Trisha Ford

Four-time conference coach of the year Trisha Ford was named Texas A&M’s 10th head coach on June 7, 2022, after coaching stints at Arizona State, Fresno State, Stanford and Saint Mary’s (Calif.). 

Since her arrival in Aggieland, Ford has guided the Aggies to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the program’s first SEC title and 71.4 winning percentage with a 165-66 overall record. In SEC play, the Aggies are tied for the second-most league wins with a 59-36 record in the Ford era and are one of just two teams with at least 15 SEC victories the past three seasons. 

Her tenure has produced five NFCA All-Americans, 22 NFCA All-Region selections and 17 All-SEC honorees. Texas A&M has made 59 weekly top-25 appearances under her watch, including its first-ever No. 1 ranking in both the NFCA and ESPN polls. In 2025, Ford became the second-fastest coach to lead a new program to the top spot in the ESPN poll era, reaching the milestone in just 159 games.

Ford was selected to the USA Women’s National Team Coaching Pool in 2025 and has helped guide Team USA to gold medal finishes at the 2026 International Cup (Oklahoma City) and 2025 USA Down Under Series(Brisbane, Australia). 

Texas A&M advanced to its 24^th straight NCAA Tournament in 2026, earning a No. 15 overall seed and hosting an NCAA regional for the 15^th time in program history. The Aggies were ranked in the NFCA top 25 for all 16 polls and designated player Mya Perez became Texas A&M’s first first-team All-American since 2008. Perez was joined by five teammates on the NFCA All-Region squad. The Maroon & White batted .340 with 504 hits and belted 83 home runs, which was the third-most in program history and a high for the Ford era. Texas A&M also had a pair of pitchers (Sidney Lessentine and Sidne Peters) with at least 15 victories and 100-plus innings for the first time since 2014. 

The 2025 season marked a historic campaign as Ford led A&M to a 48-11 record, the most wins since 2008 and fifth-most in school history. The Aggies finished second in the SEC regular season standings at 16-7, their highest placing since joining the league in 2013, and were declared SEC Tournament Co-Champions. The season saw school records set in runs (432), RBI (416), doubles (99) and run-rule victories (20). The Aggies collected a program-best seven SEC weekly honors and seven NFCA All-Region selections, the most since 1982. Perez and Mac Barbara earned NFCA All-America Second Team accolades, becoming the first Aggie duo to earn All-America honors in the same season since 2013. Ford continued to develop All-American Emiley Kennedy, who became the first Aggie to earn All-SEC First Team honors in consecutive seasons and just the 10th pitcher in program history to reach 500 career strikeouts. Lessentine set a single-game program record with 19 strikeouts and led the team in ERA (2.85), WHIP (1.18) and opponent batting average (.179).

In 2024, Texas A&M posted a 44-15 record and went 27-2 at Davis Diamond, the best home winning percentage (.931) since 2011. The Aggies hosted an NCAA Regional and advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2018. They finished third in the SEC at 15-9, won six of eight conference series and reached the SEC Tournament semifinals. Kennedy earned NFCA Second Team All-America honors after setting program records in SEC play for innings pitched (100.1) and strikeouts (86).

Ford’s debut season in 2023 saw A&M finish 35-21 overall and 12-12 in SEC play. The Aggies earned a No. 2 seed to the Austin Regional, extending their NCAA postseason streak to 21 seasons. Ford was one of only three Division I head coaches, and the only one from a Power 5 program, to lead her team to the NCAA Tournament in her first season. The Aggies appeared in all four major national polls for the first time since 2019, spending 15 straight weeks in the D1 Softball rankings and climbing as high as No. 13. The pitching staff lowered its ERA from 3.71 in 2022 to 2.70 in 2023 and tossed three no-hitters. Julia Cottrill earned NFCA Third Team All-America honors and was joined by Rylen Wiggins, Amari Harper and Koko Wooley in earning SEC and NFCA All-Region recognition.

In 16 seasons as a head coach, Ford owns a 562-292-1 (.658) record, while advancing to the NCAA postseason 11 times, including three trips to the Super Regional round and earning a berth in the 2018 Women’s College World Series. Additionally, Ford’s teams have won four conference championships – three regular season titles and one tournament crown. 

Ford arrived in Aggieland after compiling a 212-89 (.704) mark in six campaigns at Arizona State. She was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2022, guiding the Sun Devils to their first Pac-12 title since 2011 and a Women’s College World Series appearance in 2018. Her tenure in Tempe produced five All-Americans and 20 All-Conference selections.

Prior to her time at Arizona State, Ford served as head coach at Fresno State from 2013 to 2016, earning Mountain West Coach of the Year honors in 2015 and 2016 after leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back 40-win seasons and conference titles. Her 2016 team finished 42-12-1 with a 22-1 mark in league play and a school-record 23-game win streak.

Ford also spent nine seasons at Stanford from 2004 to 2012, including four as associate head coach, helping the Cardinal compile a 385-155 record and earn nine trips to the NCAA postseason during the most successful era in program history. 

She began her head coaching career at her alma mater, Saint Mary’s (Calif.), leading the Gaels program in 2002-03. A standout player for the Gaels from 1996-2000, Ford finished as SMC’s career leader in batting average (.364), hits (230) and doubles (62). In 1998, Dean led the nation with 25 doubles and set a school single-season batting average record (.435). The first female student-athlete in school history to have her jersey retired, Ford was inducted into the Saint Mary’s Hall of Fame in 2007. 

A native of Fremont, Calif., she and her husband, Eddie, have two children, Emma and EJ. Emma is a freshman on the Clemson University softball team.

Updated: 10/2026