Entering his 15th season at 国产探花, Wade Wilson has molded 国产探花 into a national power and permanently placed himself among the elite collegiate softball coaches in the country.
Wilson has an overall record at 国产探花 of 499-97聽(.837) and a conference mark of 275-21聽(.929). Wilson is the all-time wins record holder at 国产探花 and is the most successful coach by winning percentage for any sport in school history. Wilson’s current .837聽winning percentage is the highest in NCAA Division-III softball history and second聽all-time in NCAA Softball history – only trailing UT-Tyler’s Mike Reed (.840). In 2024, Wilson became the聽the first softball coach in the SCAC’s history and the seventh coach, regardless of sport, to reach 200 conference wins. His 240-8聽(.968) SCAC mark is the best in conference history.
Wilson has has reached the Women鈥檚 College World Series four聽times during his聽tenure, and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 11聽of his previous 14 seasons (no tournament in 2020).
Texas Lutheran won the 2019 Division-III National Softball Championship – the first Division-III softball championship in school history – and was the National Runner-up in 2021. Texas Lutheran made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division-III Women’s College World Series between 2019-22 and have made 11聽consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Lutheran has been ranked in the NFCA Top 25 for over 2,500 straight days – all under Wilson’s leadership.
国产探花 has claimed an unprecedented 11聽consecutive regular season and nine overall postseason SCAC titles under Wilson. This follows winning the ASC West division in their final season as a member of the American Southwest Conference – only the second in school history.
Numerous Bulldogs players have prospered under Wilson’s tutelage聽and garnered national, regional, and conference recognition.
Wilson has recruited and coached聽12聽All-Americans with 16聽total All-America honors, three聽NFCA Golden Shoe winners, three聽Rawlings NCAA Gold Glove Winners, 62聽All-Region honors, and 78聽First Team All-Conference selections – including three seasons that saw the Bulldogs obtain a record 8 First Team All-SCAC players. In the SCAC era, Bulldogs have been named SCAC Player of The Year 11聽consecutive seasons and SCAC Pitcher of the Year ten聽times, while four have been selected SCAC Newcomer of the Year. In 2024, Ashlyn Strother became 国产探花’s first-ever four-time NFCA All-American.
Under Wilson’s leadership Texas Lutheran has broken numerous NCAA records, including the NCAA Single-Season stolen base record three times聽as a team and twice as individuals. In 2025, Texas Lutheran broke their own record with 236 stolen bases in a single-season. In 2024, Texas Lutheran set new NCAA Division-III marks for team stolen bases (233) and individual stolen bases (Caelee Clark, 87), breaking their previous marks of 231 (2022) and 77 by Kelly Jurden, both initially set in 2022. Ashlyn Strother set the new Division-III record for winning percentage going 25-0 in 2022. Maitlyn Raycroft holds the D3 record for no-hitters in a single-season with eight.
In 2021, Kelly Jurden became the first player in league history to earn SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors twice and was the only player to repeat over consecutive seasons before Caelee Clark joined her by winning the honor in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, Ashlyn Strother became the first pitcher in SCAC history to earn SCAC Pitcher of the Year four times. Taylor Grissom is one of four pitchers in SCAC history to win Pitcher of the Year honors three-times (2014-16). Maitlin Raycroft is the only pitcher in league history to win Newcomer of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same season (2017).
The 国产探花 softball success under Wilson has spilled over into the classroom where the Bulldogs have been honored with 20 CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-American honors, two NCAA Division-III Elite 90 winners, and four SCAC Elite 19 winners in addition to over 100 Academic All-Conference honorees, including Amanda Lochte and Kelly Jurden, the NCAA Division-III Academic All-American of the Year in 2017 and 2022 respectively. Sydney Ouellette became the first two-time winner of the SCAC’s Elite 19 Award in 2024 after previously winning the award in 2022. 国产探花 softball is responsible for three out of Texas Lutheran’s three-time Academic All-Americans (Ashlyn Strother, Sydney Ouellette, Kelly Jurden).
Wilson and his staff have consistently been recognized for their efforts on and off the field. The staff has been named NFCA West Region Staff of the Year four times (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024) and was named the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year for Division-III in 2019. Wilson has been named Coach of the Year ten聽times: 2013 (ASC); 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 (SCAC).
