| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1965-12-20)December 20, 1965 (age 59) Glendale, Arizona |
| Playing career | |
| 1984–1985 | Central Arizona JC |
| 1986–1987 | Cal State Fullerton |
| Position(s) | Pitcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990–1995 | Florida State (asst.) |
| 1997–2018 | Texas |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 873–401–3 (.685) |
| Tournaments | NCAA: 52–39 (.571) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Awards | |
| |
Connie Sue Clark (born December 20, 1965)[1] is an American, former collegiateAll-American right-handedsoftballpitcher and head coach. Clark began hercollege softball career at the junior college level before finishing her last two years with theCal State Fullerton Titans from 1986–87 and leading them to the 1986Women's College World Series championship title. She is theBig West Conference career leader inERA andWHIP for her two seasons, she also ranks top-10 for those records for both the Titans and theNCAA Division I.[2][3][4]
Clark was named the inaugural head coach of theTexas Longhorns softball program, a position she held from 1997 to 2018. Along the way she was mentor to athletesChrista Williams,Cat Osterman andBlaire Luna and coached teams to a first No. 1 softball ranking, five college World Series and three national semifinal finishes. Clark was also a head coach for theNetherlands.[5]
Clark was born and raised inGlendale, Arizona and graduated fromGreenway High School in nearbyPhoenix in 1983. AtCentral Arizona Junior College, Clark pitched on the softball team under head coachMike Candrea and led the team toNational Junior College Athletic Association titles in 1984 and 1985.[6]
Transferring toCal State Fullerton, Clark had a 20–2 record and nation-best 0.18 ERA leading the Titans to the1986 Women's College World Series title.[7] She earned First Team All-Big West honors. At the World Series, Clark pitched three shutouts and surrendered just one hit and struck out 8 in the title game to defeat theTexas A&M Aggies 3-0 on May 25. She was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts.[8][9]
As a senior in 1987, Clark went 33–5.[10] She won the Broderick Award (now theHonda Sports Award) as the nation's top softball player in 1987.[11][12] She earned First Team All-American recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and another conference honor.[13] Clark and the Titans returned to the World Series to defend their title but eventually lost theUCLA Bruins on May 23. Clark tossed 6 innings and struck out 4 in her final appearance.[14]
After graduating from Cal State Fullerton, Clark pitched forTeam USA in 1987.[6]
From 1990 to 1995, Clark was an assistant coach atFlorida State University. She became the inaugural head softball coach at theUniversity of Texas at Austin in June 1995, leading theTexas Longhorns from 1997 to 2018 with a cumulative 873–401–3 record, fourBig 12 Conference regular season titles, fourBig 12 Conference softball tournament titles, and 19 appearances in theNCAA Tournament, including five in theWomen's College World Series.[6][15]
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 1986 | 20 | 2 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 155.1 | 42 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 197 | 0.18 | 0.42 |
| 1987 | 33 | 5 | 47 | 36 | 32 | 21 | 4 | 283.0 | 133 | 29 | 19 | 70 | 261 | 0.47 | 0.71 |
| TOTALS | 53 | 7 | 70 | 58 | 52 | 37 | 4 | 438.1 | 175 | 34 | 23 | 94 | 458 | 0.36 | 0.61 |
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Longhorns(Big 12 Conference)(1997–2018) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Texas | 30–24 | 6–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1998 | Texas | 49–16 | 11–5 | 3rd | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 1999 | Texas | 45–17 | 10–4 | 2nd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2000 | Texas | 30–27–1 | 11–5 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2001 | Texas | 24–29 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| 2002 | Texas | 50–13 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2003 | Texas | 49–9 | 15–2 | 1st | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2004 | Texas | 24–25 | 5–13 | 8th | |||||
| 2005 | Texas | 49–13 | 11–6 | 3rd | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2006 | Texas | 55–9 | 15–2 | 1st | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2007 | Texas | 35–20 | 8–10 | 6th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2008 | Texas | 29–23–2 | 9–9 | T–4th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2009 | Texas | 40–20 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2010 | Texas | 43–15 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2011 | Texas | 46–10 | 14–4 | 2nd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2012 | Texas | 47–13 | 16–8 | T–3rd | NCAA Super Regionals | ||||
| 2013 | Texas | 51–10 | 14–4 | 2nd | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 2014 | Texas | 35–23 | 12–6 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2015 | Texas | 38–17 | 12–6 | T–2nd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2016 | Texas | 38–16 | 10–7 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2017 | Texas | 33–26 | 7–10 | 4th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| 2018 | Texas | 33–26 | 10–8 | 4th | NCAA Regionals | ||||
| Texas: | 873–401–3 (.685) | 243–142 (.631) | |||||||
| Total: | 873–401–3 (.685) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)