Appalachian State University Softball: A History of Mountaineer Grit
Appalachian State University, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Boone, North Carolina, boasts a rich athletic history. Among its diverse sporting programs, the softball team holds a special place, embodying the Mountaineer spirit of perseverance and dedication. From its early days to its current standing in the Sun Belt Conference, Appalachian State softball has evolved, leaving an indelible mark on the university's athletic landscape.
Early Years and Program Foundations
Appalachian State University's athletic history began around the same time as the university's inception. The university itself was founded in 1899 as Watauga Academy by Dr. B.B. Dougherty. The institution has undergone several transformations since then, becoming the Appalachian Training School in 1903 and later the Appalachian State Teachers College.
Although sports history at App State began at about the same time as the university did, the first major sporting event, after the establishment of organized football in 1928, was the building of the iconic Kidd Brewer Stadium. Before the stadium was known as Kidd Brewer or The Rock, the stadium opened as Conrad Stadium on Sept. Conrad Stadium, named for former university trustee William J. Conrad initially had 10,000 seats.
While information about the specific inception of the softball program remains limited, its growth mirrors the university's own trajectory. As Appalachian State transitioned from a teachers college to a comprehensive university, its athletic programs expanded, providing opportunities for female athletes to compete at the collegiate level.
Transition to Division I and the Southern Conference
Appalachian State became a dominant force in the Southern Conference for more than 40 years before moving up in July 2014 to the Sun Belt Conference, one of 10 conferences that are members of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For many years, Appalachian State competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). During this era, the softball program established itself as a competitive force within the conference, consistently striving for excellence on the field.
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The Appalachian State women's basketball team, coached by Angel Elderkin, was one of the top teams in the Southern Conference, laying claim to six SoCon tournament titles and six regular season championships in a 26-year span. On February 19, 2011, the Appalachian State Mountaineer women's basketball team won the 2011 Southern Conference regular-season title. The last time they had won the title was 1996. This is a first for Head Coach Darcie Vincent.
Move to the Sun Belt Conference
In July 2014, Appalachian State made a significant move, joining the Sun Belt Conference. This transition marked a new chapter for the university's athletic programs, including softball. The Sun Belt Conference offers a higher level of competition and increased exposure, providing Appalachian State softball with opportunities to grow and excel on a larger stage.
Since moving up, the Mountaineer football team has won an unprecedented five bowl games in each of its first five eligible seasons and claimed four straight conference championships, while finishing the 2019 season as the No. 18-ranked team in college football. With conference titles in a variety of sports each year since the transition, App State student-athletes pursue daily comprehensive excellence in competition, academics and community involvement. All varsity teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, except for field hockey and wrestling.
While rivalries exist with Sun Belt west division schools such as Troy and Louisiana, Appalachian State's main Sun Belt rivals are east division members Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern, as well as rekindled rivalries from the days in FCS with recent Sun Belt additions Marshall and James Madison.
Coaching and Leadership
The leadership of the softball program has been instrumental in shaping its identity and success. Over the years, various coaches have guided the Mountaineers, each contributing their expertise and passion to the team's development.
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In 2014, Janice Savage was named head coach. “I first would like to thank Delaware State University for everything they have done for my family and myself,” Savage said. “I appreciate the opportunity they gave me and that allowed me to become a better coach and person. “I am extremely excited about the opportunity to coach at Appalachian State University,” she continued. “The support I have received already from the staff and administration has made this an even more exciting time for me. “We’re excited to have Coach Savage join the Appalachian State family. She has had tremendous success as a coach and student-athlete at the Division I level and stresses achievement off the field as much as winning on it. “Appalachian is excited to have Coach Savage become our next head coach and lead us into the Sun Belt Conference. Her personality, energy level, enthusiasm, love for the game and teaching ability will do her well at App State. She is a fireball that loves winning, loves her players, works them hard and expects strong academic performances out of them. “I am excited for the Mountaineers’ softball program as they start this next chapter with Coach Savage. She will definitely be a huge asset to both the softball and the athletic program. - St. “Janice Savage is the right choice to take over the App State softball program. You could not have found a coach who will be more invested in her players academically and athletically. She will not only develop champions on the field but bring her insight and life experience to develop young women who are positive role models off the field. “Janice worked at a lot of my camps and clinics. She was a great player, which translates to her coaching. She really treats kids well - she treats them as a coach should and she makes sure they work hard. “I’ve known Coach Savage since she was a pitcher in high school, recruited her and have kept track of her over the years. She is a tremendous young lady and a heck of a coach. She is family-oriented and I am happy to get her back in the south so we can see each other more often.
