2020-2021 Continues Upward Athletics Trajectory at JMU

HARRISONBURG, Va. – In a year extensively impacted by COVID-19 protocols, safety measures, reduced competitive schedules, attendance restrictions and unprecedented hurdles, James Madison responded with arguably its most comprehensively successful Athletics year in department history.

JMU matched a Colonial Athletic Association all-time record of seven championships by one institution (W&M 2015-16), highlighted by softball's epic run to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series. Football advanced to the FCS national semifinals while claiming a share of the league title. Swimming and diving and lacrosse each won their fourth consecutive CAA crowns. Men's soccer claimed its third straight, women's tennis its second in a row, softball its fifth in seven seasons and women's golf its first since 2013. The all-sport success reached even further as JMU also claimed regular season titles in men's basketball and field hockey plus a CAA South Division title in volleyball during the league's one-year divisional format.

The Dukes also set a department record with a .682 combined winning percentage across all sports (162-65-5). That lifted JMU to a six-year overall mark of .656, ranking among the top 15 of all NCAA Division I institutions. On the men's side JMU went 44-34-3 (.562) to go with a 98-31-2 (.756) mark on the women's side.

Overall, eight teams achieved NCAA postseason competition (football, men's soccer, lacrosse, softball, swimming and diving, women's tennis, women's golf and track & field). Four teams finished ranked in the top 20 of their sport's final national polls – football third, softball fourth, lacrosse 12^th and men's soccer 18^th.

The Learfield Director's Cup, which measures departmental achievement in NCAA postseason competition, ranked JMU 67^th in the nation. JMU led the CAA for the fourth consecutive year (no ranking in 2019-20 due to COVID-19) and had its best finish since 2000 and fourth-highest in department history. It was the fifth-straight top-100 finish and 14^th overall (~350 Division I schools) and the fifth time to rank in the top 75.

The individual accolades were just as exceptional as the team honors. Eleven student-athletes garnered All-America honors, highlighted by Odicci Alexander being named Softball America's National Pitcher of the Year and D1Softball's Woman of the Year. Alexander was also invited to ESPN's ESPY awards event as one of four finalists for Best Female Athlete, College Sports. Nine James Madison coaches were named CAA Coach of the Year, a record for any school in a single competitive year. Ten Dukes were named to some variation of CAA Player of the Year (Player, Defensive Player, Pitcher, etc.), and JMU tied a league record with seven Rookies of the Year.

Impressively, the landmark competitive success happened in conjunction with the department's best cumulative grade point average in at least 10 years at 3.181. JMU's approximately 450 student-athletes combined to post 725 instances of a 3.0 GPA or better across the Fall and Spring semesters.

A comprehensive list of JMU Athletics achievements for 2020-2021 follows:

2020-21 By the Numbers/Department Snapshot

.682 winning % all sports
67^th in Learfield Director's Cup final fall standings
7 CAA championships
3 regular season titles (due to COVID adjustments in scheduling, the CAA did not reward regular season trophies in most sports, 4 others won their division)
8 NCAA appearances
3.181 Department GPA
94 President's List and 218 Dean's List Student-Athletes
112 Graduates (Winter 202, Spring 2021, anticipated Summer 2021)
551 student-athletes earned the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award across both semesters (includes duplications)
725 student-athletes achieved a 3.0 semester grade point average in at least one semester (includes duplications)
3,741 department hours of community service, including 12^th of 100 Division I Helper-Helper schools
11 All-Americans
10 CAA Players of the Year
9 CAA Coaches of the Year
7 CAA Rookie of the Year
2 student-athletes drafted in professional drafts with a third signing a pro contract
3 Olympians for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (Jazmon Gwathmey and Jackie Benitez – Puerto Rico women's basketball, Jacob Wukie – USA archery)

