Which records will fall next?

The NCAA career home run record belongs to Jocelyn Alo, but does that mean we’re done with record-breaking feats? At least until Tiare Jennings makes her run at Alo’s standard? 

Not necessarily. At the moment, USF’s Georgina Corrick is closing in on former Olympian Danielle Henderson’s record of 105 consecutive scoreless innings. While we monitor that chase, here’s a look at some other Division I record holders who may soon go the way of Lauren Chamberlain and Stacey Nuveman — and some who can rest easy knowing their records are untouchable. 

Two records that will eventually fall

1. Single-season home runs (37)

• Record holder: Laura Espinoza, Arizona, 1995

Home run records have the most resonance, at least from a hitting perspective. So with the career record changing hands, the single-season mark becomes the biggest prize to chase. Even 27 years after Espinoza set the record, both the total and the identity of the holder are fairly common knowledge in softball conversation. That isn’t true for all of the records on this list.

The problem with challenging any single-season record that involves a raw total is that teams don’t play as many games as they once did. Espinoza played 72 games when she set the mark. Even pushed the maximum in every round of the postseason, a player these days isn’t going to match that. That all but rules out a mark like former Arizona star Alison McCutcheon’s 132 hits — an achievement that was the product of both individual brilliance (she hit .532 that season) and the opportunity to accumulate a lot of at-bats. 

The home run record is different because home runs are just that much more prevalent these days, offsetting fewer games. Alo came close with 34 home runs a season ago, and Louisiana’s Lexie Elkins wasn’t far off with 32 as recently as 2015. 

2. Consecutive games with a hit (43)

• Record holder: Sara Graziano, Coastal Carolina, 1994

There is admittedly little statistical evidence to back up the idea that anyone will surpass Graziano’s hitting streak. In the nearly three decades since she set the mark, former Northern Illinois and Florida standout Stephanie Tofft and UCLA legend Natasha Watley are the only players who reached even 30 games. 

But Tofft, playing at the time for NIU, did get to 36 games in 2010, the third-best streak in history. And several other players — Missouri’s Taylor Gadbois (29), George Washington’s Jessica Linquist (28), Alabama’s Kayla Braud (28) — have fired up the imagination in the past decade (Braud, of course, had a 103-game streak in high school). At the moment, Houston Baptist’s Shelby Echols and Nebraska’s Billie Andrews are working on a 21-game streaks.

Although potentially offset by developments like the increased use of relievers, the overall decrease in strikeouts (more balls in play) and increase in scoring (more at-bats) also augers well for someone making a run at 43. The biggest hindrance in this day and age might be the sport’s popularity. If someone gets to 35, they will find themselves in the spotlight. 

Three records that could be in play

1. Career doubles (91)

• Record holder: Sara Pickering, Washington, 1994-97

This mark is especially tricky because Pickering has an enormous advantage on the entire field. Her current record is 10 more doubles than any other player. But Iowa State’s Sami Williams recently made a run at history before settling for third on the all-time list with 79 doubles. And Florida State’s Sydney Sherrill matched the single-season record with 30 doubles in 2018. As the active leader with 67 doubles as of March 13, Sherrill has a chance to claim second place on the all-time list. She isn’t going to catch Pickering, but she and Williams make it possible to believe someone eventually will. 

2. Career saves (33)

• Record holder: Alyssa Rothwell, Ball State, 2017-21

This is cheating if we’re choosing records that already resonate at least a little. Unfortunately, Rothwell breaking the mark a season ago prompted limited fanfare beyond Muncie, Indiana. But career saves is here because it is a record that could turn into a story. With the way the philosophy of managing pitching staffs continues to evolve, it is conceivable that a pitcher could come along and break this record by such a wide margin that we would have to pay attention. 

Two caveats. First, that isn’t going to happen in the immediate future. Northridge senior Allie Gardiner is the active leader with 17 saves. Second, saves are a pretty poor reflection of a reliever’s actual value or performance. A coach innovative enough to alter pitching orthodoxy probably isn’t going to care very much about a adhering to the requirements for a save. 

