Trisha Ford
How the Aggie Softball head coach found her way to Texas A&M
By Matt Simon '98
Through the eyes of spectators, Trisha Ford's first season at Texas A&M exceeded preseason expectations by quite a bit.
Thirty-five wins along with a top-seven league finish and a lot of “first time since” moments all generated a lot of positive momentum at Davis Diamond.
The feisty and uber-competitive leader of the Aggie Softball program was not satisfied.
“I always think we can beat anybody,” Ford said with a smile.
Now with an even more successful year two under her belt, Ford has proven that the future of Aggie Softball is exceedingly bright.
“We are going to play the game at the heart and the right way,” Ford said. “We are going to play with grit, tenacity and force. I want a highly-competitive, on-the-field softball product that plays the game with energy and never gives up the fight.
“When you look at all the things Texas A&M and its core values, that is what I want Aggie Softball to be about.”
The oldest of three children, Ford grew up in Fremont, California and was a star softball player at St. Mary's College in nearby Moraga. Once finished playing, coaching was not on her radar.
“I was going to be a research lawyer, and then I transitioned into pursuing a teaching credential,” Ford said. “I did that my fifth year and helped out as a student coach that season.”
In a twist of fate, a full-time position opened up on an interim basis with the Gaels' staff, and Ford took it — but not for the reason you may think.
“I was just trying to get paid and figure out how to pay the rent,” Ford said with a laugh. “I did that so I could finish my teaching credential and get going on that. It just kind of went from there.”
“I just feel like this is a very magical place. You do not really understand it until you are a part of it. I just feel very lucky that my path has led me here.”
Soon thereafter, Ford was named interim coach and then head coach in 2002. Just a few years after graduating, she was running her first softball program.
Next came a nine-year stint as an assistant at Stanford where Ford learned how to run a program while experiencing tremendous success in one of the nation's toughest softball leagues.
“John Rittman really took a chance on me,” Ford said. “I was super young and very green, but he really taught me a lot and how to run a program. I learned so much from him.”
Following the 2012 season, Ford and her husband, Eddie (also a former student-athlete at St. Mary's) had one child with another on the way. With the high cost of living in the Bay Area at the time, they decided it was best for their family to start looking around. Fresno State, one of the top mid-major programs in the sport, had an opening and was a place Ford thought she could recruit to — and thus win.
And win she did.
The Bulldogs won 143 games in Ford's four seasons, never finishing worse than second in the Mountain West Conference. Following the success, the Arizona State Sun Devils came calling.
“I was not really looking to be a head coach, but I told Eddie I just feel like it is all in God's plan,” Ford said. “I am a big believer in that.”
Again, success followed Ford with a 48-win season in year two that culminated with the program's first Women's College World Series trip in five years. After navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Ford's 2022 team smashed their way through a brutal Pac-12 schedule, winning 20 league games en route to the Sun Devils' third-ever conference title.
Very soon after that victory, the phone rang. This time, Texas A&M was on the other end.
“Trisha was on our radar because of her success in the Pac-12,” said Jeff Toole, Texas A&M senior associate athletics director and sport administrator for softball. “She is extraordinarily competitive and wants to be the best softball coach in the country.
“When she came to visit it was obvious that she was a fit. Texas A&M has a blue-collar history, and Trisha has a blue-collar background. We knew she would be comfortable and fit in here and turn us in to a really good program.”
Year one saw the Aggies make a regional final and notch their best overall season since 2018. Year two brought a revamped roster that included returning veteran leaders, key impact transfers and a talented freshman class. The Aggies earned a 16-seed in the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, advancing to super regionals and completing the season scoring the second-most runs in program history (371).
Off the field, the Ford family has fallen in love with Aggieland, Texas A&M and everything that local residents know make their home so special.
“I did not fully understand it until now, after living through it the past two years,” Ford said. “I have not met a mean soul. People are just polite here. The more that I get into the community, the more that my kids become part of the community. They have given us so much. The 12th Man Foundation donors have been great.
“I just feel like this is a very magical place. You do not really understand it until you are a part of it. I just feel very lucky that my path has led me here.”