During UMBC softball’s NCAA Tournament regional games in May, broadcasters misspoke when identifying the team’s nickname and conference.
The four-time reigning America East champions found themselves once again in postseason play, but despite this sustained run of success, they seemed to still not garner much attention from the national media.
Enter two-way standout Courtney Coppersmith, the defining player for Retrievers softball from 2019-2023, ready to defend her team and the America East at a moment’s notice.
“I definitely think that mid-majors fly under the radar a lot when it comes to everything,” Coppersmith said. “I was so happy at how much success mid-majors had this past year in the tournament. I think it’s finally showing that you shouldn’t underestimate teams that are just as good as some of these bigger schools.”
As one of the best UMBC athletes of all time, Coppersmith’s impact during her five-year career cannot be underestimated. She is one of roughly 100 pitchers in Division I history to record 1,000 career strikeouts. She earned America East Pitcher of the Year honors four times, a first in conference history. She was a second-team All-America East selection as an outfielder in 2022 and a second-team all-conference pick as a utility player in 2019.
The 5-foot-9 left-hander from York, Pa., has evolved from a player who didn’t want to be in the spotlight to a vocal leader, but her performance on the field has done most of the talking.
“There’s a lot,” Coppersmith said in reflecting on her career. “It’s finally starting to come to that realization once you actually have to put everything together so it’s all in one spot. It becomes overwhelming, personally, of how much there is, but at the same time, that’s also such a blessing because I know that I’ve worked really hard over the past five years.”
On top of it all, Coppersmith was named the 2021-22 America East Woman of the Year. A multi-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, she takes her studies at UMBC as seriously as her play on the field. She is currently working on her master’s degree in chemistry.
“When I arrived for my first year here, she was a freshman,” UMBC head coach Chris Kuhlmeyer said. “Just being able to sit back and watch this kid grow into not just a great student, a great person and a great teammate, but just one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers I’ve ever seen.”
Coppersmith finished her career with a 1.39 ERA and 1,023 strikeouts in 630.1 innings across five years. Those stats are just the tip of the iceberg. She redefined pitching in the circle at UMBC, and with that came a wave of team success as the Retrievers found ways into the postseason at a never-before-seen rate.
UMBC went 117-75 during Coppersmith’s five-year career.
“I don’t think I’ve been able to step back and fully appreciate that yet,” said Kuhlmeyer, who recently signed an extension through the 2026 season. “I was reminiscing with a few people back to some of the highlights of her career and it’s just wild to sit back and appreciate all she accomplished. You can probably talk for hours just about the highlights.”
The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge that Coppersmith and UMBC had to navigate, but setbacks are something she has dealt with throughout her career. She has had to work back from injury more than once and is regarded as a workout monster within the walls of the Retrievers’ facilities.
There’s no question that has added to her role as a leader among her teammates, but it took her time to get to that point.
“Starting freshman year, she was definitely someone who led by example with her work ethic in the circle,” Kuhlmeyer said. “As time went on, the more accomplished she got, the older she got, she definitely became more of that leader. People wanted to play behind her and she became more vocal.”
However, her stellar pitching and all-around great play — from her offensive success to quality outfield defense — helped her reach that level much quicker than expected.
“I feel like a lot of people want to be in the spotlight,” Coppersmith said. “They want success, all of that, and I was in the spotlight a lot in high school, so I was hoping to fly under the radar. However, unfortunately and fortunately, that’s not what happened. I was in the spotlight and hopefully grew and exceeded expectations, not only that I had for myself but that others had for me.”
Coppersmith ended her career as UMBC’s all-time leader in strikeouts, shutouts and saves and is the lone Retriever with more than 800 strikeouts. She is also in the top five in program history in wins, innings pitched, appearances, games started and complete games, among other statistics.
Coppersmith’s college career came to a close after UMBC lost in the Stillwater regional in May, but her softball career continues. She will represent T.C. Colorado in the Canada Cup International Softball Championship for a second consecutive summer.
Coppersmith was not selected in the Athletes Unlimited Softball College Draft in May, and if she doesn’t end up playing professionally, she has closure and satisfaction for what she was able to accomplish.
“If AU is in the cards, it’s in the cards,” Coppersmith said. “If it’s not, it’s totally fine. I’m not going to be too upset at myself for not accomplishing something that very few select people get to do in general, let alone people that go to a mid-major get to do.”
What Coppersmith does know is that she brought even more legitimacy to mid-major softball and helped make UMBC a known commodity in the college softball space and make her a superstar at the school.
If broadcasters are still underrating UMBC, all the Retrievers need to do is point to their recent track record.
“I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Coppersmith said of her career. “It’s been a great time getting to play high-level competition, but also really focusing on academics, which has been the most important thing to me. … The group of people I’ve been with? I have friends for life.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of UMBC Athletics