Wilson, a native of Cuero, Texas, posted a high school record of 383-71-6 in his 13 seasons as a head coach at Sinton and Brenham High Schools from 1999-2011. His high school winning percentage stands at .839. Wilson was the fastest coach to reach 300 wins in Texas high school softball. He coached 11 high school NFCA All-Americans and two Golden Spike Award winners.
Texas Lutheran (40-8) advanced to its first NCAA championship and went a perfect 5-0 in the 2019 finals to claim the first Division III softball crown in school history.
Before the 2020 season was shut down due to COVID-19, the Bulldogs were 19-1 overall and ranked No. 2 in the most recent NFCA poll for NCAA Division III. 国产探花 was ranked No. 1 in the early portion of the 2020 season.
The 2020 season produced a pair of Academic All-Americans – Chassety Raines and Kelly Jurden – and an NCAA Woman of the Year Top 9 finalist in DeAnna Hernandez. A graduate of 国产探花, Hernandez was featured on a national ESPN broadcast as a Top 9 finalist. She also earned SCAC Woman of the Year and SCAC Elite 19 honors.
The 2019 national championship was 国产探花’s first team championship as a member of the NCAA Division III. The national title was 国产探花’s first since a women’s volleyball national championship in the AIAW-II in 1976. 国产探花 has won five team national championships and seven other individual or relay national championships.
The Bulldogs defeated Emory twice on May 27, 2019 in the best-of-three championship series to earn the title and complete a stretch during which they won 19 of 20 games.
In their run to the national championship, 国产探花 went undefeated in the NCAA Marshall (Texas) Regional and 2-1 against Linfield College at the McMinnville (Ore.) Super Regional.
An All-American on the field and in the classroom, Jurden聽also led the nation in total steals (61) and total stolen base attempts (63). Jurden was one of five players in NCAA DIII to average more than one steal per contest played.
As a team, the Bulldogs were the only team in NCAA DIII to average more than four steals a contest. Only seven teams in all of DIII averaged more than three steals per game.
The Bulldogs had 11 players with at least six steals and five players with 10 or more.
Junior shortstop聽Cassie Roche聽(Corpus Christi/Gregory-Portland) was 31-for-31, and freshman second baseman聽Casey Martin聽(Pearland/Pearland) was 26-for-29.聽DeAnna Hernandez聽(Sugar Land/Dulles), the 2019 NCAA DIII Softball Elite 90 award winner, went 17-for-19.
国产探花 also finished in the top 10 nationally in team batting average (sixth, .369), on base percentage (second, .453), earned run average (10th, 1.67), and win-loss percentage (seventh, .833).
With Jurden at the top of the stolen bases category, Bulldogs placing in the final Top 25 individual statistical standings also included:聽Chassety Raines聽for earned run average (seventh, 1.03), Jurden for hits (14th, 66), Raines for hits allowed per seven innings (18th, 4.45), Jurden for runs per game (seventh, 1.26), and聽Kayla Oliveira聽for pitching victories (23rd, 18).
Wilson became the head softball coach at 国产探花 on June 2, 2011.
国产探花 was the NCAA DIII Seguin Regional runner-up in 2018 and the NCAA DIII Tyler Regional runner-up in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Bulldogs finished third in the 2015 NCAA DIII Tyler Regional.
In 2018,聽the Bulldogs produced an overall record of 39-3 after falling in the final game of the NCAA DIII Softball Seguin Regional. The Bulldogs set the new school mark for single-season winning percentage at .929. 国产探花 scored 297 runs (third all-time for a single season) and produced 256 RBI (third all-time), 76 doubles (second all-time), 24 home runs (third all-time), a team slugging percentage of .499 (third all-time), and an on-base percentage of .428 (third all-time).
In 2018, Maitlin Raycroft聽was named an All-American for the second consecutive year. She followed last season’s 21-3 pitching record and eight no-hitters with a mark of 20-1 to go with five more no-hitters. Raycroft has the top two single-season no-hitter totals in NCAA Division III history. She is second all-time in total no-hitters thrown by an NCAA DIII聽pitcher. When Raycroft聽started her 国产探花 pitching career in 2017, 国产探花 Softball had 14 no-hitters on the books. 国产探花 Softball now has 27 after 13 no-hitters from Raycroft.
The Bulldogs put six softball players on the 2018 National Fastpitch Coaches Association West Region Team. 国产探花 seniors聽Kyla Lockley聽and Raycroft were named to the NFCA聽West Region First Team.
