Waxahachie, Texas boasted a population nearing 30,000 in the 2010 census, and now is estimated to house nearly 40,000 people. The city was the major filming location for the 1983 Robert Duvall movie Tender Mercies; is the namesake of a former US Navy ship; and also happens to be the home of one of college softball’s premier sluggers.
Brooke Goad – our Division 2 Player of the Decade for the 2010s – was one of the game’s best hitters at any level during her playing career at Southern Arkansas. She owns the Division II all-time record for home runs with ninety longballs in her career, an achievement that not only earned her the Division II all-time crown, but also ranks in a tie for third all-time in the entirety of the NCAA, at any level.
A three-time All-American, Goad was a consensus first-team selection in her senior season. She was named the Great American Conference’s Player of the Year in 2018, and also earned the conference’s Female Athlete of the Year award that same season.
For her career, Goad owned a .365 batting average, .849 slugging percentage, and a .534 on-base percentage. She scored 262 runs; knocked 51 doubles; drove in 213 runs; and earned 218 walks during the course of her career. Her free passes are also a D2 record; she once recorded a walk in nine consecutive plate appearances, yet another division record-setting feat.
One of the most potent power hitters in recent memory, and in Division II softball history, Goad left an indelible mark on the game, and now serves as an assistant coach at her alma mater, tutoring a new generation of Mulerider offensive weapons.