3. Career batting average (.467*)

• Record holder: Jill Justin, Northern Illinois, 1986-89

*Among four-year players

This one comes with a list of asterisks, which aren’t generally helpful in galvanizing the public because asterisks don’t make for catchy headlines. Bear with us. Official NCAA records list Manhattan’s Stacy Cowen as the all-time leader with a .530 average. But Cowen only played two seasons and 87 games. In fact, the first four players on the official all-time leaderboard played fewer than four seasons and no more than 103 games. Among those who played four seasons, Justin tops the list. And there is room to quibble even there, as Justin played significantly fewer games than Arizona’s Alison McCutcheon and UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman — who are right behind her with matching .466 career averages. 

See? That’s a lot to fit in a headline when you’re trying to sell a record chase. 

But even if messy, it would be a heck of an accomplishment for someone to hit .468 and claim even a de facto career record. And we’ve seen hitters come reasonably close in recent years. Among Power 5 schools, Alabama’s Haylie McCleney hit .447 over four seasons. But even she can’t match Idaho State’s Kacie Burnett (.460), Western Illinois’ Sammy Marshall (.456) or Marshall’s Morgan Zerkle (.451) from the past decade alone.  

Among players classified as seniors, and as of the most recent NCAA update, Jocelyn Alo and NIU’s Katie Keller were the active leaderss at .430. Alo’s teammates Kinzie Hansen (.432) and Tiare Jennings (.451) were the active leaders among juniors and sophomores, respectively. 

The single-season all-time batting crown might be more difficult to claim. Coastal Carolina’s Sara Graziano set the mark by hitting .589 in 59 games in 1994. Among players with at least 100 at-bats, only Georgia Tech’s Jen Yee has come in recent times. Yee hit .568 in 2010, part of a season nationwide that ranks as arguably the most prolific in the sport’s history.

Three records that aren’t going anywhere  

1. Career strikeouts (2,440)

• Record holder: Monica Abbott, Tennessee, 2004-07

We’ll let Abbott’s record for strikeouts stand in as the representative for just about every significant pitching record in Division I history. No one is matching it. Georgina Corrick is the active leader and just set the American Athletic Conference career record — and she’s more than 1,400 strikeouts behind.

Nor is anyone getting to 253 wins, another record Abbott holds (as of the most recent NCAA update, Gabbie Plain was the active leader with 96 wins).

No one is posting a 0.15 ERA, the career record held by UCLA’s Tracy Compton (Georgina Corrick the active leader with a 1.11 ERA).

No one is striking out 14.34 batters per seven innings, the career record held by Cat Osterman (Alex Storako the active leader with 11.64 strikeouts per seven innings.

And we’re pretty sure no one is getting to Michele Granger’s 25 career no-hitters or Jessica Acord’s 62 single-season complete games. The sport has just changed too much for any of those records to fall. 

2. Career walks (395)

• Record holder: Veronica Nelson, California, 2000-03

Former Cal star and Team USA standout Valerie Arioto is in second place, and she’s not even within 130 walks of Nelson. In one of the more remarkable statistical feats in the sport’s history, Nelson has four of the top six single-season walk totals. Even if we counted just her two best single-season totals, she would rank 12th on the career list. 

As of the most recent NCAA update, Alo is the active leader — with 153 walks. Among non-seniors, Troy’s Kelly Horne leads the way. And she has yet to reach 100 walks. 

Nelson can afford to stroll. No one is going to catch her. 

3. Career stolen bases (257) 

• Record holder: Nicole Barber, Georgia, 2001-04

It’s not even that Barber dominated her peers. She doesn’t hold the single-season record, East Carolina’s Michelle Ward claiming that with 80 steals. It’s just that Barber ran from the moment she arrived in Athens to the moment she left. She led the nation in steals in each of her four seasons. In the years since Barber managed that, Mississippi State’s Chelsea Bramlett (the greatest running catcher of all time) is the only player to lead the nation even twice. 

As of the most recent update, Clemson’s Sam Russ was the active leader with 114 stolen bases, the only active player in triple digits. Winthrop’s Macy McCall leads the way among non-seniors with 77 stolen bases. 

Barber is also a two-time record-holder in rather unusual fashion. In addition to stolen bases, the former outfielder also set a Division I record by playing 219 consecutive games without an error.