In 2001, Ricci Woodard left the University of Oregon for the city of San Marcos and Texas State University. The rest is history.

25 years later, the Bobcat softball head coach has created a program built on pride, grit and playing the game the right way.​​ Tally everything together, and it adds up to 900 career wins for Woodard, a mark that places her in the top 20 amongst all active Division One coaches.

On March 31, Woodard secured her 900th career win against I-35 rival, UTSA. With the win, Woodard joined former Bobcat volleyball head coach Karen Chisum as the only coaches in Texas State history to win 900 games.

Despite the milestone victory, Woodard said the wins are only a part of what has made her career in San Marcos what it is today.

“The journey hasn’t been about wins and losses; this one is just a number and a credit to all the people I have been able to do the journey with,” Woodard said. “I think about all the recruits, players and coaches … that’s what the journey has been about for me.”

Woodard’s message to the team about wins and losses was a similar one, according to senior catcher Karmyn Bass, but she said getting Woodard to 900 was important to them.

“Whenever we were playing [against UTSA], coach told us she doesn’t want us to care about 900 wins,” Bass said. “But obviously, it is a thought in the back of our head when our coach is about to win 900, we wanted it for her, for us and for Texas State. 900 is a big deal.”

Along the way to 900 wins, Woodard instilled core values within her program that she believes are the reason for her successes at the helm of Bobcat softball.

“Pride is the first thing. We tuck our shirts in if it says Texas State softball on it, we carry ourselves in a way that people know who we are,” Woodard said. “The standard is the standard for me. I expect people to show up and get after it every day.”

Bass said Woodard not only holds her players to a certain standard, but herself as well, making it easy for the team to buy into what she is trying to accomplish.

“She sets the standard for us, coming in and giving her all every single day,” Bass said. “The least we can do is give it back to her.”

Over nearly 26 seasons, Woodard learned and polished her coaching style exactly the way she wants it, but said she still has work to do.

“I think I’ve gotten a little bit smarter about the way I go about it. But if you watch some days, it’s probably still not smart, I’m still pretty animated,” Woodard said. “I’ve tried to control that a little more over the last 900 wins, but the biggest thing is I’ve gotten smarter about how I handle young women now.”

As Woodard surpasses another milestone, she said the best part of it all is seeing the impact she has made on others.

“The greatest thing about the 900 is I get to hear from a whole lot of people, and they’re people that helped me get to this spot,” Woodard said. “That’s the fun part for me, knowing the small impact I made on people’s lives along the way … that’s what this has been about, way more than the wins and losses.”

Even though her life has centered around softball, Woodard still understands that at the end of the day, it is a game, and if she could go back to the beginning, she would make sure to tell herself that.

“At the end of the day, it’s a game that imitates life, so there’s a way we go about our business, but when the game’s over, the game’s over,” Woodard said. “Life is going to go on whether we won or lost, so it’s more about how we went about it for me.”

Even after 900 wins, 25 years and over 1,400 games, Woodard still loves getting to do her job and the opportunity to show up to Bobcat Softball Stadium every day. As she makes the next push of her career toward the milestone of 1,000 wins, Woodard said it’s important to understand why she continues doing it.

“I think I still enjoy coming to work every day and that’s what keeps me going,” Woodard said. “I love this team, I love the group of young ladies; just to see the difference of how they’ve grown up into young women that can go out and conquer the world is what still keeps me motivated.”