Accomplishments

JMU teams compiled a 142-65-5 cumulative record for a .682 winning percentage, best in department history. Over the past 6 years combined, the Dukes have won at a .656 clip across all sports.
JMU ranked 67^th in the final Learfield Director's Cup, its best finish since 2000 and the fourth-highest in Athletics history. It was the fifth-straight top-100 finish and 14^th overall (~350 Division I schools) and the fifth time to rank in the top 75. JMU was first in the CAA (no other in top 100), third in the state of Virginia and ninth among all Division I schools outside of the Power 5. As a comparison, JMU ranked above every school in the Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Mid-American and Sun Belt and would have ranked second in the American (AAC), Big East and Mountain West. The Dukes were ahead of seven Power 5 programs.
JMU opened the Atlantic Union Bank Center in November and hosted the CAA men's basketball championship in the building's first season in March.
JMU hosted four CAA Championships this spring: men's basketball, track & field, lacrosse and softball.
JMU has had five teams appear in the national rankings in 2020-21, including all concurrently in the same week (April 19), with another team receiving votes. Football was ranked No. 1 for the majority of the FCS season and finished third. After its national semifinal appearance, softball finished fourth in the polls. Men's soccer was ranked as high as 7^thand finished 18^th, lacrosse as high as 10^thand finished 12^th and field hockey as high as 20^th. Women's basketball was ranked for much of the season in the top 10 of the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll and also received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches National Poll early in the season.
In major professional sports drafts, men's soccer had two players selected in the MLS Draft for the first time in program history as Tom Judge (36^th overall by Nashville SC) and TJ Bush (80^th by Seattle Sounders FC) were chosen. Softball's Odicci Alexander signed a free agent agreement with the USSSA Pride, joining a pitching staff including fellow former JMU Dukes Jailyn Ford and Megan Good. Three former JMU players won Super Bowl rings for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Aaron Stinnie started, Josh Wells played as a reserve and Earl Watford was a member of the practice squad. Ben DiNucci (Dallas Cowboys) became the first former JMU football player to start as a quarterback in the NFL.
JMU will have three former athletes compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The group includes Jazmon Gwathmey and Jackie Benitez in women's basketball for Puerto Rico as well as Jacob Wukie for the United States in archery.
Over 1,000 donors contributed approximately $700,000 to the Dukes Unite campaign in October in an effort to help boost sustainability for JMU Athletics.
On June 21, JMU celebrated its JMA Awards, with top honors going to Male Athlete of the Year Matt Lewis of men's basketball and Female Athlete of the Year Odicci Alexander of softball. Casey Carter Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors went to men's basketball's Zach Jacobs and softball's Sara Jubas.
Softball's Odicci Alexander was named one of four finalists for ESPN's ESPY for Best College Athlete, Female Sports as well as D1Softball's Woman of the Year.
Swimming & Diving's Faith Anderson was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American, just the seventh repeat selection in JMU history.
Football went 7-1 and was ranked No. 1 in the country for much of the season before ultimately falling in the FCS semifinals at Sam Houston and finishing third. Mike Greene was named CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Ethan Ratke CAA Special Teams Player of the Year. Mike Greene, Percy Agyei-Obese, Ethan Ratke, Kyle Davis and Raymond Gillespie were named All-Americans.
Men's soccer went 5-1-3 for the spring season and captured its third consecutive CAA Championship with semifinal and final wins on PKs before then falling to UCF in the NCAA Second Round, JMU's only loss of the season. Paul Zazenski earned his 100^th career victory during the season and was named CAA Coach of the Year. TJ Bush and Tom Judge were named All-Americans. Three Dukes (Melker Anshelm, Bush & Judge) were named All-Atlantic Region for the first time since 2004. The coaching staff was also rewarded as Atlantic Region Staff of the Year.
Women's soccer finished 1-3-2 overall in the condensed spring season.
