New Mexico State University Athletics

Kathy Rodolph enters her 14th season as head coach of the NM State softball team for the 2016-17 season. Rodolph, the winningest head coach currently at NM State, reached two major milestones during the 2016 season as she compiled her 400th win as the Aggies’ head coach against CSU Bakersfield (4/23) and her 600th overall win against UMKC (4/30).
 
2016: 38-21 Overall, 14-1 WAC
 
After guiding the Aggies to a 14-1 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) record and back-to-back regular season titles, Rodolph was named the WAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year and the third time overall. Overall, NM State compiled a 38-21 record, which is the fourth consecutive year the team has won 30 or more games. The Aggies also tied a program-best winning streak with 11 games from Apr. 15-May 11.
 
With Rodolph’s guidance, the team racked up 104 stolen bases over the course of the season. This breaks the previous single-season record of 96 stolen bases, which was set in 1998. The team had 48 more stolen bases than any other team in the WAC.
 
The Aggies were ranked No. 7 in the nation in batting average, No. 14 in on-base percentage, No. 25 in both slugging percentage and stolen bases per game, No. 30 in triples per game, No. 34 in scoring, No. 54 in win/loss percentage, No. 73 in home runs and No. 101 in doubles per game. Defensively, NM State ranked No. 16 in double plays per game and No. 182 in fielding percentage. The pitching staff, led by head coach Kathy Rodolph, was ranked 59th in the nation in team ERA.
 
In addition to the national rankings, the Aggies led the WAC in team batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, triples, home runs, total bases, total plate appearances, at bats, walks, stolen bases, ERA, batters struck out, batters struck out looking, wins, fielding percentage, putouts and fielding double plays. The Aggies had nine players named WAC Hitter and WAC Pitcher of the Week.
 
In addition to the major awards, eight Aggies were named to the All-WAC Teams. Karysta Donisthorpe, Makayla McAdams, Fiana Finau and Horton earned All-WAC First Team honors, while Corrin Green, Victoria Castro, Rachel Rodriguez and Tatum Reedy were named Second Team All-WAC. Emma Adams, Rodriguez, Reedy and Donisthorpe were also selected for the All-Tournament team during the WAC Tournament. Finau and Adams were chosen for the NFCA All-Region Third Team as well.
 
Under Rodolph’s tutelage, Finau became the first Aggie in program history to be named National Fastpitch Coach’s Association (NFCA) National Player of the Week. This honor was given after Finau went 11-for-19 with three doubles, three home runs and five runs scored to help the Aggies’ to a 4-2 record for the week. Finau also became the fourth consecutive Aggie to be selected as WAC Player of the Year.
 
In addition, Kelsey Horton became the first Aggie to be named a Top 10 finalist for the Shutt Sports / NFCA National Freshman of the Year. Horton, who was the second consecutive NM State player to be named WAC Freshman of the Year, led the league and the team with 13 home runs.
 
During game two of the CSU Bakersfield series, Adams amassed her 10th double of the season and the 43rd of her career to break the record for career doubles. The previous record of 42 doubles was set by Kristi Randall from 2006-09. Adams finished her career with 46 doubles.
 
2015: 47-16 Overall, 14-1 WAC
 
Rodolph’s team had the best season in program history in 2015. The Aggies amassed a program-high 47 wins overall, which included a 6-4 win over No. 19 Arizona State on Apr. 6. After leading NM State to a 14-1 league record, their best in program history, Rodolph was named WAC Coach of the Year. The squad went on to capture the WAC Tournament title to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
In addition to breaking the program record in wins, Rodolph’s Aggies broke the single season team record in slugging percentage (.602), on-base percentage (.445), run scored (465), hits (589), doubles (100) and home runs (103). The Aggies also turned the first triple play in program history during the second inning of game two against No. 17 Arizona on Mar. 21.
 
Rodolph’s teams are known for power, which was showcased during the 2015 WAC Tournament. The Aggies went 4-1 in the tournament that was hosted at the NM State Softball Complex. After dominating Utah Valley 13-3, the squad dropped their second contest of the tournament to CSU Bakersfield.
 
Rodolph then guided her team to three straight wins en route to the WAC Tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The final game of the tournament was an 18-10 victory over CSU Bakersfield where the Aggies amassed eight home runs, which is a program record for home runs in a single game. Emma Adams, S. Rodriguez, Dodd and McBride were named to the All-Tournament team, with Adams being chosen as the Tournament MVP.
 
