Softball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- E-Mail:
- jevans@athletics.tamu.edu
EVANS UP CLOSE
PERSONAL
- Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Alma Mater: Utah, 1983
COACHING HISTORY
- 1984-85: Florida State (assistant coach)
- 1986-89: Colorado State (head coach)
- 1990-96: Utah (head coach)
- 1997-22: Texas A&M (head coach)
BY THE NUMBERS
- 3 Hall of Fame Inductions
(Cypress HS, Utah Athletics, NFCA) - 5 Conference Championships
(1989, 1991, 1992, 2005, 2008) - 5 WCWS Appearances
(1991, 1994, 2007, 2008, 2017) - 7 Coach of the Year honors
(1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2008) - 23 All-Americans
- 26 Postseason Appearances
- 1,300 Career Wins
(9th all-time in NCAA Division I)
National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) Hall of Famer Jo Evans served the nationally-recognized Texas A&M softball program for 27 seasons from 1997-2022.
During her tenure, Texas A&M has advanced to the NCAA postseason 22 times, including three trips to the Women's College World Series (WCWS) in 2007, 2008 and 2017 and seven trips to the NCAA Super Regionals. After Texas A&M returned to the WCWS for the first time in 20 seasons in 2007, the '08 Aggies gutted their way to the Championship Series and posted a national runner-up finish in addition to the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles.
Evans' Aggies have posted 24 30-win seasons, including 11 40-win seasons and a program-best 57 wins in 2008. The 2013 team earned the program’s best start in history with a 19-0 beginning to the year. Texas A&M compiled an impressive 987-504-2 (.662) record under Evans.
One of the winningest Division I coaches in softball, Evans guided Texas A&M to a program-best No. 2 national ranking and a school-record 20-straight NCAA Tournament appearances since 2002.
Numerous student-athletes flourished with Evans' guidance to garner national, regional and conference recognition. She has directed 23 All-American selections, 62 all-region selections and 91 all-conference nods. Four Aggies were named the Big 12 Player of the Year, three were chosen as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, one as a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and two as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. In 2008, three-time All-American Megan Gibson marked the first time a single athlete achieved both the player and pitcher of the year honors.
Evans’ players also excel in the classroom as the Aggies earned 99 academic all-conference awards, and two-time All-American and former Texas A&M volunteer assistant coach Amanda Scarborough went on to become an Academic All-American in 2007. Natalie Villarreal was named to the Academic Momentum Award first team for continued improvement in the classroom in the fall of 2011.
The Hall of Fame head coach secured her 1,300th career victory in comeback fashion against Minnesota on May 21, 2022, sending the Aggies to the NCAA Regional Finals in Norman, Oklahoma. Three Aggies earned All-Southeastern Conference honors in 2022 while five landed spots on NFCA All-South Region teams, the most recognized since 2018.
In 2021, Evans led the Aggies to their 19th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Under her leadership, Haley Lee was named an NFCA All-American, setting A&M program records in home runs and slugging percentage in a single season. Lee also finished tied for first in the SEC runs and tied for third in the nation in home runs.
In 2018, Evans and the Aggies returned to the NCAA Super Regionals, sweeping the NCAA College Station Regional that featured Baylor, McNeese and Prairie View A&M. Evans led the Maroon & White to a 44-18 record including a 13-11 ledger in conference. Tori Vidales became Evans’ 21st All-America selection as the senior broke the school’s career record in runs, RBI and total bases.
The 2008 team compiled the most victories in school history with a 57-10 overall record and led the nation with a .983 fielding percentage. Evans and associate head coaches Joy Jackson and Mary Jo Firnbach were voted the 2008 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
The seven-time conference coach of the year claimed her 1,000th career coaching victory against Wisconsin on March 1, 2014, joining seven other active NCAA Division I coaches nationwide who had achieved that milestone. Evans held the most Division I wins among active head coaches in the SEC and ranked 6th all-time with 1,300 wins at the end of her tenure in 2022.
Evans came to Texas A&M in the summer of 1996 with 11 years of collegiate coaching experience and an adeptness and capacity to build winning programs. She replaced Bob Brock, who stepped aside after three national championship titles and 15 years at the helm of the Aggies.
Evans began her head-coaching career at Colorado State University in 1986, following two seasons as an assistant coach at Florida State. The Rams finished with a 13-16 record in her first season as head coach, but it was in her fourth and final season that Evans took the program to a 37-14 record and a co-conference championship title. Evans, who led CSU to a 91-67 mark during her four-year stint, collected back-to-back High Country Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors her final two seasons and was chosen as the Central Region Coach of the Year in 1989.
