2024 NCSCA Winter Coaches Clinic
Retired from coaching or playing? Become a Softball Umpire! click here
2024 High School Softball Rules Access
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 Johnston
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
7/26/23
NCSCA Annual Meeting
NCSCA’s annual meeting was held on July 19, 2023. This year’s meeting was well attended and those members present voted on and passed several items of interest.
1) Bylaws Amendments- please log in to the Members’ Area to learn more about the minor changes that were passed.
2) Board of Directors- Members voted to add a fourth position to the association’s Board of Directors.
3) David Poplin (South Stanly High School) was confirmed as District 6 Chairperson after serving as the district’s interim chair for most of 2023.
4) Alexandria Connelly (Green Level High School) was elected Chairperson for District 3, replacing outgoing Dan Gill (Apex Friendship High School).
7/14/23
2023 Mid-Year Financial Report
NCSCA’s 2023 mid-year financial statement is complete. Members may review it by logging in to our Members’ Area. An archived record of all annual financial statements dating back to 2008 is also available in the Members’ Area.
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.
6/8/23
The Mike Lambros Service over Self Award
NCSCA is establishing a new award to be given to a deserving individual based on his or her contributions to the game of softball within his/her school and/or community. Membership in the association is not required for the award recipient. Nominations must come from an association member. This year’s award will be given at our annual membership meeting which will take place at 5:00 PM on July 19 at the Greensboro Coliseum following the day’s last softball coaches’ clinic session.
If you know someone deserving of this award who you would like to nominate, please send an email to [email protected]. Your email should include your nominee’s name, school/community, and a brief statement describing why you are nominating them. Also include your phone number. The deadline for nominations is June 30.
This award was created to honor the memory of Coach Mike Lambros, the well-known, long-time softball coach at North Davidson High School. Coach Lambros was instrumental in promoting high school fastpitch softball in North Carolina. In addition to maintaining a very successful softball program at North Davidson, he constantly worked beyond his own school’s boundaries to elevate our sport. He had a big impact on high school softball as we now see it in our state.
6/5/23
2023 State Softball Playoffs Concludes
Congratulations to our 2023 North Carolina high school state champions and to all tournament qualifiers. The skill and enthusiasm seen in this year’s state tournament is a testament to the level of softball competition that exists in our state. These results stem from the hard work our athletes put in to learning the craft of playing softball. Regardless of the endeavor, superior skill is learned through countless hours of dedicated practice.
To our seniors: We wish you the best as you continue your journey beyond high school.
To our underclassmen: Continue to perfect your skills both athletically and academically, and your journey will be a good one!
| 1A State Champion: Union Academy (R6) State Runner-up: North Duplin (R2) Eastern Region Champion: North Duplin (R2) Eastern Region Runner-up: East Columbus (R4) Western Region Champion: Union Academy (R6) Western Region Runner-up: South Stokes (R5) |
2A State Champion: West Stanly (R6) State Runner-up: Midway (R2) Eastern Region Champion: Midway (R2) Eastern Region Runner-up: North Johnston (R3) Western Region Champion: West Stanly (R6) Western Region Runner-up: West Wilkes (R7) |
| 3A State Champion: East Lincoln (R6) State Runner-up: Western Alamance (R5) Eastern Region Champion: Western Alamance (R5) Eastern Region Runner-up: South Johnston (R3) Western Region Champion: East Lincoln (R6) Western Region Runner-up: Rockingham County (R5) |
4A State Champion: Apex (R3) State Runner-up: Hickory Ridge (R6) Eastern Region Champion: Apex (R3) Eastern Region Runner-up: Topsail (R2) Western Region Champion: Hickory Ridge (R6) Western Region Runner-up: Marvin Ridge (R6) |
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