Savage spent seven as an assistant coach, including two stints at Delaware State (2006-08, 2011-12) and a year each at Bowling Green (2009) and North Florida (2010). As an assistant at Delaware State in 2008, she helped lead the Hornets to the MEAC championship and first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Savage also starred as a softball student-athlete at Delaware State, where she was a pitcher from 2004-05. Despite playing just the final two seasons of her collegiate career at DSU, she is the school’s all-time leader in career strikeouts (323) and also owns program records for single-season (185) and single-game (17) strikeouts. The Hornets finished 35-17 overall in 2014 with a 15-3 record in league play and led the MEAC in virtually every statistical category, including winning percentage (.673), batting average (.321), ERA (2.12) and fielding percentage (.957). Off the field, her team put together a 3.54 cumulative GPA in the 2013 fall semester, which was the highest team GPA among Delaware State’s 15 varsity programs, while 13 of her 15 student-athletes maintain a cumulative of 3.0 or higher.
Currently, Whitney Jones serves as the head coach of Appalachian State University Softball.
Facilities and Resources
The softball program benefits from dedicated facilities and resources that support its training and development. These include:
- A dedicated softball field: App State Softball will play 13 games at their new home this upcoming season, starting with a series against Georgia Southern (March 21-23).
- Training facilities: Equipped with modern equipment to enhance strength, conditioning, and skill development.
- Academic support: Resources to ensure student-athletes excel in their studies.
- Sports medicine and healthcare: Comprehensive care to prevent and treat injuries.
Recent Season and Schedule
Newly minted App State Softball head coach Whitney Jones announced the 2025 softball schedule on Thursday. "Looking at the schedule we have put together this spring, we are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead," Jones said. "We intentionally scheduled a competitive nonconference portion to prepare our group to make a strong run come Sun Belt Conference play.
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In addition to the home contests, the Mountaineers will play a tough nonconference schedule that includes contests against Auburn, South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. This year's squad returns two players who made at least 40 starts last year in Grace Barrett and Olivia Cook. App State also welcomed 11 newcomers to the mountain this fall, including three transfers.
The Mountaineers will open the season in Alabama in a tournament hosted by Auburn. This tournament features two squads that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago in Southern Illinois and Auburn. App State will play Southern Illinois twice (Feb. 7 and Feb. 9), North Carolina twice (Feb. 7 and Feb. 8) and Auburn (Feb. Following action in Auburn, App State will head to Columbia, S.C., to compete in a four-team tournament hosted by South Carolina. The Georgia Classic (Feb. 21-23) in Athens, Ga., follows action in Columbia. While in Athens, the Mountaineers will face ACC opponent Syracuse and SEC foe Georgia twice. Heading into March, the Mountaineers will take to Lynchburg, Va., to take part in a tournament hosted by Conference USA Tournament champion Liberty. App State will face Lehigh (doubleheader on Feb. Wrapping up the early portion of nonconference action, the Mountaineers will take to Clarksville, Tenn., for a three-day slate against three different teams.
Sun Belt Conference action kicks off on March 14 in San Marcos, Texas, where App State and Texas State will meet for a three-game series from March 14-16. A weekend set at James Madison follows as the Mountaineers travel to Harrisonburg for the second time in program history. After that, two home Sun Belt series await the Mountaineers as they will host Marshall (April 4-6) and ULM (April 11-13). The Mountaineers will wrap up their road schedule with Georgia State (April 17-19) and Southern Miss (April 25-27). The 10-team Sun Belt Tournament will be held in Troy, Ala., on the campus of Troy University from May 7-10.
Recruiting and Player Development
Appalachian State University Softball does offer athletic scholarships for Softball. Need-based and academic scholarships are available for student-athletes. Athletic scholarships are available for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NAIA and NJCAA. If you are interested in getting recruited by Appalachian State University Softball, you should get to know more about the school, what academic programs are offered, and important members of the coaching staff - these are the people you need to connect with. It’s important you build a relationship with the coaching staff. This is one of the ways SportsRecruits can help. You can certainly start by filling out the Appalachian State University Softball’s recruiting questionnaire and getting on their list, but that’s only the start. To get actively recruited, a college coach needs to see you compete, which is why it’s important to have an online athletic recruiting profile.
