Stanford Softball Is Back, But They’re Just Getting Started
On June 1st, a sea of Cardinal red surrounded Stanford softball’s hotel in Oklahoma City. Set to open play against back to back defending national champions Oklahoma that day, the crowd cheered the team on as they boarded the bus to Hall of Fame Stadium. Because for the first time in 19 years, Stanford was back at the Women’s College World Series.
At one point during this sendoff, the weight of the moment hit me. As an alum of the program, as someone who covers the team in the media, and even as a fan who loves the game - multiple perspectives collided at once. I didn’t have the words to describe it then, but now I see that it was the perfect storm of an appreciation for the past, the present, and what it means for the future.
For context, this is a program that has historically been among the nation’s elite. From 1998 to 2013, Stanford earned 31 All-American honors and made 16 consecutive postseason appearances, including five Super Regionals and two WCWS runs.
From 2014 to 2018, however, Stanford produced only one All-American and made zero appearances in the NCAA tournament. In an athletic department that boasts the most national championships in the nation and enough Olympians to represent their own country, excellence is a standard. This drought was new territory for Stanford softball. But then things shifted.
There was no magic wand. The progress was gradual, yet relentless. In the last six years, the program consistently improved each season, and the results are tangible.
One Of Us
Fast forward to 2023, the Cardinal’s now three trips to OKC have one thing in common - Jessica Allister. As a freshman catcher in 2001, as a senior in 2004, and now as the head coach, “Coach Al” has led the Cardinal to every single WCWS. I wasn’t a math major, but I can certainly spot the common denominator.
Her time as a player - All-America honors as a catcher, All-Conference recognition, and more - garners her natural respect. And she did it at Stanford, so not only is her loyalty unquestioned, but she has literally already walked the exact path she’s asking her players to walk. This can’t be faked or taught.
The alumni base knew it right away when she was hired. "There is not a better person who embodies and understands what it takes to be a Cardinal," said Jessica Mendoza in a statement. "Having played with her at Stanford, and watching her lead the team to two Women's College World Series appearances, she understands how to win at the highest level. But more importantly, she gets what it takes to be a student-athlete at Stanford."
And who you surround yourself with is everything.
Pitching coach Tori Nyberg is also a Stanford alum and a former battery mate of Allister’s who was right there with her at Stanford’s first ever WCWS in 2001. And it’s not her first foray as a coach either. As an assistant at Northwestern, Nyberg helped guide the Wildcats to two Big Ten Conference titles, multiple WCWS trips, and NCAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2006.
And then there’s Jessica Merchant, a Michigan stud herself when the program won the 2005 national championship under the legendary Carol Hutchins. She was also Allister’s right hand on staff at Minnesota while transforming the program, who went from flying under the radar to being ranked #1 in the nation at the end of their seven-year tenure.
Stanford Athletics
Talent between the lines is one thing. Whether that talent translates to the coaching ranks is another. This is particularly evident with Nyberg’s talent development in the bullpen.
In 2023, Stanford boasted one of the nation’s best pitching staffs. Senior Alana Vawter became the program’s first All American since 2015, freshman Nijaree Canady led the nation in ERA and was named the NFCA National Freshman of the Year, and junior Regan Krause earned Third Team All Pac-12 honors with two no hitters on the season. But it wasn’t just pitching, it was the entire battery. Junior Aly Kaneshiro remained a mainstay behind the dish, capturing the national Rawlings Gold Glove Award at the position.
With these results, it’s no surprise that Coach Allister believes she has the best assistant coaches in the country. It’s also clear that having women who played our sport in these leadership roles only adds value.
Nerd Nation
In the locker room, the Cardinal relied on exceptional leadership from the fifth-year graduate student-athletes - center fielder Taylor Gindlesperger, shortstop Emily Young, and first baseman Emily Schultz - who also represented Aliister’s first full cycle class.
When they committed to Stanford in 2017, the program was coming off of a 19-32 overall record with only two conference wins under their belt. They had little to go on beyond Allister’s vision, and not only did they make it a reality, but they made it their own.
