For those who thought Northwestern softball may have fallen off since its heyday, the Wildcats are here to remind you that the best simply could be yet to come for one of the Midwest’s most decorated programs.

The grind and hustle won’t truly be worth it, however, until the Wildcats finally can call themselves national champions.

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The two-time defending Big Ten Conference champion, Northwestern has come to enjoy having the target on its back and being made to perform under pressure. It’s something that helped the Wildcats make the Women’s College World Series in 2022 and come within a game of the WCWS last season.

More will be demanded of Northwestern’s current crop of talent this season, as legends of the program have moved on and have opened the door for new standouts to step up.

Here’s all you need to know about Northwestern softball ahead of the 2024 season.

How Did Northwestern Softball Do In 2023?

Challenged to follow a Big Ten Conference regular-season championship and a Women’s College World Series trip from 2022, Northwestern did a pretty good job of keeping the good mojo around the program going. 

The Wildcats won 42 games (including a 14-0 mark at home) and claimed another Big Ten title, doing the regular-season and tournament double by winning both for the first time since 2008 en route to the program’s fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. 

Northwestern powered through its own Regional by sweeping Eastern Illinois, Kentucky and Miami (Ohio) without much issue to make it back to the Super-Regional round for the third time in four tournaments. Though the Wildcats defeated Alabama in the opening game of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, subsequent back-to-back, one-run losses to the Crimson Tide denied No. 12 national seed Northwestern another trip to Oklahoma City. 

Wildcats coach Kate Drohan was named the Big Ten’s Coach of the Year, while graduate students Nikki Cuchran and Danielle Williams—the 2022 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Northwestern’s all-time wins leader on the mound—were named to the All-Big Ten first team at season’s end.

Who Coaches Northwestern Softball?

Kate Drohan is Northwestern's softball coach. Drohan has deftly carved out her own legacy in the annals of Northwestern softball, after she followed Wildcat legend Sharon Drysdale.

Promoted from an assistant coaching position to succeed Drysdale (who led the Wildcats to three Women’s College World Series appearances in her tenure) following her retirement in 2001, Drohan has taken her opportunity and run with it.

A five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, four-time Big Ten regular-season champion and three-time WCWS qualifier (2006, 2007 and 2022), Drohan has since surpassed her mentor as Northwestern’s winningest softball coach, as her teams have won at least 40 games in a season seven times. Four of those times, the Wildcats broke the 45-win barrier. 

Drohan has made Northwestern softball a constant fixture in the NCAA Tournament with 16 appearances in her tenure, including seven Super Regional appearances and a stretch of four straight from 2005-2008—and she’s had that success with her twin sister and associate head coach, Caryl Drohan, on the Wildcats’ staff helping her out.

Has Northwestern Softball Ever Won The Women’s College World Series?

Northwestern has been agonizingly close, but no, the Wildcats have never won the Women’s College World Series. 

A six-time qualifier for the WCWS, Northwestern’s dream run to the finals came in 2006 when it defeated Alabama, Tennessee and UCLA to face powerhouse Arizona for all the marbles, but the desert Wildcats shutout Northwestern in both games to take home their seventh of eight total national titles.

Notable Returning Players

Hannah Cady, INF

Of the five Wildcats who received first- or second-team All-Big Ten nods a season ago, only Cady remains. 

Northwestern’s lockdown starter at third base for each of the past two seasons should be ready to take the next step.

Twice an All-Big Ten selection (she was a first-team pick in 2022), Cady set career highs in average (.285), doubles (13) and on-base percentage (.410) last season. But she tends to get even better as the season goes along, a valuable trait to have, especially during the grind of conference play.

During Cady’s sophomore surge, she hit .371 with seven home runs in conference play alone. During her junior season, Cady smashed four more homers against Big Ten opposition as one of the top options on the Wildcats’ league-leading offense. 

Without other heavy hitters from last year,  Cady should take the mantle as one of the best sluggers in the league, especially if Northwestern wants to three-peat as conference champions.

Kansas Robinson, INF

When 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Lewis left after the Wildcats’ most recent WCWS run, Northwestern’s hopes for a repeat trip to OKC—even with loads of returning talent—were a bit shaky going into the 2023 campaign. 

Kansas Robinson’s emergence in the lineup as a freshman, however, nearly helped the Wildcats get back to the WCWS.

Robinson finished second on the team with a 1.001 OPS (the highest number by a first-year Wildcat since Lewis in 2018) and began getting into a groove once conference play came along, announcing herself on a big stage by winning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in April after a .455 stretch in her batting average against Illinois and Penn State. 

That juice continued into the postseason, for example, when she crushed two home runs in a single inning in the Regional win over Kentucky.

Notable Newcomers

Ashley Miller, RHP

How in the world does Northwestern even begin to replace Danielle Williams? 

There’s no sugarcoating that the loss of arguably the greatest pitcher in school history is massive and something the Wildcats’ pitching staff will miss dearly in 2024. 

With the addition of Miller, however, Northwestern has an arm who has already led a rotation for a Big Ten program. 

A Michigan State grad transfer, the Indiana native finished third all-time in Spartans softball history with 472 strikeouts through three seasons, over half of which came during her breakout 2022 campaign. That year, Miller finished with 244 Ks (finishing in the top 20 nationally) across 193 1/3 innings of work. 

With 32 complete games thrown in her college career, Miller can be relied upon in late-game stretches and should be the Wildcats’ best option on the mound with Williams and her record-setting skills now gone from Evanston.

Riley Grudzielanek, P/INF

If you’re a baseball fan, chances are you recognize the hard-to-spell last name above as one belonging to Mark Grudzielanek, a former All-Star and Gold Glove infielder who spent 15 years in the big leagues with six teams. 

