Coached by Karen Weekly, the team has become a consistently top-tier team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), appearing in every NCAA tournament since 2004, and qualifying for 8 Women's College World Series.

[2] In September 2017, the “Lady Volunteers” name was reinstated for all women's athletics teams.

[3] The Lady Vols first fielded a softball team in 1996 with Jim Beitia as head coach.

Since 2004, the team has reached the NCAA Tournament every year and the Women's College World Series eight times.

[6] Under the Weekly's, Tennessee has been one of only two programs (the other is Alabama) to be an NCAA Top-16 seed every year since the current format was adopted in 2005.

One particularly notable season came in 2007 when the Lady Vols managed to make history, finishing 63–8 for the program's best winning percentage of .887.

[7] The 2007 season culminated in a third-straight trip to the WCWS where Tennessee became the first SEC program to reach the best-of-three NCAA Championship Series, before falling to champion Arizona.

These results propelled the Lady Vols to a record 11 consecutive weeks at No.

[10] The Sherri Parker Lee Stadium is the home venue for the Lady Vols, replacing Tyson Park.

Opened in 2008, the stadium can seat 1,614 spectators as well as three press boxes, four VIP suites and an observation deck for television crews.

[11] In addition to Tennessee home games, Lee Stadium has hosted the SEC softball tournament (in 2009 and 2017) and exhibition games involving the US national team (2008) and the Dutch national team (2011, 2012).

Its other amenities include a kitchen, 30-seat theater, trophy room and a recreation room with a big-screen television, pool table, video games and comfortable furniture for the student-athletes.

It contains four 16-by-60-foot (18 m) cages which are designed to provide plenty of room to walk or film between each.

[13][14] Since Ralph and Karen Weekly took over the Lady Vols they have guided the program from a team struggling to make a name for themselves in the SEC[by whom?

– Discuss] The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has chosen to honor Ralph for his efforts throughout a distinguished, three-decade career, that has spanned from his time in the U.S. Air Force through stops at Pacific Lutheran, Chattanooga and now Tennessee, with a 2011 induction into the NFCA Hall of Fame.

Voted in by his coaching peers and with the organization consisting of just 49 previous inclusions, Ralph Weekly will join Ithaca head coach Deb Pallozzi in ceremonies to be held at the annual NFCA Convention.[when?

][citation needed] Ralph and Karen have taken the Vols to their first Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championships as well as the team's first Women's College World Series appearance.[when?

2 Arizona Super RegionalW 9–0 vs. HawaiiL 6–9 vs. HawaiiW 7–1 vs. Hawaii WCWSW 2–0 vs. No.

The Tennessee Volunteers are one of only two teams to have a national seed every year, along with Alabama.

The Tennessee Volunteers softball program has garnered 36 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American honors.