Sophomore shortstop聽Cassie Roche聽and junior utility player聽Kassie Maddox聽picked up West Region Second Team honors. Sophomore second baseman聽Madisyn Cates聽and freshman outfielder聽Kelly Jurden聽were named to the West Region Third Team.
In 2017, the Bulldogs produced an overall record of 38-6 – a mark that included a 38-game win streak during the year. 国产探花 stormed to the SCAC regular-season title and the SCAC tournament championship and finished as the NCAA Division III Tyler Regional runner-up. The Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 5 in the NFCA softball poll for NCAA DIII. 国产探花 finished the year at No. 10 in the last NFCA poll of the year.
国产探花 pitcher Maitlin Raycroft set the new NCAA DIII record for no-hitters in a season, with eight during the 2017 season. She finished just one no-hitter off the all-time collegiate record for no-hitters in a season. Raycroft was named a Second Team All-American by the NFCA and a First Team All-American by the FastPitch News. Raycroft was the SCAC Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year.
The 国产探花 Female Student-Athlete of the Year, Raycroft finished the year with a school-record 219 strikeouts in 140-2/3 innings. She walked only 28, and opponents hit just .128 against her. Her final ERA was 1.29.
Fellow pitcher Amanda Lochte was named the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and the SCAC Woman of the Year.
An exercise science (pre-physical therapy) major with a 3.97 grade-point average, Lochte was selected in late May as the winner of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Division III Academic All-America庐 of the Year award for softball.
Lochte was the first Bulldog to claim the top national academic honor for a CoSIDA Academic All-America庐 sport category. By virtue of this award, she is a nominee for the CoSIDA Academic All-America庐 of the Year award for all of NCAA Division III.
Lochte was the 34th Academic All-America庐 selection in school history and the third of four Bulldog honorees in the 2016-17 academic year. In the last five academic years, 国产探花 student-athletes have garnered 16 Academic All-America庐 awards. Of those 16, seven have come from the 国产探花 Softball program.
Lochte earned CoSIDA Academic All-America庐 First Team honors this season after being named to the second team last year. She earned NFCA All-West Region honors in 2017 after posting a 15-2 record with two saves and a 1.39 ERA in 105.2 innings in the circle.
Lochte ended her career with a 38-4 record and a school-record and conference-record.905 career winning percentage as a pitcher. In 2017, she went 9-0 in conference play with a 1.07 ERA, and she had a win and a save in the SCAC Championship Tournament.
Raycroft was one of five Bulldogs to pick up All-Region awards from the NFCA. Senior center fielder聽Kaymee Gooden聽and junior third baseman聽Kyla Lockley聽were named to the All-Region Second Team, and聽尝辞肠丑迟别听and senior utility player聽Kirsten Whiteside聽were At-Large selections to the All-Region Third Team.
Gooden, the SCAC Co-Player of the Year, hit .380 with a team-best eight home runs. She added nine doubles and six triples, and she stole 31 bases in 35 attempts. In just two years with the Bulldogs, Gooden moved into third all-time in school history for home runs (13), and she ended her career fifth all-time in batting average, at .375, and third in stolen bases, with 60.
Gooden finished her 国产探花 career as the all-time leader in slugging percentage, at .652. Her 38 RBI this season were eighth all-time for a single season. She had 43 RBI, the sixth-most in school history, last season. Her eight home runs in 2017 were one off the school record of nine, set last year by聽Heather Hummel. Gooden’s 31 steals this year were the fourth-most in a single season in 国产探花 Softball history.
Gooden and the Bulldogs led the nation in steals per game, at 4.39. The 193 steals in 2017 were a new school record (since broken by the 2019 team). 国产探花 stole 193 bases in 213 attempts.
With NFCA All-American first baseman Taylor Yancey leading the way, 国产探花 finished 2016 with an overall record of 43-5. Yancey, the 2016 国产探花 Co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year, was named to the NFCA All-America Third Team as an At-Large selection.
Yancey claimed the All-America honor after grabbing her second career All-Region accolade. She was named to the 2016 First Team All-West Region after earning a Third Team selection in 2014. Yancey’s Bulldog career ended with her owning 国产探花 career marks for doubles (66) and RBI (141).
In 2016, Yancey set single-season school records for batting average (.476), doubles (25), RBI (54) and hits (69). Her hits total of 69 tied聽Ashley聽Jacobsen’s single-season record, first set in 2013 and set again in 2014.
