1A Bracket 2A Bracket 3A Bracket 4A Bracket
Retired from coaching or playing? Become a Softball Umpire! click here
2024 High School Softball Rules Access
Watch NFHS video explaining new pitching rule.
2024 Bodyarmor State Games- June 18-19, Charlotte, NC
Who will play at the next level in 2025?
7/16/24
Annual Membership Meeting
The 2024 NCSCA annual membership meeting will be held 7/17/24 at the Greensboro Coliseum immediately following the NCCA Softball Coaches Clinic rules session. Join or renew your membership for 2025 on clinic day for the discounted price of $25.
7/7/24
NCSCA Scholarship Winners
Each year, the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association offers four $1000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors. Our scholarships are intended for athletes who have participated in high school softball for at least their junior and senior years of and are not receiving college athletic scholarships. Our 2024 scholarship winners are:
EAST
Kenley Stallings Perquimans County High School Elizabeth City State University
Carley Jenkins East Duplin High School East Carolina University
WEST
Camryn Kaminiski Piedmont High School Pfeiffer University
Kayleigh Marr Smoky Mountain High School Brevard College
For more information regarding our scholarship program, visit our Scholarships page in the Awards Section.
7/7/24
NCSCA Mid-Year Financial Report
Our Mid-Year Financial Statement is now available for review in the Members’ Area.
6/26/24
Post-Season Softball Awards Announced
The purpose of our All-District and All-State awards is to recognize top softball players from across North Carolina. Their hard work and dedication allow these players to not only make a positive impact on their teams, but also on the quality of high school softball in general. This year saw an estimated 5000 players participating on over 400 varsity softball teams across the state. Congratulations to our 2024 recipients! Follow this link to view North Carolina’s 2024 Post-Season Awards winners.
6/7/24
2024 N.C. State Championships
Congratulations to all of North Carolina’s high school softball state tournament qualifiers. Special congratulations to our 2024 state champions!
1A
State Champion: East Wilkes
State Runner-up: Northside- Pinetown
Eastern Regional winner: Northside- Pinetown (Beaufort County, Region 1)
Eastern Regional runner-up: Roxboro Community School (Person County, Region 3)
Western Regional winner: East Wilkes (Wilkes County, Region 7)
Western Regional runner-up: Robbinsville (Graham County, Region 8)
2A
State Champion: Southwestern Randolph
State Runner-up: Midway
Eastern Regional winner: Midway (Sampson County, Region 2)
Eastern Regional runner-up: Martin County (Martin County, Region 1)
Western Regional winner: Southwestern Randolph (Randolph County, Region 5)
Western Regional runner-up: North Stanly (Stanly County, Region 6)
3A
State Champion: South Brunswick
State Runner-up: Kings Mountain
Eastern Regional winner: South Brunswick (Brunswick County, Region 2)
Eastern Regional runner-up: South Central (Pitt County, Region 1)
Western Regional winner: Kings Mountain (Cleveland County, Region 6)
Western Regional runner-up: Piedmont (Union County, Region 6)
4A
State Champion: Garner
State Runner-up: Weddington
Eastern Regional winner: Garner (Wake County, Region 3)
Eastern Regional runner-up: Wake Forest (Wake County, Region 3)
Western Regional winner: Weddington (Union County, Region 6)
Western Regional runner-up: Northwest Guilford (Guilford County, Region 5)
4/7/24
Coach/Catcher Electronic Communication SURVEY RESULTS
The NFHS Baseball Rules Committee legalized the use of one-way electronic coach to catcher communication effective for the 2023-24 school year. The NFHS Softball Rules Committee has not legalized the same for softball. We have conducted an informal survey in the high school softball community in North Carolina asking if the same rule should be adopted for softball. The results of our survey are as follows:
Respondents greatly support one-way electronic communication from coach to catcher in softball. Survey participants were 81% in favor and 19% against. Supporting comments include the following:
- The same opportunities that exist in NFHS baseball should be allowed in NFHS softball.
- Electronic communication would solve the problem of the catcher’s view of the coach being obstructed by fences and poor field lighting, which are all-too-common problems found on high school softball fields.
- High school catchers who aspire to play at the next level should be allowed the opportunity to learn and use the same technology that has become a common part of college softball.
- Improved technology has made electronic coach/catcher communication both practical and affordable.
Comments against:
- Some schools may not be able to afford the cost of the necessary equipment, causing “further separation of the haves and the have-nots”.
- The presence of communication equipment could present problems when catchers move to block pitches.
- Communication equipment may partially obstruct the catcher’s hearing.
