John Rittman, a longtime head coach and member of the USA Softball Women’s National Team coaching pool, was named the first Head Coach of Clemson Softball on Nov. 3, 2017. Rittman came to Clemson after serving as the Associate Head Coach at the University of Kansas from 2015-17. Rittman joined the Jayhawks after 18 seasons as the Head Coach at Stanford University and 10 years on the United States National Team coaching staff (2001-08, 2016-18). He returned to the USA Women’s National Team staff in 2023 when he served as the head coach for the Japan All-Star Series. During the fourth season at the helm of the program, Rittman guided the Tigers to a 49-12 overall record that started with a perfect 14-0 run to open the season before the Tigers posted a 37-1 record through the first week of April for another program best. Clemson capped the regular season with a 5-4 victory to mark the 150th of the program and Rittman’s 900th-win of his coaching tenure. He become the 44th collegiate softball coach to reach the 900-win benchmark. Hosting the second regional in program history, Clemson went on to defeat UNCG and Auburn to make the second-consecutive super regional appearance. The Tigers took the next step as a program by surpassing previous team bests in multiple categories. Offensively, Clemson tallied 488 hits with a .313 average. The Tigers led the ACC in On-Base Percentage (.409) and Scoring (6.08 per game) and finished in the top 25 of the NCAA in eight offensive categories. Defensively, Clemson finished with a .980 fielding percentage to lead the ACC and finish seventh in the NCAA. The Tiger defense also turned 31 double plays (.510 per game), which ranked sixth in the nation. With Rittman’s tutelage, redshirt junior Valerie Cagle was named the 2023 USA Softball Player of the Year, a Rawlings Gold Glove (pitcher) recipient, the ACC Player of the Year and a NFCA First Team All-American for the second time of her career after she led the ACC in seven categories and ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA in 11 – including sitting in the top 10 in seven led by being second in the country with 157 total bases. As a team, the Tigers clocked their highest individual ranking climbing as high as No. 4 and finished the season at No. 9 in both of the major polls. Clemson finished with five All-ACC honorees and 15 on the All-Academic Softball Team, while Cagle was tabbed the ACC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. After posting a 3.68 team GPA, 17 student-athletes received Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete distinctions while the team maintained the 12th-highest team GPA in Division I. Five Tigers were named CSC Academic All-District honorees, and graduate Caroline Jacobsen earned CSC Academic All-America Third Team honors. In the third year of the program, Rittman continued to guide Clemson to new heights by making the program’s first Super Regional appearance after earning the program’s first national seed and hosting a Regional. Early in the season, the Tigers upset then-No. 6 Washington, 2-0, at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational for the program’s first top-10 win. Clemson followed that by playing its 100thgame in program history against Illinois on March 13. The Tigers won with a 4-0 victory to tie Clemson women’s tennis for the most wins through a program’s first 100 games with a 78-22 record. With that record, Rittman solidified himself as the winningest coach among active head coaches at Clemson surpassing Dabo Swinney (football), who held a 74-26 record. The Tigers continued to reach new levels by winning their 100thgame in only 130 games on May 1 with a 3-2 win against Georgia Tech on Senior Day to become the second-fastest program at Clemson to reach 100 wins trailing only women’s tennis (128). The Tigers were ACC Tournament Runner-Ups after defeating then-No. 19 Notre Dame, 7-3, and then-No. 2 Virginia Tech, 4-1, in the first two rounds before falling in the championship game, 8-6, to then-No. 3 Florida State. The upset win over Virginia Tech marks Clemson softball’s highest victory over a ranked opponent in program history. The hot streak continued for Clemson entering postseason as the Tigers earned the No. 10 national seed for the NCAA softball tournament. The No. 10 Tigers welcomed No. 17 Auburn, Louisiana and UNCW for the Clemson Regional and made a clean sweep in three games by shutting out all three programs and run-ruling UNCW and Louisiana to advance to the Stillwater Super Regional. Clemson finished the year with five All-ACC team selections, and Valerie Cagle was named an NFCA First Team All-American, the second NFCA All-America honor of her career. Behind Rittman’s efforts, Clemson climbed as high as No. 14 in the NFCA national rankings and earned its first single digit ranking from ESPN/USA Softball rankings coming in at No. 9 for two weeks. Off the field, Clemson posted a 1,000 APR and 3.38 GPA in the spring. Graduate Sam Russ was named to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America Third Team to become softball’s first Academic All-American. Cammy Pereira was awarded the 2022 Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Award from the ACC marking the third Clemson softball player to earn the honor in two years. During the second season and first complete year, Rittman propelled Clemson to even higher heights by becoming the ACC Regular Season Champions after posting a 29-5 ACC record and winning seven ACC series, including six series sweeps. The Tigers were ACC Tournament Runner-Ups after shutting out both Georgia Tech and then-No. 20 Virginia Tech in the first two rounds before dropping the championship game, 1-0, to then-No. 21 Duke. The Tigers finished the season with a 44-8 record and the sixth-best WL Percentage in the NCAA (.846). Rittman was named ACC Coach of the Year and guided Valerie Cagle to being the first softball player in league history to be named both the ACC Freshman and Player of the Year in the same season. Clemson finished with six individuals earning nine All-ACC team selections following the regular season, including three on the first team. Cagle and freshman