Athletics: Softball


The William Jewell softball team has won three Heart of America Athletic Conference championships since joining the conference back in 1979. Jewell has registered eleven seasons with 20 or more wins and three campaigns with 30 or more victories (2001, 2005, and 2006). The Cardinals have been well represted on the HAAC All-Conference teams over the years as 32 players have earned the honor  since 1979. 

In 2006 the Cardinals set a team record with wins (32) and they also won their first Region V Tournament game in 2006.

The Cardinals are led by second-year head coach Dustin Combs, a six-year veteran softball coach from Glendale High School in Springfield, Mo. Combs will be assisted by Liberty resident Kellen Smith.

At Glendale, Combs helped start the softball program, and the team reached the state quarterfinal game in just its second season. Combs is the only coach to reach 100 wins in the city of Springfield. Prior to coaching softball, he served as the assistant baseball coach at Glendale High School. He also served as the head grounds keeper, receiving national recognition from the National High School Baseball Coaches Association as “Grounds Keeper of the Year” in 2004.