This spring marks the 25th season of BYU softball.
The program started in 2000 and has become very relevant in the softball world. The Cougars have won multiple championships in the different conferences that they have been in in the last 25 years.
Gearing up for BYU’s 25th season, the program has great expectations for this season.
The Cougars' head coach, Gordon Eakin, has been with the team since the very beginning. He started in 2000 being an assistant coach and then shortly after that, he became the head coach and has not looked back since.
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Eakin has been curating this team for a quarter of a century. The Cougars have created a whole new vibe and positivity when it comes to the sport. Eakin has stated that their softball standards are not announced publicly, but every player on the team strives to keep these positive standards. These can range from every activity on or off the field.
“We feel like winning conference championships and winning Regionals and Super Regionals and playing in the College World Series will take care of themselves if we get a little bit better every day that we practice,” said Eakin.
Eakin talked about how the team does not set long term goals throughout the season. Instead the players focus on getting better and better every day. They see the most improvement when they are working towards something every day rather than setting whole season goals.
Over the past 25 years, the team has been a part of five conferences, earning championships in four of those conferences. Throughout the seasons, Eakin has led them through all of those conferences including the new transition into the Big 12.
“We’ve come from a startup program to being very relevant in the softball world,” said Eakin.
With this new and upcoming season, the team has five new freshman and three new transfers that Eakin knows will make great additions to this team. Eakin said that he knows that the freshman will make an impact right out of the gate.
Last year, the team went 32-23 overall and 11-16 in Big 12 play. The Cougars hope to do better this season and hope to be more adjusted to their new conference. In the preseason polls, BYU softball was picked fifth in the Big 12. That was based on the amounts of first-place votes that each team got with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech in the top two.
Their season starts Feb. 6 in the La Jolla Invitational against University of California San Diego. The Cougars then play in more tournaments before starting conference play.