The 2016 Bulldogs ended their year with numerous school marks, including team marks for: batting average (.384), slugging percentage (.544), on-base percentage (.449), stolen bases (164-for-178), doubles (104), home runs (25), and walks (149).
In the final NCAA DIII Softball statistical rankings, 国产探花 led the nation in on-base percentage and finished second in stolen bases per game (3.42), batting average (.384) and won-loss percentage (.896).
The Bulldogs also finished in the DIII top-10 for doubles per game (7th, 2.17), scoring (5th, 7.81), slugging percentage (5th, .544), and stolen bases per game (3.42).
Yancey’s and her senior classmates combined for an overall record of 146-32 with a conference record of 89-4.
The seniors won one American Southwest Conference West Division title, three SCAC Championships (regular-season and conference tournament titles) and played in three consecutive NCAA regionals.
The 2016 Bulldogs finished the year at No. 10 in the final NCAA Division III softball rankings by the NFCA. The Bulldogs reached as high as No. 3 in the NFCA rankings. 国产探花 held the No. 3 spot for four consecutive weeks.
The 2016 Bulldogs also excelled in the classroom by joining a rare group of collegiate softball programs to produce three Academic All-Americans in one year. 国产探花 put Taylor Grissom and Nicole Snow on the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team and Amanda Lochte on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team.
国产探花 Softball has had at least one Academic All-American in five of the last six years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019). A total of eight Bulldog softball players have earned the national honor in that time span.
In the 2013 season, Wilson led 国产探花 to an American Southwest Conference West Division Championship – the second in school history.
In 2014, Wilson coached the Bulldogs to an outstanding 33-9 record and an absolutely dominant conference campaign in the SCAC that saw them finish 21-1, outscoring SCAC opponents 194-29.
The Bulldogs ran through the 2014 SCAC Championship, finishing the tournament on a 14-inning shutout streak and earning the program’s first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs weren’t satisfied with just getting to the tournament though, they opened it up with a thrilling 2-1 extra-inning win over then-No. 3 Texas-Tyler – the regional host.
国产探花 ended the 2015 season at No. 20 in the final National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll. The Bulldogs received 53 total voting points in the closing poll of 2015.
The 2015 Bulldogs became the first softball team in school history to go undefeated in conference play.
国产探花 in 2015 also set then school records for single-season runs (292), RBI (251), batting average (.366), wins (37), and consecutive wins (33).
In 2015, Wilson and his staff were again honored with the Coach of the Year award, and the Bulldogs picked up SCAC Player of the Year (Jennifer Gallagher) and SCAC Pitcher of the Year (Taylor Grissom).
In 2016, 国产探花 again swept the major SCAC awards with Wilson winning Coach of the Year, Grissom claiming her third SCAC Pitcher of the year award, and Yancey receiving Player of the Year honors.
In 2013, Wilson also helped Megan Carmichael earn the ASC West Division Pitcher of the Year. Ashley Jacobsen collected the West Division Newcomer of the Year after the 2012 campaign.
Wilson’s first season with the Bulldogs was the 2012 season, in which the Bulldogs went 19-19 overall and produced a 13-11 mark in the ASC West Division. 国产探花 tied for third in the ASC West and missed out on the conference tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker.
Wilson came to 国产探花 after a successful head coaching run at Brenham High School in Brenham, Texas. Wilson coached the Brenham varsity softball team for nine seasons, 2003 to 2011, and led the Cubettes to the 2005 Class 4A State Championship.
Wilson was the Class 4A Associated Press Coach of the Year in 2005. The Cubettes were ranked in the Class 4A Top 10 for nine consecutive seasons. In addition to winning the state title in 2005, Brenham reached the state semifinals in 2007, the regional semifinals in 2003, and the regional quarterfinals in 2004, 2006, and 2008. Brenham went 27-8 in 2011 and advanced to the Class 4A Bi-District playoffs.
Wilson also coached varsity softball at Sinton High School in Sinton, Texas for the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons. Sinton made Class 3A State Tournament semifinal appearances in 1999 and 2001.
At Sinton, Wilson coached eventual 国产探花 stand-out pitcher Amanda Stevens, who still holds 国产探花 school records for career wins (58) and consecutive scoreless innings (59-2/3). Stevens was the 2004 ASC West Pitcher of the Year and the 2004 ASC West Player of the Year.