After 26 seasons at Texas A&M, Jo Evans will not return as head coach
Texas A&M Director of Athletics Ross Bjork announced on Monday morning that head softball coach Jo Evans would not be offered another contract for next season.
In a head coaching career that has spanned 37 years, Evans spent 26 seasons in Aggieland and posted an overall coaching record of 1,300-713-2. During her tenure leading the Aggies, Evans won 987 games.
“Coach Evans has been a tremendous ambassador to our University and softball program for the last 26 years, but we have decided that our softball program needs to go in a new direction,” Bjork said in a release. “We are deeply appreciative of her efforts while building on our softball program’s winning tradition with three Women’s College World Series appearances. Jo is a first-class person, and we wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors.”
This decision comes following a 31-28 campaign in which the Aggies made the NCAA Tournament for the 20th consecutive season.
In 2022, the Aggies finished 12th in the Southeastern Conference with a league record of 6-18 and lost in the second round of the SEC Tournament to Florida, 4-1. The Aggies made the field of 64 as the two-seed in the Norman Regional. However, the Aggies went 2-2 in Norman, falling to #1 Oklahoma twice.
During Evans’ 26 seasons at Texas A&M, she compiled a 987-503-2 record. However, the Aggies fell to a sub-par 105-84 record in the last four seasons. Evans led the Aggies to the postseason 21 times, including three trips to the Women’s College World Series and seven Super Regionals appearances.
“Being the leader of this program for the past 26 years has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Evans said. “I have put my heart into this team and in return, I leave with amazing relationships, memories, and experiences that have shaped me for most of my life. I am deeply grateful for my time here at Texas A&M and for the people I have had the privilege to work with and coach. I wish this program all the best as it transitions into the next chapter.”
In 2008, A&M fought its way to the Women’s College World Series Championship Series but finished as the national runner-up after falling to Arizona State. The Aggies have not been to Oklahoma City since 2017 when they were 47-16 overall and finished seventh in the WCWS.
Since Texas A&M’s move to the Southeastern Conference prior to the 2013 season, the Aggies have not finished higher than tied for third in the league, which they accomplished once (2017). In nine SEC Tournament games, the Aggies are at 1-8 all-time, earning their first victory this year over South Carolina.
Evans has seen the WAC during her time coaching at Utah, Big 12 and SEC, accumulating five total conference titles. At the end of Texas A&M’s 2022 campaign, she stood as the fifth winningest active coach in Division I softball with 1,300 career victories, the ninth coach to ever reach that milestone.
Evans’ tenure is recognized by the Hall of Fames of Cypress High School, Utah Athletics and the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association. She received four-time WAC Coach of the Year and a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year honoree.
The Hall of Famer guided the softball program through A&M's move from the Big 12 to the SEC and also oversaw the construction of the $28.6 million Davis Diamond, which opened as one of the nation’s elite softball facilities in 2018.
Evans was hired after Bob Brock’s departure following the 1996 season. During his 14 seasons in Aggieland, A&M won three national titles and claimed two runner-up finishes.
The ensuing coaching search is expected to be national and will begin immediately.
“The expectation for our softball program is competing for championships every year in Oklahoma City while hosting Regionals and Super Regionals in the best softball stadium in the country at Davis Diamond,” Bjork said. “I have no doubt we will be able to move forward and bring in a championship-level head coach.”