8/11/23
NC Softball Hall of Fame Inducts Three
NCSCA is pleased to announce its 2023 class of inductees to the North Carolina Softball Hall of Fame. The three individuals are Chelsea Leonard Martin (Central Davidson High School), Karen Dull (East Forsyth High School), and Sarah Mooney (North Mecklenburg High School). Link to the Hall of Fame
8/10/23
NCSCA President Chosen for Governor’s Award
Weddington High School’s Claire Lyerly was recently selected by Governor Roy Cooper’s office to receive the Laurel Wreath Award which is presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to sports or athletics in the great State of North Carolina. Coach Lyerly was nominated by Weddington’s Athletic Director, Michael Hart. In his recommendation letter, Hart stated, “Coach Lyerly has been a student-advocate and mentor to many, both on the field and in the classroom. She is a true asset to Weddington High School and advocate to education-based athletics in North Carolina!” Coach Lyerly is currently serving as the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association’s President. Congratulations Claire from all of us at NCSCA!
8/3/23
Coach Awards Announced
NCSCA is pleased to announce its softball Coach of the Year awards for 2023.
State Coach of the Year
1A: Darbi Holmes, Union Academy
2A: Emily Smith, West Stanly
3A : Roger Wilson, East Lincoln
4A: Justin Davis, Hickory Ridge
Region Coach of the Year
1: Tom Arnette, Camden County
2: Jaime Kylis, North Duplin
3: Chris Batten, North Johnston; Ashley Ennis, South Johnston
4: Jason Nance, East Columbus
5: Scott Bell, Western Alamance
6: Linda McGowan, Marvin Ridge
7: Kylie Hamby, Alexander Central
8: Jennifer Kruk, Enka
2023 Lambros Award
Eddie “Pop” Rivers
7/2/23
NCSCA Scholarship Winners 2023
Each year, the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association awards four scholarships to graduating seniors who are pursuing their education beyond high school and have ended their athletic careers. These young ladies are chosen based on proven dedication to their high school softball teams coupled with proven academic achievement during their high school experience. Congratulations to our 2023 winners. This year’s scholarships, in the amount of $1000 each are awarded to:
Eastern Region
Ava Blackman Triton High School NC State University
Maylani Carr E.A. Laney High School Vanderbilt University
Western Region
Ally Bingham Mooresville High School North Greenville University
Jocelyn Garcia Weddington High School UNC Chapel Hill
6/22/23 rev. 6/29/23
2023 All-District and All-State Awards Announced
NCSCA is pleased to announce our 2023 All-District and All-State award winners. These fine softball players were selected from all across North Carolina after demonstrating a season of outstanding performance. This year, 371 public North Carolina high schools as well as 90 private schools throughout our eight districts participated in varsity fastpitch softball. Well in excess of 5000 athletes participated on these teams.
Link to the 2023 Post Season Awards Lists.
12/27/21
Softball Needs Officials
In recent years we have seen a decline in the number of qualified individuals who participate in our sport through offering their services as game officials. Most notably, we see fewer younger people becoming umpires each year. This is a huge problem since we cannot play games without umpires. Statistics over the past ten years reveal that as umpires have become fewer, the number of high schools fielding softball teams in North Carolina has steadily grown with a corresponding increase in the number of games being played. In our state, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) governs, certifies, and manages officials for all high school sports. NCHSAA’s goal is to provide game officials all across the state who are competent, fair, and consistent in their craft. Officiating softball is an exciting profession to be part of as the overall skill level of our athletes continues to increase each year. We encourage anyone who would like to participate in our sport as an umpire to become an NCHSAA certified official. To find out how you can become a qualified softball umpire, you may access information here.
3/19/19 revised 2/2/21
Illegal Equipment
NCHSAA no longer requires umpires to check players’ equipment prior to each game. This, in effect, puts more responsibility on you as coach to make sure your players’ equipment is both legal and game ready. Catcher’s gear with failing straps, cracked helmets, broken face masks, loose or missing attachment screws, cracked and out-of-round bats, and illegal bats, are all your responsibility to check for and not allow to be used in a contest. Remember, the penalty for using an altered bat or a bat that is NOT on the USA Softball legal bat list is: batter is out, batter is ejected, and head coach is ejected! The list of legal bats can be found here.
9/13/18 rev. 12/27/21
North Carolina High Schools… Need a Softball Game?
If you need to add games to your softball schedule, check out our listing. To add your team to the list, send your open dates and contact information to [email protected] .
Advertise your Scrimmages, Tournaments, Camps and Clinics.
Send the information you want posted to [email protected] and we will place it in our “Events” area.
Photo by Donnie Roberts www.the-dispatch.com