Volleyball went 7-3 overall, including 7-1 to win the South Division of the CAA. Miëtte Veldman was named CAA Rookie of the Year and Lauren Steinbrecher CAA Coach of the Year. Steinbrecher also earned her 200^th career victory during the season.
Field hockey finished 6-2 in the spring season and captured the CAA Regular Season Championship with an unblemished 5-0 slate before falling in overtime in the title match at Delaware. Christy Morgan was named CAA Coach of the Year and Eveline Zwager CAA Player of the Year.
Cross country finished third in the CAA Spring Championship. Miranda Stanhope was named CAA Rookie of the Year after a second-place finish in the title meet.
Men's basketball was picked ninth in the CAA preseason poll but flipped the script to win a CAA regular season championship, finishing 13-7 overall and 8-2 in the league. Matt Lewis was named CAA Player of the Year and was named to the Mid-Major Player of the Year award watch list. He suffered a season-ending injury before the final regular season game. Mark Byington was named CAA Coach of the Year.
Women's basketball finished at 14-10 overall and 9-6 in the CAA. JMU finished second in the CAA and lost to eventual champion Drexel in the semifinals. Peyton McDaniel was named CAA Rookie of the Year and Kiki Jefferson First Team All-CAA. The Dukes were ranked in the top 10 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll early in the season and received votes in the preseason coaches poll.
Swimming & diving went 3-0 in the regular season before then capturing the program's fourth consecutive CAA Championship in late March. Madison Cottrell was named CAA Championship Most Outstanding Performer as well as Swimmer of the Year. Dane Pedersen was named Swimming Co-Coach of the Year and John Wolsh Co-Diving Coach of the Year.
Men's golf finished third in the CAA.
Women's golf earned the program's fifth CAA Championship to advance to the NCAA Regionals while Kendall Turner also won individual gold honors. Earlier in the season, JMU put together a record-shattering weekend at the River Landing Tournament in March setting new marks for team round score (-11, 277), individual round score (-4, 68, Amelia Williams) and individual 54-hole score (-8, 208, Kendall Turner). Williams later topped her own record (-5, 67) at the ECU Eastern Invitational.
Women's tennis defended its crown, capturing a second straight CAA Championship after winning its first-ever title in 2019. The Dukes went 14-4, wrapping up the season with a loss to Tennessee at Virginia in the NCAA Championship. JMU finished No. 59 in the final ITA national rankings.
Men's Tennis went 8-8, advancing to the CAA semifinals.
Softball went 41-4 to finish with the second-best record in the nation behind national champion Oklahoma and best overall winning percentage in program history. JMU advanced to its first Women's College World Series in program history (and first school in CAA history) while also being the first unseeded team ever to win its first two games, as the Dukes finished in the top four in the national semifinals and also ranked fourth in the final national rankings. JMU was the first team outside the Power 5 in the WCWS since 2014 and was one of 13 schools to compete in at least three of the last five Super Regionals (other 12 all Power 5). Odicci Alexander was named Softball America National Pitcher of the Year and was joined by Kate Gordon as All-America selections. Both were also named to the WCWS All-Tournament Team. JMU earned ranked wins over the #1, #5, #8, #9 and #25 teams during its postseason run. The Dukes captured the CAA championship by outscoring CAA teams 32-0 in 17 innings, including a 17-0 title-game victory. Alyssa Humphrey was one of 15 finalists for NFCA Freshman of the Year. Loren LaPorte and staff were named D1Softball's National Coaching Staff of the Year.
JMU softball's run to the Women's College World Series garnered a total media/publicity value of $2.8 million (traditional media, not including social media). There were 1,300 total media mentions (~850 online, ~250 TV stations, ~200 other) for a total reach of 790 million individuals. On social media, the @JMUSoftball Instagram account grew by nearly 22,000 followers in the month of June and reached over 525,000 Instagram users, with over 95% of those reached having not previously been following the account. On Twitter, @JMUSoftball grew by 13,000 followers from mid-May into the first week of July and averaged an astounding 462,000 impressions per day for a 48-day stretch. The top two posts (OKC Bound, Odicci exits the field) each garnered over 1 million impressions. Both James Madison and Odicci Alexander reached top five trending on Twitter nationally at multiple points of the run, while others (Kate Gordon, Sara Jubas, Lynsey Meeks, etc.) also dipped into the top 25 at key moments. JMUSports.com was college sports web host SIDEARM's most-visited Division I school site outside the power 5 schools in the month of June. Overall, the JMU Athletics website had 839,520 visits in the five-day window of the WCWS compared to ~50,000 for the same week during a normal year (1,700% increase) By comparison, JMU's first College GameDay visit in 2015 drew 581,000 visits over a seven-day stretch from the time the show was announced.