McKenzie Clark were named to the NFCA All-Region team. The honors continued to roll in for Cagle as she became the first Clemson softball All-American garnering second team honors from the NFCA, was a JWOS First Team All-American, a Top-Three Finalist for the NFCA’s National Freshman of the Year and a Top-10 Finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year. Behind Rittman’s efforts, Clemson climbed as high as No. 13 in the NFCA national rankings and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball rankings before finishing the season at No. 18 in the NFCA poll. Rittman led the Tigers to their first postseason appearance traveling to the Tuscaloosa Regional to defeat Troy twice, including a five-inning run-rule victory in the opening game that capped off a historic second season. In its inaugural season, Rittman transcended Clemson into a nationally-respected program. Rittman guided Clemson, which was predicted to finish in 10th in the conference, according to the 2020 ACC preseason poll, to a 19-8 overall record, including 5-1 in ACC play. The Tigers, who won both of their ACC series against Virginia and Pitt, won 11 of their final 12 games before the 2020 season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Additionally, Clemson went 14-2 at Clemson Softball Stadium (now McWhorter Stadium), which included a 13-game home win streak that spanned 25 days. Rittman and the Tigers generated plenty of enthusiasm among the Clemson faithful as the first-year program ranked fourth nationally in attendance (24,860) and fifth in average attendance (1,544/game) in 2020. On March 3, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced the first-year program received votes (10) in the fifth edition of the 2020 USA Today/NFCA D1 Top 25 Coaches Poll. The announcement came after Clemson defeated then-No. 14 Georgia, 4-1, on Feb. 26 at Clemson Softball Stadium before sweeping the Cavaliers to win its first-ever ACC series. Under the direction of Rittman, three Tigers in Valerie Cagle (twice), Marissa Guimbarda and Logan Caymol earned ACC weekly honors on four occasions, the most by any ACC program in 2020. Cagle, a true freshman in 2020, was second in the nation in RBIs (36), while Guimbarda finished the season fourth nationally in home runs (11). Both Cagle and Guimbarda led the ACC in RBIs and home runs, respectively. At Stanford, Rittman and the Cardinals recorded 18-consecutive winning seasons, made 16-straight NCAA appearances, notched 13 40-win seasons and produced at least one All-American in 15 of his last 17 seasons. As head coach, Rittman accumulated a 750-351-3 overall mark, coached a national player of the year, 16 All-Americans, earned five Super Regional appearances, two Women’s College World Series appearances and maintained a spot in every regular-season NFCA top-25 poll for more than a decade. Rittman served on the staff of the USA Softball team which won gold at both the 2016 Women’s Softball World Championship and the 2017 Pan Am Qualifier. He also worked with Team USA from 2001-08, coaching the 2004 Olympic gold medal winners in Athens and the 2008 silver medalists in Beijing. Team USA also won gold medals at the 2002 and 2006 World Championship and the 2003 and 2007 Pan Am Games. Prior to being named head coach at Stanford, Rittman spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Washington, focusing on hitting and defense. Rittman helped start the program and, within just four seasons, the Huskies had earned a No. 1 national ranking, won the 1996 Pac-10 Championship, made three NCAA Tournament appearances and notched a runner-up finish in their first trip to the Women’s College World Series. Washington became the first team since Texas A&M (1983) to advance to the championship game in its first appearance at the WCWS. Before his appointment at Washington, Rittman spent two seasons as an assistant at the University of Minnesota. During his second year, the Golden Gophers won the Big Ten Conference with a 20-4 league record. The Gophers set team and individual records in almost every offensive category. The Minnesota squad led the nation in hits and total bases en route to a No. 15 national ranking. Rittman also helped produce two Golden Gopher All-Americans. From 1988-90, Rittman was an assistant coach at the University of Oregon. During his stay, the Ducks played in the 1989 Women’s College World Series, set several team and individual offensive records and produced an All-American. Rittman graduated from New Mexico State with a degree in journalism in 1986. He was a three-year letterwinner in baseball as an outfielder at NMSU after transferring from Yavapai Junior College in Prescott, Arizona. Rittman and his wife, Lorie, a former softball player at the University of Oklahoma, are the parents of Justin, a UCLA graduate and former fullback for the Bruins, and Jake, a Notre Dame graduate and former punter for the Fighting Irish. Year School Overall Pct Conference Standing NCAA Postseason 2023 Clemson 49-12 .803 18-6 3rd NCAA Super Regionals 2022 Clemson 42-17 .712 14-10 5th NCAA Super Regionals 2021 Clemson 44-8 .846 29-5 1st NCAA Regionals 2020 Clemson 19-8 .704 5–1 N/A 2014 Stanford 30–25 .545 5–19 8th 2013 Stanford 39–21 .650 13–11 4th NCAA Regionals 2012 Stanford 40–19 .678 11–13 6th NCAA Regionals 2011 Stanford 42–17 .712 10–11 5th NCAA Super Regionals 2010 Stanford 37–19 .661 8–13 T–6th NCAA Regionals 2009 Stanford 48–11 .814 13–8 4th NCAA Super Regionals 2008 Stanford 49–15 .766 11–10 4th NCAA Super Regionals 2007 Stanford 35–21–1 .623 7–13–1 6th NCAA Regionals 2006 Stanford 42–18 .700 10–11 6th NCAA Super Regionals 2005 Stanford 43–16 .729 13–8 T–1st NCAA Super Regionals 2004 Stanford 49–19 .721 13–8 T–2nd Women's College World Series 2003 Stanford 41–26 .612 7–14 T–6th NCAA Regionals 2002 Stanford 44–20 .688 7–14 T–6th NCAA Regionals 2001 Stanford 54–16–1 .768 11–10 T–3rd Women's College World Series 2000 Stanford 45–18 .714 9–12 4th NCAA Regionals 1999 Stanford 40–25 .615 10–18 T–6th NCAA Regionals 1998 Stanford 41–18 .695 17–11 3rd NCAA Regionals 1997 Stanford 31–27–1 .534 10–18 5th All-Time 904-396-3 .695 251-244-1 (.507)

*Courtesy Clemson Media Guide