a player that is interested in BYU," Eakin said. "'We think she'd be a good fit. You ought to come take a look at her.’ Or when I call them, they answer the phone … They know what we've built here. They know the integrity that we instill in our players, the accountability, the responsibility, and they know that we can compete with anybody ... We can now compete for the best players in the country and have a chance to get them.”
Duke transfer Hailey Shuler is the most recent brick that Eakin has added to his growing wall of softball success.
Prior to joining the Big 12, BYU never finished below third in conference play under Eakin. The Cougars have finished sixth in in each of their two Big 12 seasons, with an overall record of 63-40 and 24-27 in league play.
According to Eakin, his team couldn’t be more excited about the challenge of the Big 12.
“Every athlete in our program wants to play against the best. They're not intimidated to play against the best. That's what they want to do,” he said.
However, he acknowledges the difficulties they’ve faced.
“It's really exciting to go up against one Big 12 team one weekend, and then another one the next weekend, then another one the next weekend, where you have no breaks … and if you mess up, drops you down in the standings.”
The change of pace has been refreshing for Eakin, who dominated the Group of 5 conferences his team used to belong to.
The program has an all-time record of 944-488 (.659), with Eakin at 863-412 (.677). At home, the Cougars are 331-94 (.779).
In 16 NCAA appearances under Eakin, BYU advanced to the Super Regionals once in 2010, finishing ranked 15th nationally, BYU’s highest ranking. Their only other national ranking came after the 2017 season, when they were ranked 21st. In NCAA tournament play overall, the Cougars are 24-34 (.403).
BYU has been the first team out for two straight NCAA appearances, and it’s fuel for Eakin and his team.
“Well, we want to take it out of the selection committee's hands. We don't want them to decide that,” he said, the passion shifting his entire demeanor. “What we've done is, we've just taken accountability for being the first team out, and we've decided we're going to take it out of the committee's hands and we're going to be better. You know, last year it came down to two games … We're no longer going to look past anybody. We're going to play every game as if it's the national championship, and hopefully we'll have better results at the end.”
Veteran pitcher Gianna Mares shares this sentiment with her coach.
“Yeah, [that] definitely lights a fire every day. We talk about it, think about it every day … like there is nothing that will stop us," she said. "That is our fuel, that is our motivation, and we are just going to do everything we can to be there.”
Comparatively, BYU baseball has only made the NCAA tournament three times since softball’s debut in 2000, with the most recent appearance in 2017. In that span, they have had 21 All-Americans, 14 of them freshmen, with the most recent named in 2023.
Going into the 2026 season, softball has high expectations.
“I’m really excited. I feel like we’re definitely going to surprise a lot of people," said Shuler, the Duke transfer.
Both she and Eakin said their main goal is simple: to win.
Softball’s fall schedule runs through late October before opening the 2026 season in January.