Head Coach Mark Cumpain
Mark Cumpian will begin his 10th year at the helm when the 2026 softball season begins.
The first year of postseason eligibly saw history be made once again, this time Cumpian helped lead the Texans to their first WAC Championship title game as the Purple and White secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament following a Division I era program best second-place finish. This marks the third straight year the Texans have made the conference tournament.
In the final weekend of conference play through the first game of the tournament for Tarleton State it saw the Texans defeat tournament host California Baptist four straight games, three of them in Stephenville. The Purple and White outscored the Lancers 17-4 over that stretch.
The month of March was another historic time in program history as Tarleton State took the three-game conference series from then No. 24 Grand Canyon. The 2-1 series win that included 3-0 and 5-2 victories marked the first time since the Lopes took a home series loss since 2022, a conference series loss since 2023 and marked just one of two times they were shutout in the 2025 season, both coming in Phoenix. The Texans were just one of two teams to beat the Lopes twice in one season.
Two more historic days came as Hannah Blincoe became just the third pitcher in program history to ever toss two no-hitters in a single season and the first since 2019. She tossed her first one on Feb. 23, 2025, vs. New Mexico in a 2-0 no-hitter shutout victory. Just 19 days later she tossed her second of the season over UT Arlington on March 14, 2025, in the Texans 8-0 walk-off run-rule no-hitter shutout win becoming the first in the Tarleton State’s Division I era to do so.
In Cumpian’s first home season opener, the Purple and White took a 5-4 win over McNeese State as the skipper is now 1-0 in season openers on home turf. It was just the start he needed as the team went on to win a program best 36 games at the Division I level.
Individually, Cumpian helped Shelby Schultz earn WAC Freshman of the Year, the first time at the Division I level a Texan has earned the honor. He also helped three student-athletes in Austin Germain, Kalyn Hill and Shelby Schultz to All-WAC First Team honors while Hannah Blincoe earned All-WAC Second Team honors. All four of these also earned WAC All-Tournament Team for their efforts in driving the Texans to the title game. Shelby Schultz and Hill were also both named to the NFCA All-Region team. Hill was named third team while Shelby Schultz was named second team as she was then named an NFCA All-American Nominee.
In his final year of reclassification, Cumpian helped lead the Texans to their second straight WAC Tournament in as many years as eligible propelled by back-to-back home runs by Kayla Wallace and Tristyn Trull in the final regular season contest.
History was once again etched in the books as Kendall Daniel tossed just the 11th no-hitter in program history on Feb. 18, 2024 vs. Mississippi Valley State, second freshman to ever complete the feat.
Individually, Cumpian helped Kelci Hill earn first team All-WAC honors. Hill was also named to the 2024 NFCA second team All-Region, marking the first Texans to accomplish the feat in the Division I era. She also finished in the top three in the conference in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, total bases and at bats.
After its second-straight 30-win season, Tarleton earned the fifth seed in its first ever appearance at the WAC Tournament. Following the conference tournament, the Texans were once again invited to take part in the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC). The Texans won their second game of the tournament for its second postseason win as a Division I program.
A pair of masterful pitching performances dazzled in the Tarleton circle in 2023. Graduate transfer Grace Garcia tossed the second perfect game in program history on 2/19 against Texas A&M-Commerce. Tristan Bridges twirled the 10th no-hitter in Tarleton history against Cailfornia Baptist on March 31.
Individually, Cumpian helped two Texans earn second team All-WAC honors, Katy Schaefer and Kelci Hill. Schaeffer was also named to the All-WAC preseason team. Hill finished in the top three in the conference in hits and was tied for second in triples with Kayla Wallace. Grace Garcia ranked second in strikeouts in the league at 106.
In just their second year as a member of NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference, Cumpian led the Texans to one of the nation’s best turnarounds. Tarleton recorded its first 30-win campaign at the Division I level and qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC). It marked the first national postseason berth by any Tarleton Athletics program in the Division I era and the Texans won second game of that tournament – 6-4 over UC San Diego – for the first postseason win in school history.
