THE FORD FILE

PERSONAL

Hometown: Fremont, California
Education: Saint Mary's University, 1999
Husband: Eddie
Children: Emma and EJ

COACHING CAREER

2002-03: Saint Mary's (head coach)
2004-08: Stanford (assistant coach)
2009-12: Stanford (associate head coach)
2013-16: Fresno State (head coach)
2017-22: Arizona State (head coach)
2023-: Texas A&M (head coach)

COACHING HONORS

2015 Mountain West Coach of the Year
2016 Mountain West Coach of the Year
2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year
2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year

COACHING NOTABLES

2015 Mountain West Champions
2016 Mountain West Champions
2018 Women's College World Series
2022 Pac-12 Champions
*last updated 10/9/24

Follow @Trisha_Ford

Trisha Ford, a 16-year head coaching veteran and four-time conference coach of the year, is in her fourth season leading the Texas A&M softball program. She was named the Aggies’ 10th head coach on June 7, 2022, following previous coaching stops at Arizona State, Fresno State, Stanford and Saint Mary’s. On May 5, USA Softball announced Ford was selected to the U.S. Women’s National Team coaching pool for the 2025-28 quad.

Since her arrival in Aggieland, Ford has guided the Maroon & White to a 127-47 record, including 43-28 in SEC play, with three NCAA Tournament appearances and the program’s first national No. 1 overall seed in 2025. Her tenure has produced four NFCA All-Americans, 16 NFCA All-Region selections and 13 All-SEC honorees. Texas A&M has made 43 weekly top-25 appearances under her watch, including its first-ever No. 1 ranking in both the NFCA and ESPN polls. 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.

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. Despite a weather-shortened bracket, A&M set tournament records in batting average (.418), runs (26) and RBI (25), while posting a 14-2 semifinal run-rule win over Texas, the largest margin of victory in SEC Tournament history. The season also 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. Mya 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. Perez was also named a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, the first Aggie since 2008 and only the fourth in the program’s history.

Known nationally as a pitching guru, 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. Sydney 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 in 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 All-SEC and NFCA All-Region recognition.

Over her head coaching career, Ford owns a 524-273-1 (.657) record, including a 212-89 (.704) mark 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 six-year tenure in Tempe produced five All-Americans and 20 All-Conference selections.

Before arriving 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 during the most successful era in program history. She began her head coaching career at her alma mater, Saint Mary’s, where she also starred as a player. The only 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, California, she and her husband, Eddie, have two children, Emma and EJ.