Evans returned home, to Utah, in 1991 to take over at her alma mater and quickly got things going as she directed the Utes to a trip to the Women’s College World Series in just her second year. That season and the following year Utah captured back-to-back Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season and tournament titles. In '91, Evans' Utes defeated Texas A&M at the NCAA Regionals in College Station to advance to Oklahoma City. Their quest for a second straight trip to the WCWS was cut short, however, when they lost to the eventual national champion UCLA in the '92 regional finals.
In 1994, the Utes returned for their second appearance in the World Series under Evans with record-setting performances along the way. The Utes rewrote the Utah record books for virtually every statistical category including most wins (51), best finish in the World Series (5th), highest national ranking (7th) and best winning percentage (.797), to name a few. Evans earned her second WAC Coach of the Year award and was also named as the West Region Coach of the Year by her peers.
As a player at Utah, Evans earned High Country All-Conference Honors in 1982 as she led the team to a World Series appearance. She also was named as an ASA All-American in Women's Class-A Nationals.
Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record
| Year | School | Record | Conf (Finish) | Championships | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Colorado State | 13-16 | 3-7 | ||
| 1987 | Colorado State | 18-20 | 4-6 | ||
| 1988 | Colorado State | 23-17 | 4-6 | ||
| 1989 | Colorado State | 37-14 | 7-3 | ||
| 1990 | Utah | 32-30 | 2-8 (6th) | ||
| 1991 | Utah | 28-16 | 8-2 (1st) | WAC Champs WAC Tourney Champs NCAA Regional Champs |
Women's College World Series |
| 1992 | Utah | 25-20 | 9-1 (1st) | WAC Champs WAC Tourney Champs |
NCAA Regional |
| 1993 | Utah | 23-22 | 12-12 (5th) | ||
| 1994 | Utah | 51-13 | 22-4 (2nd) | NCAA Regional Champs | Women's College World Series |
| 1995 | Utah | 31-20 | 20-7 (2nd) | NCAA Regional | |
| 1996 | Utah | 32-22 | 17-7 (3rd) | ||
| 1997 | Texas A&M | 37-29 | 7-9 (6th) | ||
| 1998 | Texas A&M | 32-25-2 | 6-10-1 (7th) | ||
| 1999 | Texas A&M | 41-22 | 7-11 (7th) | NCAA Regional | |
| 2000 | Texas A&M | 32-23 | 8-10 (t4th) | NCAA Regional | |
| 2001 | Texas A&M | 32-19 | 7-11 (7th) | ||
| 2002 | Texas A&M | 40-18 | 9-9 (5th) | NCAA Regional Final | |
| 2003 | Texas A&M | 38-22 | 10-8 (5th) | NCAA Regional Final | |
| 2004 | Texas A&M | 33-22 | 13-3 (2nd) | NCAA Regional | |
| 2005 | Texas A&M | 47-10 | 14-4 (1st) | Big 12 Champs NCAA Regional Champs |
NCAA Super Regional |
| 2006 | Texas A&M | 34-19 | 11-6 (4th) | NCAA Regional | |
| 2007 | Texas A&M | 46-14 | 12-6 (4th) | NCAA Regional Champs NCAA Super Regional Champs |
Women's College World Series |
| 2008 | Texas A&M | 57-10 | 17-1 (1st) | Big 12 Champs Big 12 Tourney Champs NCAA Regional Champs NCAA Super Regional Champs |
Women's College World Series |
| 2009 | Texas A&M | 33-22 | 8-9 (6th) | NCAA Regional | |
| 2010 | Texas A&M | 44-16 | 12-6 (3rd) | NCAA Regional Final | |
| 2011 | Texas A&M | 44-15 | 13-5 (3rd) | NCAA Regional Champs | NCAA Super Regional |
| 2012 | Texas A&M | 41-18 | 16-8 (t3rd) | NCAA Regional Final | |
| 2013 | Texas A&M | 42-18 | 10-13 (4th/West) | NCAA Regional Champs | NCAA Super Regional |
| 2014 | Texas A&M | 37-22 | 9-15 (11th) | NCAA Regional Final | |
| 2015 | Texas A&M | 40-20 | 12-12 (8th) | NCAA Regional Final | |
| 2016 | Texas A&M | 39-20 | 6-15 (10th) | NCAA Regional Final | |
| 2017 | Texas A&M | 47-13 | 16-7 (t3rd) | NCAA Regional Champs NCAA Super Regional Champs |
Women's College World Series |
| 2018 | Texas A&M | 44-18 | 13-11 (6th) | NCAA Regional Champs | NCAA Super Regional |
| 2019 | Texas A&M | 28-27 | 6-18 (13th) | NCAA Regional | |
| 2020 | Texas A&M | 17-9 | 1-2 (n/a) | cancelled | |
| 2021 | Texas A&M | 32-23 | 8-16 (10th) | NCAA Regional | |
| 2022 | Texas A&M | 31-28 | 6-18 (12th) | NCAA Regional | |
| career (37 seasons) | 1300-714-2 |
June 2022