High school student-athletes have a discoverability problem. And discoverability is the key to college exposure and recruitment. Just having a recruiting profile doesn’t guarantee you will get recruited. You need your profile to showcase all of your academic and athletic achievements, and be able to instantly connect to college coaches who are interested. If you can’t quickly find and message any college coach you want, then you’re not solving your biggest problem in getting recruited for Softball. The Head Coach of Appalachian State University Softball is Whitney Jones - make it as easy as possible for them to learn about you as an athlete, and be able to start a conversation with you. 100% of college coaches and programs are on the SportsRecruits platform. Introduction along with hitting and defensive work. Contact any college in the country in just a few clicks. Show college coaches your game. Questions? Whether or not you’re an incoming freshman or a seasoned Mountaineer, sports can be integral to your time on this campus.
A Broader Look at App State Athletics
More than 400 student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division I varsity sports at Appalachian State University, and dedicated fans love to cheer them on. The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State fields varsity teams in 17 sports, 7 for men and 10 for women. The football team competes in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly I-A, as a result of the transition to the Sun Belt. The wrestling team remains in the Southern Conference because the Sun Belt does not sponsor the sport. In field hockey, another sport not sponsored by the Sun Belt, Appalachian State joined the Mid-American Conference for the 2017 season after playing two seasons as an independent following the demise of its former league, the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac).
Appalachian State's football program has been successful with the Mountaineers winning three straight national championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Football home games are played at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Appalachian's first baseball team took the field in 1903. The Mountaineers are coached by Kermit Smith. The Mountaineers won regular season conference titles in 1973, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 2012. The head coach of the Appalachian State men's basketball team is currently Dustin Kerns, previously of the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Notable past coaches include Press Maravich and Bobby Cremins. The Mountaineers have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times, 1979, 2000, and 2021 and appeared in the National Invitation Tournament in 2007. Appalachian State plays all home basketball games at the George M. The Mountaineers are coached by Dowell Loggains. The 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons were successful, with the Mountaineers winning three consecutive FCS national championships.
The Mountaineers achieved perhaps their biggest win in program history with a road upset of the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines, 34-32, on September 1, 2007. With the win Appalachian became the first ever FCS (I-AA) team to defeat an AP nationally ranked FBS (I-A) team. Numerous players from ASU have gone on to play in the National Football League. The women's field hockey team were members of the single-sport Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) until that league's demise after the 2014 season, playing the next two seasons as a Division I independent, as the Sun Belt does not sponsor this sport. The Mountaineers wrestling team is coached by JohnMark Bentley and holds their home matches in Varsity Gymnasium. Notable former Mountaineer wrestlers include former Olympians - Al Crawford (1948), Herb Singerman (1968), Ike Anderson (1988), and Dale Oliver (1988). Former UFC fighter Tony Gravely also wrestled for the Mountaineers. Austin Trotman, a former NCAA All-American for the Mountaineers in 2012, is the school's career wins leader with 129 wins. The university's cycling team has had success at the regional and national level; they compete within the Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference. The team competes in every discipline of bicycle racing that is acknowledged by National Collegiate Cycling Association within USA Cycling. The team won the Division 2, as established by USA Cycling, collegiate team mountain bike national championships in 2008.
George M. Yosef is the mascot for Appalachian State. The origin of the name Yosef comes from mountain talk for "yourself", the idea being that if you are a fan, friend or alumnus and have a heart of black and gold, you are Yosef. Yosef first appeared in the 1942 edition of The Rhododendron, Appalachian's annual yearbook. He was presented as a member of the freshman class with the name Dan'l Boone Yoseff from Appalachian. The second "f" was dropped from Yoseff in January 1947. Since his inception, Yosef has gone through many appearance changes with the current design being adopted prior to the 1983-84-year. The Hayes School of Music provides support for the Mountaineers at all home football games with the Marching Mountaineers, and at all home basketball games with the Appalachian Pep Band. The Marching Mountaineers travel to a select few away games each football season.
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