After beginning their careers searching for the program’s first winning record in five years, they ended with an exclamation point. In 2023, Gindlesperger made the All-WCWS team after her third consecutive NFCA All-West Region honors. Young became the only multi-year CSC Academic All American in school history, while studying aeronautics and astronautics, no less. Schultz earned the Donald Kennedy Award from the Stanford Athletic Board, presented to the student-athlete who “best exhibits the combination of excellent academics, strong athletic ability, and commitment to community service.”
Stanford Athletics
“I talked to them about how proud they should be about how much the program has progressed under their care,” Allister said on the Bleav in Softball podcast.
It’s much more than performance on the field. There is no other institution ranked in the top five nationally in both academics and athletics. That requires detailed thought into who you bring into the program and a deep investment in them once they’re there.
“I don’t think I can speak enough about the quality of young women that we have brought into the program,” Allister emphasized. “It’s not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for most. But for the right student-athlete, there is no better undergraduate experience. And we’ve been able to bring young women into this program that recognize that and want both of those things.”
All In The Family
It all makes sense when you meet the parents. For the last five years, I’ve covered the program in my play-by-play and color commentary duties with Pac-12 Network and Stanford Athletics. In the process, I wasn’t just lucky to cover them as athletes, but also to get to know their families. And they did not disappoint.
In 2022, the pink cowboy hats and the “ooshka” cheers made their debut in the dugout, largely thanks to senior pitcher Tatum Boyd, who Coach Allister called the “heartbeat of the team”. While she led the charge in the dugout, the ringleader in the stands shared the same last name. On any given game day, Boyd’s mother Kelly could be seen running behind the dugout flying a giant Stanford banner and leading “Go Stanford” cheers. And she was one of many.
“To see it just catch on with the team, then catch on with the parents, then catch on with the fans, it was fun,” said Allister. “That’s what draws people to softball - that you get to see the personality of the players. And I think it’s a unique sport in the sense that you have this real connection and get to see who they are.”
The families did what the players did - they bought in.
Michael Kyllo-Kittleson
The best way to summarize this culture was a line I overheard from a spectator at the Stanford Regional. “You’d think Stanford fans would be more civilized,” he said. I don’t know if I’d ever been more proud of our fanbase. Then when the NCAA ran out of the Stanford merchandise they were selling at the WCWS, that pride swelled again. Not bad for a bunch of nerds.
A New Era
All together, about 25 Stanford alumnae from at least 10 classes in three different decades traveled to OKC this year. This included all three softball inductees in the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame - Jessica Mendoza (‘02), Dana Sorensen (‘04), and Ashley Hansen (‘12). But most importantly, women anywhere from the classes of 2001 to 2021 were together - 20 years of stories, challenges, laughs, and lessons were all in one place.
That’s what Jessica Allister represented for us. For some, they saw their old teammate. For others, like myself, they saw their old coach that recruited them to Stanford. Some even saw someone they didn’t cross paths with directly, but who would always be part of the same community. She was one of our own.
Her team had reached so many milestones in 2023. While digging through the numbers, I realized that the “last time” many of these things happened felt familiar, and it was for a reason - my teammates and I were there. The last 40+ win season for Stanford was 2012 - my senior year. The last time the Cardinal earned a national seed and hosted a Regional was 2011 - my junior year. Their 21-game win streak was the longest in school history since 2009 - my freshman year.
We felt this, and the connection between the current players and those of us that came before them felt stronger than ever. Not just because the team was “good again”, but because that understanding was there. We all started to feel like teammates.
Group of Stanford softball alums at the WCWS.
Jenna Becerra
“We want to make you guys proud,” Canady said about their postseason run on the Bleav in Softball podcast. And they did.
So, that moment on June 1st at the team’s hotel in OKC - with the coaches, players, alums and fans all in one place - felt like the start of a new era. It was a shift from survival to revival. It was never about getting “back to where we were,” but instead about moving forward to get to where we want to be. We had begun to capture the elusive balance of honoring the past, living in the present, and building for the future.
It was healing. It was unifying. It was revitalizing. Now, as people continue to cycle in and out of the program, the foundation has been reset.
I’ve been asked many times how I feel about this past season for the program. As an alum? Proud. As a member of the media? Impressed. As a softball fan? Fired up.
Stanford Softball is back. But at the same time, they’re just getting started.