2022 Clemson Tigers softball team


The 2022 Clemson Tigers softball team was the varsity college softball team that represented Clemson University during the 2022 NCAA Division I softball season. This was the third season of Clemson's softball program. The Tigers competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and were led by head coach John Rittman. Clemson played its home games at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

2022 Clemson Tigers softball
Clemson Classic Champions
NCAA tournament, Stillwater Super Regional
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
Record42–17 (14–10 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Kyle Jamieson
  • Courtney Breault
Home stadiumMcWhorter Stadium
Seasons
← 2021
2023 →
2022 Atlantic Coast Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 10 Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍y 21 2   .913 46 10   .821
No. 12 Duke  ‍‍‍y 19 3   .864 44 11   .800
No. 13 Florida State  ‍‍y 19 5   .792 54 7   .885
Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y 16 5   .762 40 12   .769
No. 16 Clemson  ‍‍‍y 14 10   .583 42 17   .712
Virginia  ‍‍‍ 13 11   .542 28 26   .519
Georgia Tech  ‍‍‍ 11 13   .458 38 18   .679
Louisville  ‍‍‍ 10 14   .417 27 25   .519
Syracuse  ‍‍‍ 7 15   .318 26 21   .553
NC State  ‍‍‍ 7 17   .292 33 23   .589
North Carolina  ‍‍‍ 6 18   .250 23 28   .451
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 6 18   .250 20 27   .426
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 2 20   .091 14 27   .341
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 14, 2022[1]
Rankings from NFCA

They finished the season 42–17 overall and 14–10 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. As the fifth seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye into the Quarter finals where they defeated fourth seed Notre Dame. In the Semifinals they defeated first seed Virginia Tech, but fell to third seed Florida State in the Final. This marked the back-to-back appearances in the Final of the ACC Tournament in the program's first two full seasons. The Tigers were selected, via at-large bid, as the tenth overall seed in the NCAA tournament. They hosted a regional and were placed into the Stillwater Super Regional. They defeated UNC Wilmington, Auburn, and Louisiana in their Regional to advance to face Oklahoma State in the Super Regional. Clemson lost both games in Stillwater to end their season.

The team was again led by Valerie Cagle, who finished the season with 16 wins, 13 home runs, and a .308 batting average. Cagle was named First Team All-ACC and to the NFCA All-American First Team. This marked her second year in a row as a First Team All-ACC player and Clemson's first First Team All-American.[2] McKenzie Clark was named Second Team All-ACC, Alia Logoleo and Millie Thompson were named Third Team All-ACC and Aby Vieira was named to the All-Freshman Team.[3]

Previous season

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The Tigers finished their first full season as a program 44–8 and 29–5 in ACC play to finish in first place and claim the regular season championship. As the first seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech before losing to Duke in the Final. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were placed into the Tuscaloosa Regional. There they defeated Troy twice, but lost to Alabama twice to end their season.

Personnel

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Roster

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2022 Clemson Tigers roster[4]

Pitchers

  • 1 – Rachel Gibson – freshman
  • 10 – Emma Whitfield -   Sophomore
  • 17 – Regan Spencer – sophomore

Utility

  • 2 – Brooke McCubbin (RHP/INF) – freshman
  • 4 – Aby Vieira (C/UTL) – freshman
  • 8 – Grace Hiller (INF/OF) – freshman
  • 9 – Sarah Howell (C/UTL) – sophomore
  • 11 – Haylee Whitesides (RHP/INF) – freshman
  • 12 – Cammy Pereira (INF/OF) - Graduate Student
  • 13 – Abi Stuart (C/UTL) -   Sophomore
  • 15 – Madison May (INF/OF) -   Sophomore
  • 16 – Alia Logoleo (INF/OF) -   Sophomore
  • 19 – Jaden Cheek (INF/UTL) – sophomore
  • 24 – Arielle Oda (INF/OF) -   Sophomore
  • 25 – Marissa Guimbarda (OF/UTL) - Graduate Student
  • 27 – Grace Mattimore (C/UTL) - Graduate Student
  • 72 – Valerie Cagle (RHP/UTL) -   Sophomore
  • 87 – Millie Thompson (LHP/INF) - Sophomore
 

Catchers

  • 23 – JoJo Hyatt -   Sophomore

Outfielders

  • 3 – Sam Russ - Graduate Student
  • 6 – Carlee Shannon -   Sophomore
  • 7 – McKenzie Clark – sophomore
  • 42 – Morgan Johnson -   Sophomore

Infielders

  • 5 – Ansley Houston – sophomore
  • 18 – Bailey Taylor - Graduate Student
  • 21 – Jadeyn Ruszkowski – freshman
  • 28 – Maddie Moore – freshman
  • 58 – Kyah Keller -   Sophomore
  • 77 – Hannah Goodwin -   Freshman

Coaches

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2022 Clemson Tigers softball coaching staff[5]
  • John Rittman – Head coach – 3rd season
  • Kyle Jamieson – Assistant coach – 3rd season
  • Courtney Breault – Assistant coach – 3rd season
  • Reese Jacobs – Volunteer assistant coach – 3rd season

Schedule

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Legend
  Clemson win
  Clemson loss
  Cancellation
Bold Clemson team member
* Non-Conference game
Make-Up Game
2022 Clemson Tigers softball game log[6]
Regular season
Postseason

Note: All rankings shown are from the NFCA/USA Today poll.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
NFCA / USA Today15151414171716181816171818151414*16
Softball America141412111719212119141418171610812
ESPN.com/USA Softball1412991515151617т16171717151313*14
D1Softball141313131718191919171718161616*16*15
  • Various polls did not release during the NCAA tournament. * indicates that the ranking is from pre-tournament for comparison purposes.

References

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  1. ^ "2022 ACC Softball Standings". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "2022 NFCA DI All-Americans released". nfca.org. National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "2022 All-ACC Softball Awards Announced". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. May 11, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  4. ^ "Softball Roster". Clemson Tigers. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Staff Directory". Clemson Tigers. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "2021-22 Softball Schedule". clemsontigers.com. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  7. ^ "Softball Game vs. Boston College Canceled". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University. February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.