Lacrosse went 12-5 and finished 12^th in the national polls. After a tough midseason stretch, the team closed the regular season with four straight CAA wins and then captured its fourth straight CAA Championship as the tournament's No. 2 seed. The Dukes won a first-round NCAA game before falling in a close matchup at No. 1 North Carolina. The program recorded its 500^th victory all-time in a triumph over George Mason. Molly Dougherty and Emma Johnson were named All-Americans.
Baseball went 11-17 overall while Marlin Ikenberry recorded his 400^th career win during the season.
Indoor track & field's condensed season began with freshman Erica Moolman breaking the school record in the pole vault.
Outdoor track & field placed sixth at the CAA Championships held at JMU. Individual event champions included Skyla Davidson in the triple jump and Jordan Otto in the high jump. Shelby Staib represented the program in the NCAA Track & Field East Preliminary.
Among coaching contract updates, Shelley Jaudon of women's tennis was extended through the 2025-26 season and Marlin Ikenberry of baseball through the 2022 season.
JMU announced its 2020 Hall of Fame class, with official induction delayed to Sept. 10, 2021 due to COVID safety concerns. The eight-member class includes: longtime administrator and coach Casey Carter (1978-2017), wrestler Dan Corbin (1979-83), wide receiver David McLeod (1990-93) and defensive end Arthur Moats (2006-09) of football, Randy Parker (1984-88) of swimming and diving, midfielder Teresa (Rynier) Rook (2007-10) of women's soccer, forward C.J. Sapong (2007-10) of men's soccer and midfielder Baillie Versfeld (2003-06) of field hockey.
Faith Anderson (swimming & diving) and Nacho Montero (men's golf) were honored as CAA Institutional Scholar-Athletes for the year with Faith Anderson also being named the overall CAA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Meanwhile, Kayla Connelly (cross country), Sarah Stim (swimming & diving), Kylie Moulin (women's tennis) and Alexys Taylor (track and field) earned CAA Leadership & Sport Excellence Awards.
94 student-athletes named to President's List and 218 to Dean's List across both semesters of 2019-20 academic year. Altogether 112 student-athletes graduated (17 in fall 2020, 81 in Spring 2021 and 14 anticipated in Summer 2021). The department posted an overall GPA of 3.181.
The JMU Student-Athlete Leadership Program hosted 15 virtual events (workshops, guest speakers, etc.). The workshop speakers emphasized diversity with content that included five industry panels, two on the presidential election, mental health, sexual harassment, social justice, transition to the post-college/professional world and personal finance. Fifty student-athletes engaged in personal career sessions while 12 student-athletes were paired with alumni for the 2021 Summer Mentorship Program.
As part of the Dukes Lead program, student-athletes completed 3,741 hours of community volunteerism. JMU ranked 12^th for community engagement among 100 Division I programs subscribing to the Helper-Helper app with top-10 finishes within their sport for cheerleading (1), field hockey (2), track and field and cross country (2), swimming and diving (4), women's soccer (4), men's golf (5), women's golf (8), women's tennis (8) and volleyball (9).
Dallas Jackson (baseball) and Mike Johnson (football) represented JMU in the 2021 Black Student-Athlelte Summit, hosted virtually by Texas in January.
Student-athlete Sinead Sargeant (track & field) and staff member Ashley Parsons (Student-Athlete Services) were part of the CAA "United for Change" committee.
Carly Lyvers (women's golf) attended the NCAA's virtual Career in Sports forum as well as the NCAA's Student-Athlete Leadership Training conference.
JMU Athletics established a Diversity and Inclusion Council to help the department to prioritize initiatives in these areas. Committee chair Kevin White earned JMU's 2021 Compass Award for Diversity & Inclusion in the Leadership category.

