Courtney Deifel became the Arkansas softball program’s all-time wins leader Saturday evening in Clearwater, Fla.
Deifel, 42, surpassed Carrie Dever-Boaz’s 244 wins from 1997-2004 in the Razorbacks’ 7-6 victory over No. 22 Louisiana-Lafayette. She owns a 245-130 record since arriving in 2016, and has led Arkansas to back-to-back SEC championships.
The program has continued its national ascension into the early stages of the 2023 season, checking in at No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 entering the Clearwater Invitational.
“She's changing the entire culture of our program and how Arkansas softball is perceived across the country,” Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek said. “We are a nationally relevant softball program, and that obviously was not the case when she arrived eight years ago.
“She just changed the entire culture and has made this a very special softball program and a place that young women want to come and play.”
Arkansas’ three NCAA super regional appearances have all happened under Deifel. She has led the Razorbacks to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances after inheriting a program that had qualified just six times since it began playing in 1997.
While Deifel has led the program to new heights, former players often credit her largest impact coming off the field.
“She just is an incredible role model for the young women of our program,” Yurachek said. “One, she walked in their shoes. She played softball at the highest level. She's now a wife, a mother of two wonderful boys, and she's showing how you can be a mom, be a wife, be a head softball coach at the highest level, and have success in doing that.
“And I just love the example she sets both on and off the field for the young women that go through our program.”
KB Sides transferred to play for Deifel in 2022, her final year of eligibility, and became the program’s first SEC player of the year. Sides said while accolades were special, the biggest thing gained at Arkansas was Deifel’s mentorship.
“She brought me out of a place that I needed to be brought out of, and she did it with so much grace,” Sides said. “She changed my entire life for the better, and I miss her every single day.
“She truly is just a one-of-a-kind human and I'm so happy for her. She deserves every bit of recognition that she ever gets.”
Sides’ career ended one win shy of Arkansas’ first Women’s College World Series appearance. Following the loss to Texas, a choked up Deifel deflected credit for changing the program’s trajectory to the senior class, saying, “They did that.”
“She wanted that so desperately and badly for those young women who did such an incredible job laying the foundation and helped us build the program that we're now enjoying,” Yurachek said. “I think that was a goal she had for those young women because she understands the special experience it is.
“She embodies what I think we try to embody as a department, that our focus is on the success of our student-athletes and their experience as student-athletes.”
The Razorbacks landed five players, including Sides, on the NFCA All-America team last year. Nine of the program’s 10 players to earn that honor have received it under the watch of Deifel.
Her 2022 staff was named NFCA South Region coaching staff of the year.
“The hardest part is not being around the coaches anymore and not being around her,” Sides said. “Also not being around her family. I think that in itself says more than anything about the program that she runs. It’s not just about wins and losses, it's about the people that you're around.
“She is the main one that has put the program together. It starts from the top, and she's done it.”