In the spring of 2021, Cumpian led Tarleton into the Division I ranks as a member of the Western Athletic Conference in the spring of 2021. Tarleton wasted no time in taking on some of the nation’s elite with showdowns against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas in the first two months of the season. Cumpian earned his first win as an NCAA Division I head coach with a 7-3 home win over Prairie View A&M.
Through the first two years of Division I, Cumpian has had six All-WAC selections including first team OF Georgia Capell and second team SS Morgan Medford in 2021. Capell finished her career as the program’s all-time leader in eight statistical categories, including home runs, and was a three-time All-American at the Division II level.
Tarleton finished its Division II tenure as one of the elite softball programs in the nation under Cumpian. Tarleton won 109 games from 2018-20, which was the most by any team in the daunting Lone Star Conference over that span. Tarleton was atop the league standings with a 19-4, 6-0 record when the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 season. Prior to that, Tarleton had posted 90 wins in each of its previous two seasons with a school-record 50 wins coming in 2018.
Cumpian’s team also spent nine weeks in 2018 ranked in the NFCA National Top 25 poll, including eight straight top 20 weeks to close out the season. Tarleton reached as high as No. 15 in the nation on two different occasions throughout the season. The team stayed nationally-ranked through the majority of its remaining tenure at the Division II level.
In his first season at the helm, Cumpian made Tarleton history by becoming the first rookie head coach in any Tarleton sport to qualify for the NCAA postseason in his first year as head coach. His team won 35 in the debut season and earned the No. 7 seed in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. He totaled four All-LSC selections in his first year as head coach, including first-team catcher Nyka Wood, to go along with an Academic All-LSC selection and an LSC Gold Glove award winner.
His encore to an impressive debut would be the record-setting three-year run to close out Tarleton’s time in NCAA Division II.
During his time as a head coach in the Lone Star Conference, Cumpian had three players named to All-America teams, including the school’s first freshman All-American, Georgia Capell, and Academic All-American, Megan Durante. Capell and Withrow were multi-year All-Americans. He had 10 all-region award winners and 30 All-LSC awards, including the LSC Pitcher of the Year, two LSC Academic Players of the Year, LSC Newcomer of the Year, and LSC Freshman of the Year.
His foundation of success started within the Tarleton Softball program after spending six seasons as the top assistant coach.
Over his final two seasons as an assistant coach for Tarleton, Cumpian was the primary hitting instructor and led Tarleton to back-to-back seasons of hitting over .300 as a team, which was the first time a Tarleton team topped a .300 batting average since 2007. His 2015 Tarleton offense ranked No. 14 in the nation in scoring offense.
In 2015, his first season as the primary hitting instructor, he led Tarleton to new heights offensively with two players hit over .400 for the season and, as a team, the team hit .328 for the No. 27-ranked batting average in the nation.
In addition to his leadership of the offense, Cumpian has spent his final two seasons as an assistant coach as the recruiting coordinator for Tarleton. His first recruiting class helped Tarleton clinch the 2015 South Central Region I Championship and advance to the NCAA Division II Super Regional Series for the first time in school history. Tarleton has been ranked in the NCAA regional rankings in five of Cumpian’s six seasons as an assistant.
In his earlier seasons with Tarleton, Cumpian served as the pitching coach and had success in that area as well. He coached a first-team all-conference, all-region, and two LSC Gold Glove pitchers during his time in charge of the Tarleton pitchers.
In his time as an assistant coach for Tarleton, he has mentored 26 all-LSC players, four LSC Gold Glove winners, the 2011 LSC Newcomer of the Year, four all-region selections, and one NFCA All-America honoree. Tarleton has also had 42 LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll selections during his time on the coaching staff.
Cumpian, a 2010 graduate of Howard Payne University, was the student assistant with the Lady Jackets for the 2009-10 season prior to joining Tarleton. Cumpian was a relief pitcher for Howard Payne's baseball team for four years. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from HPU and earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from Tarleton in 2014. He resides in Stephenville with his wife, Jennifer. They have two children, Myles and Hazel.