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Texas State Head Coach Ricci Woodard begins her eighth season at the helm of the Bobcat softball program where she has enjoyed tremendous success. As Texas State's head coach, Woodard and her student-athletes have appeared in seven straight Southland Conference Tournaments and two NCAA Tournaments.
Woodard-led teams have compiled an overall 266-147-1 record while going 143-42-1 in Southland Conference play. In 2004, Woodard became the all-time wins leader among Texas State softball coaches as she passed Pam Wuestenberg, who guided the first 10 Bobcat softball teams, for the record with her 172nd win.
As a compliment to her success, Woodard has twice earned the SLC Coach of the Year award as voted by her peers within the conference. She enters 2008 with an overall .643 winning percentage.
Last season Texas State finished 32-26 overall and 18-12 in the SLC, including a 3-0 win at No. 18 Texas. The Bobcats also advanced to the final day of the Southland Conference Tournament before falling to tournament champion Sam Houston State.
In 2006 the Bobcats finished 34-22 overall, going 18-5 in conference play to finish in second in the regular season standings. Texas State also defeated #1 ranked Texas before a record crowd of over 1,100 at Bobcat Field. The Longhorns were one of five 2006 opponents for the Bobcats that made the NCAA Tournament Field. As the second seed in the 2006 SLC Tournament, the Bobcats defeated Nicholls State and Northwestern State but fell to Texas-Arlington in a loser's bracket game.
Texas State struggled to a 26-27 overall mark in 2005, the only season Woodard has failed to finish above .500 on the season. However, the Bobcats still showed they were among the Southland's best, going 18-8 in conference play to finish third in the standings.
In 2004, Texas State finished 37-20, good enough for second place in the SLC.
Woodard guided the Bobcats to a 46-18-1 record in 2003. Finishing 21-5-1 in the SLC, the Bobcats placed second in the regular season race but still earned an NCAA Tournament bid. It marked the second year Woodard's team played in an NCAA regional tournament. The Bobcats went 3-2 in the Austin Regional, falling to eventual Women's College World Series participant Texas in the regional finals after earning wins over Arizona State, Northwestern and Hawaii.
2002 brought the second straight SLC regular season championship to San Marcos as the Bobcats posted a 37-22 overall record and went 23-4 in the SLC. The SLC title was the fourth in the program's then-17 year history. The season also marked the second-consecutive year that Woodard was honored as the SLC Coach of the Year.
In 2001, Woodard took the helm at Texas State as the program's fourth head coach and immediately had unprecedented success. The `Cats had their best record in program history (54-12), a regular season SLC title, an SLC Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament. Texas State advanced to the regional finals before bowing out to eventual 2001 NCAA National Champion Arizona.
Prior to coaching her current post with Texas State, Woodard served as an assistant coach at the University of Oregon for four seasons. In her first collegiate coaching experience, Woodard helped the Ducks to three consecutive national top 25 finishes and three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Woodard started her coaching career working with high school teams. Prior to becoming a Duck, she worked as head coach at Midland High School. The Bulldogs won a district title for the first time in school history under Woodard's guidance.
She successfully started a softball program at Brazosport High School in Freeport before going to Midland and eventually entering college coaching.
As a player, Woodard played infield at Central Arizona Junior College, where she served as team captain. She transferred to New Mexico State and graduated with a B.S. in education in 1991.
Woodard played high school ball at Carlsbad (NM) High School, where her team won three New Mexico High School State Championships during her four years.
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