The team plays its home games at Levine-Fricke Field, which is located in Strawberry Canyon near California Memorial Stadium.

California softball is one of the most consistently successful programs at the school, having appeared in 28 consecutive NCAA tournaments from 1986 through 2013, and winning a national championship in 2002.

The Bears are consistently ranked in the top 25, have reached the postseason for 27 straight years, have reached the Women's College World Series 14 times (11 NCAA, 3 AIAW),[2] and have won 1 Women's College World Series Championship in 2002.

There were high expectations heading into the 2002 campaign after reaching the Women's College World Series from 1999 to 2001 and with the Bears ranked #5 in the preseason poll.

The 2012 season began for the Golden Bears with extremely high expectations with head coach Diane Ninemire going as far as comparing her 2012 squad to the 2002 national championship team.