Award Lists

CAA Champions (7)

Swimming & Diving
Women's Golf
Men's Soccer
Football (Co-)
Women's Tennis
Lacrosse
Softball

CAA Regular-Season Champions (3, not including division champs)

Men's Basketball
Volleyball (CAA South Division)
Men's Soccer (CAA South Division)
Football (Co-, CAA South Division)
Field Hockey
Softball (CAA South Division)
Lacrosse (CAA South Division)

NCAA Appearances (8)

Swimming & Diving
Women's Golf
Men's Soccer
Football
Women's Tennis
Lacrosse
Softball
Track & Field

National Player of the Year (1)

Odicci Alexander – Pitcher (Softball America)

All-Americans (11)

Mike Greene – Football
Percy Agyei-Obese – Football
Ethan Ratke – Football
Kyle Davis – Football
Raymond Gillespie – Football
TJ Bush – Men's Soccer
Tom Judge – Men's Soccer
Molly Dougherty – Lacrosse
Emma Johnson – Lacrosse
Odicci Alexander – Softball
Kate Gordon – Softball

CAA Players of the Year (10)

Matt Lewis – Men's Basketball
TJ Bush – Men's Soccer (Defender)
Madison Cottrell – Swimming & Diving
Eveline Zwager – Field Hockey
Mike Greene – Football Defensive
Ethan Ratke – Football Special Teams
Emma Johnson – Lacrosse Defensive
Odicci Alexander – Softball Pitcher
Madison Naujokas – Softball Defensive
Kendall Turner – Women's Golf

CAA Coaches of the Year (9)

Mark Byington – Men's Basketball
Dane Pedersen – Swimming
John Wolsh – Diving
Lauren Steinbrecher – Volleyball
Paul Zazenski – Men's Soccer
Christy Morgan – Field Hockey
Loren LaPorte – Softball
Shelley Jaudon – Women's Tennis
Tommy Baker – Women's Golf

CAA Rookies of the Year (7)

Peyton McDaniel – Women's Basketball
Miranda Stanhope – Cross Country
Miette Veldman – Volleyball
Axel Ahlander – Men's Soccer
Madison Cottrell – Swimming & Diving
Alissa Humphrey – Softball
Holden Koons – Men's Tennis

VaSID Players of the Year (6)

TJ Bush – Men's Soccer Defensive
Ethan Ratke – Football Special Teams
Molly Dougherty – Lacrosse
Emma Johnson – Lacrosse Defensive
Kate Gordon – Softball
Odicci Alexander – Softball Pitcher

VaSID Coaches of the Year (3)

Lauren Steinbrecher – Volleyball
Shelley Klaes – Lacrosse
Loren LaPorte – Softball

VaSID Rookie of the Year (5)

Axel Ahlander – Men's Soccer
James Carpenter – Football Defensive
Miette Veldman – Volleyball
Isabella Peterson – Lacrosse
Alissa Humphrey – Softball

NOTE: Athletics competition did not begin until November, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Calendar

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Scoreboard

Calendar

Completed Event: Men's Soccer at Georgia State on October 10, 2025 , Tie , 1, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Louisiana on October 10, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2

Completed Event: Football versus Louisiana on October 11, 2025 , Win , 24, to, 14

Completed Event: Men's Golf versus Everett Buick Classic on October 13, 2025 , , 7th of 16

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus #5 Princeton on October 14, 2025 , Tie , 1, to, 1

Upcoming Event: Women's Golf versus Evie Odom Invitational on October 16, 2025

Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at ITA Atlantic Regional Championship on October 16, 2025

Upcoming Event: Cross Country at Panorama Farms Invitational on October 17, 2025 at 8:45 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus #17 Massachusetts on October 17, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Coastal Carolina on October 17, 2025 at 6 p.m.

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2020-2021 Continues Upward Athletics Trajectory at JMU

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