It turns out his niece is pretty good, too.

The Wisconsinite holds the high school state record for most strikeouts in a single outing with 22 and also had a final count of 332 Ks during one season of her prep career, a school record. 

Oh, and as a hitter, Grudzielanek hit .464 as a sophomore. 

Effective two-way players are a luxury at the college level, but with high-level talent already in her genes and plenty of potential opportunities to show off her stuff across the diamond and lineup, Grudzielanek could emerge and break out as a force for the Wildcats in her rookie season.

Northwestern Softball Schedule 2024

All times Central

2024 Northwestern Softball Roster

How To Watch The 2024 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

Watch the 2024 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on FloSoftball and the FloSports app.

FloSoftball will be streaming several NCAA Division I college softball tournaments, including the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, THE Spring Games and the Mark Campbell Collegiate Invitational.

Mary Nutter Softball Tournament Schedule 

All times Eastern

Feb. 22

Wrigley Field

• Rutgers vs. Hawaii, 3 p.m.
• Rutgers vs. BYU, 5:30 p.m.
• Oregon vs. Central Florida, 8 p.m.
• Oregon vs. Baylor, 10:30 p.m.

Yankee Stadium

• Bethune Cookman vs. BYU, 3 p.m.
• Bethune Cookman vs. Oregon State, 5:30 p.m.
• San Diego State vs. Missouri, 8 p.m.
• Wisconsin vs. Missouri, 10:30 p.m.

Fenway Park

• Oregon State vs. Wisconsin 2:30 p.m.
• Central Florida vs. Mississippi State, 5 p.m.
• Baylor vs. Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m.
• Mississippi State vs. Notre Dame, 10 p.m.

Feb. 23

Wrigley Field

• San Diego State vs. Nebraska, 1 p.m.
• UCLA vs. Nebraska, 3:30 p.m.
• UCLA vs. Northwestern, 6 p.m.
• Oklahoma vs. Mississippi State, 8:30 p.m.
• Oklahoma vs. Wisconsin, 11 p.m.

Yankee Stadium

• Hawaii vs. Fresno State, 1:30 p.m.
• Hawaii vs. California, 4 p.m.
• Notre Dame vs. Oregon, 6:30 p.m.
• Long Beach State vs. Oregon, 9 p.m.
• Central Florida vs. Oregon State, 11:30 p.m.

Fenway Park

• Rutgers vs. Loyola Marymount, 1 p.m.
• Tennessee vs. Loyola Marymount, 3:30 p.m.
• Tennessee vs. CSU Fullerton, 6 p.m.
• Missouri vs. Central Florida, 8:30 p.m.
• Missouri vs. CSU Fullerton, 11 p.m.

Des Moines Field

• Cal Poly vs. California, 1 p.m.
• Cal Poly vs. Utah, 3:30 p.m.
• Bethune Cookman vs. San Diego State, 6 p.m.
• University of San Diego vs. Wisconsin, 8:30 p.m.
• University of San Diego vs. Utah, 11 p.m.

Pawtucket Field

• Illinois vs. CSU Northridge, 1:30 p.m.
• Seattle University vs. CSU Northridge, 4 p.m.
• Long Beach State vs. BYU, 6:30 p.m.
• UC Riverside vs. Rutgers, 9 p.m.
• UC Riverside vs. Baylor, 11:30 p.m.

Feb. 24

Wrigley Field

• Oregon vs. Nebraska, 1 p.m.
• Oklahoma vs. San Diego State, 3:30 p.m.
• UCLA vs. Illinois, 6 p.m.
• UCLA vs. Baylor, 8:30 p.m.
• Missouri vs. Baylor, 11 p.m.

Yankee Stadium

• Illinois vs. Hawaii, 10:30 a.m.
• Oregon State vs. Notre Dame, noon
• Oregon State vs. Tennessee, 2:30 p.m.
• Central Florida vs. Tennessee, 5 p.m.
• Central Florida vs. University of San Diego, 7:30 p.m.

Fenway Park

• Bethune Cookman vs. Loyola Marymount, 10 a.m.
• Northwestern vs. Loyola Marymount, 12:30 p.m.
• Northwestern vs. University of San Diego, 3 p.m.
• Wisconsin vs. Utah, 5:30 p.m.
• Rutgers vs. Cal Poly, 8 p.m.

Des Moines Field

• Cal vs. Seattle University, 10:30 a.m.
• Utah vs. Seattle University, 1 p.m.
• Mississippi State vs. Fresno State, 3:30 p.m.
• CSU Northridge vs. Rutgers, 6 p.m.
• CSU Fullerton vs. Mississippi State, 8:30 p.m.

Pawtucket Field

• Fresno State vs. Long Beach State, 10:30 a.m.
• Wisconsin vs. Long Beach State, noon
• CSU Northridge vs. Bethune Cookman, 2:30 p.m.
• BYU vs. Cal Poly, 5 p.m.
• BYU vs. UC Riverside, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 25

Wrigley Field

• Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma, noon
• Loyola Marymount vs. Oklahoma, 2:30 p.m.
• UCLA vs. Tennessee, 5 p.m.

Yankee Stadium

• Nebraska vs. Utah, noon
• Nebraska vs. CSU Fullerton, 2:30 p.m.
• University of San Diego vs. UC Riverside, 5 p.m.

Fenway Park

• Oregon State vs. Northwestern, noon
• Tennessee vs. Hawaii, 2:30 p.m.
• Fresno State vs. Cal Poly, 5 p.m.

Des Moines Field

• CSU Fullerton vs. Seattle University, 4:30 p.m.
• UC Riverside vs. Seattle University, 7 p.m.

Pawtucket Field

• California vs. Illinois, noon
• California vs. Long Beach State, 2:30 p.m.

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