As a team, Rodolph’s Aggies placed five on the All-WAC First Team (Staci Rodriguez, Dallas McBride, Kelsey Dodd, Fiana Finau and Haley Nakamura) and one on the All-WAC Second Team (Karysta Donisthorpe). McBride was also selected as Freshman of the Year.
 
Under Rodolph’s tutelage, senior center fielder Staci Rodriguez was named the WAC Player of the Year for the second time in her career. S. Rodriguez is the only player in NM State history to earn the honor twice. S. Rodriguez broke the program’s single season record for runs scored with 73 and sacrifice flies with six. In addition, she ranked No. 3 in the record books for single season doubles and on-base percentage with 16 and .529, respectively.
 
Overall, S. Rodriguez finished her career with a program-best 194 career runs scored and a program-high 12 career sacrifice flies. She also ranked second in career home runs (56), RBIs (192) and on-base percentage.
 
With Rodolph’s guidance, Fiana Finau tied the all-time single-season program record with 24 home runs. Additionally, Finau broke the all-time single season RBI record with 74 and ranked third in the record books in single-season slugging percentage with a .792.
 
2014: 31-23 Overall, 10-4 WAC
 
In 2014, Rodolph reached two important milestones as she earned her 300th win with the Aggies as well as her 500th win overall in her coaching career.  Following the 2014 season, she held a 518-396 overall record and a 322-303 record at NM State with the Aggies going 31-23 overall and 10-4 in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
The 2014 team saw success not only in WAC play, where the Aggies finished second to Grand Canyon (12-3), but also in nonconference play with wins over seasonal foes Texas Tech (2/16) and UNLV (3/1).  The team opened the season with the 24th Annual Troy Cox Classic and faced Florida State and Nebraska, teams both ranked in the top-10 nationally.
 
The Aggies received the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament in 2014 after being named the top preseason pick. With wins over No. 3 Seattle U and No. 2 Kansas City, the Aggies were eliminated from the tournament after a two losses to No. 4 Utah Valley.
 
In the WAC series finale versus Bakersfield (4/12), the Aggies stamped a new conference and NM State record for most runs scored in a single inning with 17. The Aggies’ 17 runs shattered the previous WAC record of 13 runs in a single inning set in 2010 by Hawaii against Nevada.  The Aggies recorded 11 hits, five walks, two hit batters and 15 RBI in the inning.  On 11 hits in the inning, NM State only recorded one extra base hit, with the remainder coming as singles.
 
NM State had eight players selected to the All-WAC team in 2014 including WAC Player of the Year Lacey Rother.  In 125 at bats, Rother averaged a .376 batting average, slugging at .648 and averaged a .512 on base percentage. Rother was seen hitting in the top-5 for NM State, recording 12 multi-hit games, nine multi-RBI games and reached base 18 times, which was her longest streak. In WAC play, Rother was the top hitter for the Aggies averaging a .462 as she went 18-for-39 in conference play.  The Aggies also had seven players claim the WAC Hitter of the Week award and two players named WAC Pitcher of the Week.  For the 2014 season, the Aggies had the most players win Player of the Week as well and had the most players named to the All-WAC teams.
 
Rodolph guided the Aggie pitching staff to lead the conference in nearly every pitching category and a team ERA of 3.93 with two shutouts and five saves. Her pitchers held the opponents to a .289 batting average while striking out 67 batters looking.
 
2013: 37-20 Overall, 16-5 WAC
 
In 2013, Rodolph led the Aggies to a second-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference with a 37-20 season record. Her Aggies were 16-5 in conference play and held the longest winning streak in program history with 11 wins. The record-setting win for NM State came against No. 17 Arizona (4/9). The feat topped the team’s previous record of 10 that was set during the historical 2011 season when the Aggies won the WAC title and made their first ever NCAA appearance.
 
Rodolph guided her Aggies to lead the conference for much of the 2013 season as senior pitcher Alex Newman marked a career-high 24 wins to finish her career with 58 wins in 91 starts. Under the tutelage of Rodolph, Newman finished the season with a 1.88 ERA, which was second in the WAC. Newman topped off her Aggie career with a First Team All-WAC selection and All-Tournament honors.
 
Rodolph and her staff also saw success from their hitters as sophomore Staci Rodriguez finished the year as the 2013 WAC Player of the Year with 20 home runs, which led the conference and tied for 10th best in the nation. The 2013 team produced six All-Conference players, two NFCA All-Pacific Region accolades and five weeks of WAC Pitcher/Hitter of the Week honors.