Patrick Murphy is not just one of the more prominent head coaching figures in college softball, but also one of the winningest coaches in the sport.
Murphy, who is in his 25th season associated with the Alabama softball program, ranks 15th among all Division I college softball coaches — and fifth among active coaches — at 1,263 career wins. He also has compiled an impressive postseason resume, given how long he has coached the Crimson Tide.
Throughout his tenure in Tuscaloosa, which began in 1996 as an assistant coach under then-Alabama head coach Kalum Haack, Murphy has led the Alabama softball program to 24 consecutive trips to the postseason in the NCAA Tournament and 14 Women's College World Series trips.
As the Tide look to bounce back from an early exit in last week's SEC Tournament, Murphy kicks off his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday, May 17 at 3:30 p.m. CT against the University of South Carolina Upstate.
Here's what you need to know about Murphy's record in the NCAA Tournament and Women's College World Series:
Patrick Murphy NCAA Tournament record
Murphy brings an overall record of 101-45 in the NCAA Tournament into this year's tournament. He is 1,271-371 overall in the last 25 years at Alabama.
The Tide returned to the Women's College World Series last season after not making it out of the NCAA Regional, i.e. first round, round of the NCAA's in 2022.
How many NCAA Super Regionals does Pat Murphy have?
The Tide have appeared in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament on 19 different occasions.
Alabama had a stretch of 16 consecutive trips to the Super Regionals from 2003 through 2021. The NCAA Tournament did not occur in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here's a full list of the teams that Murphy has led to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament:
- 2000
- 2003
- 2005
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- 2021
- 2023
How many WCWS appearances does Patrick Murphy have?
Alabama first went to the Women's College World Series under Murphy in 2000, his second season at the helm of the program. Since then the Tide have made it to Oklahoma City on 13 different occasions — 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Murphy's squad went 0-2 in the Women's College World Series last season, losing to Tennessee and Stanford.
REQUIRED READING:Alabama softball falls in extra innings to LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament
How many Women’s College World Series titles does Patrick Murphy have?
Murphy and Alabama have won one Women's College World Series across the last 26 years.
That national championship run came in 2012 as the Tide took two of three against college softball powerhouse Oklahoma. Alabama came back from a 3-0 deficit in Game 3 against the Sooners, scoring four runs in the fourth to later become the first SEC team to win the Women's College World Series.
That year Alabama, the No. 2 seed in the WCWS, defeated Tennessee, Alabama and California to advance to the championship series against Oklahoma.
The Tide came close to winning their second national title in 2014 but dropped two games to Florida in the Women's College World Series championship best of three series.
How many NCAA Tournament appearances does Patrick Murphy have?
Murphy has appeared in 24 consecutive NCAA Tournaments during his 25-year tenure in Tuscaloosa as Alabama's head coach. The Tide would have likely made the NCAA's in 2020, the lone year Murphy hasn't coached in the NCAA WCWS, if it wasn't for the season being halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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