The schedule has been released. Teams are opening spring practice, and many have already gotten some good time in on the field. All signs are pointing to a “full go” start for college softball in the SEC next month.
As the league’s thirteen teams get set for the 2021 campaign, questions still remain. While some question marks are shared – lingering effects of the ongoing pandemic, the enforcement of COVID protocols, and travel restrictions among them – each team also has their own unique issues that relate to on-field performance.
In the first of a continuing series within our preseason coverage, we’ve identified the questions that need to be answered for each team in the SEC.
1. Which version of Alabama will we see?
The Tide were preseason national favorites in 2020, and were favored to win the SEC and make a run at their second national championship. The year prior, in 2019, we saw a resurgent Bama team that made it all the way to the Women’s College World Series semifinals, so it wasn’t a far stretch of the imagination to picture the Tide as one of the favorites to win the WCWS in 2020. Instead, the Tide took three losses on opening weekend and finished the year 3-7 against ranked opponents. One of those wins, though? A shutout, run-rule victory over then-#1 Washington. Montana Fouts is another year older, Lexi Kilfoyl has (part of) a year under her belt, and the Tide seniors are back for one final go-around. The recipe for success is there again, but whether or not the team can put the pieces together in the right order to fulfill the expectations remains to be seen.
2. Can Arkansas take proper advantage of their “best offense ever”?
That quoted piece there? Yeah, that’s how Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel described her team after their fall season. The Hogs have a ton of individual standouts – McEwen, Gibson, Jackson, Green, Burnside, and more – who combine to make one powerful batting order. The group can hit bombs left and right, or get on base and play small-ball to bring runs home. Deifel’s squad is set in the pitching circle with the combination of Storms/Haff/Bloom, but the offense is going to be their x-factor; can the group consistently get hot in conference play against some of the nation’s top hurlers? A cohesive, indestructible offensive attack could get the Razorbacks back to their standing of 2018 as a legitimate postseason contender.
3. What is a realistic expectation for Auburn?
Is that a ridiculously general question? Yes. But is it a legitimate one? Also yes. The Tigers didn’t look great in 2020; there’s no way around saying that. A midweek loss to Kennesaw State in the first week of the season and a lopsided loss to Cal in the Mary Nutter Classic were the two most glaring examples of the Tigers’ struggles a year ago. The team ended the year with a 16-11 overall record, were 3-10 against Power Five opponents, and 2-4 against non-conference ranked opponents. A .266 team batting average and 2.99 team ERA were fairly respectable numbers, and the Tigers also saw a breakout performance from sophomore pitcher Samantha Yarbrough (6-0, 1.01 WHIP, 53 SO, .147 opposing batting average, 48.2 IP). The team adds some young studs for 2021, and also will get the final year of former Ole Miss transfer Kaylee Horton’s career. There’s talent on the roster, but also a wide margin of error in any prediction for this team until their on-field product is revealed.
4. Is Florida’s pitching going to hold up against tough SEC foes?
In post-Kelly Barnhill life, pitching was always going to be a question mark for the Gators. Barnhill herself struggled in her final season, and the Gators’ depth in the circle behind her and in her stead has been a question mark for the last couple of years. With that said, though, Tim Walton said his pitching staff looked quite good in fall practice and he praised their work ethic. Natalie Lugo led the Gators in 2020 with 81.1 innings pitched and added a 1.64 ERA, second-best on the squad. Freshman Rylee Trlicek largely lived up to the hype, finishing her year with a 1.99 ERA. The Gators have a potentially-lethal offense stacked with heavy hitters and difference-makers; if the pitching staff can hold up against SEC hitters, the Gators should be in good shape in 2021.
5. How does Georgia compensate for the loss of some powerful, veteran bats?
Georgia knew that Ciara Bryan would be leaving after the 2020 season even if the year had been a normal one, but when the NCAA’s extended eligibility waiver was announced, it seemed to give the Dawgs offense new life. Bryan is a stellar hitter, and Justice Milz and Jorden Doggett are quality role players. All of them took advantage of the extended eligibility, but none of them are Georgia Bulldogs any longer. This question would have been a prominent one with or without the waiver, and the answer isn’t particularly clear. Players like Sydney Kuma and Lacey Fincher are still around and carry big bats of their own, but how well they anchor the lineup all on their own only time will tell.
6. What does life look like for Kentucky in the post-Martens and Vick era?
Speaking of departed seniors, few teams lost the star power that UK did in their senior class that didn’t get to finish the 2020 season and were unable to return for one more season on the field. Alex Martens was putting together a solid case for National Player of the Year when the 2020 season shut down, and she carried one of the most lethal bats in the SEC. Bailey Vick got better and better as her career went on and became a fixture of her own in the Wildcat lineup. As in Georgia’s case, Kentucky knew these players were leaving, so it’s not as if they haven’t planned. But some things are unplannable; for instance, how to define your team identity after the departure of two anchors in your offense and clubhouse.
7. Can LSU’s pitching staff perform down the stretch?
The successes of LSU’s stacked pitching staff were much-celebrated in 2020. From Shelby Wickersham and Ali Kilponen to Maribeth Gorsuch and Shelbi Sunseri and incoming freshmen, the Tigers are about as deep as possible with talented arms in the circle. We saw impressive performances from the full staff a year ago – Wickersham and Kilponen both finished in the top 5 in the nation in ERA, and let us not forget Gorsuch’s stellar perfect game against Belmont. The staff performed well against high-level opponents, and seemingly, the only question remaining is how the group will fare down the stretch in conference play. If the Tigers can take full advantage of such a deep staff – including quality rest for each arm – their pitching could be an x-factor that leads to deep postseason run.
8. Will the Ricketts Momentum continue for Mississippi State?
No first-year head coach has led the nation in wins since at least 1989 until Ricketts did it in 2020 (hat tip to Brian Ogden for the stat; it’s a good one). Even with the abbreviated year, the Bulldogs exceeded expectations under Samantha Ricketts in her first season as head coach. The team came out of the gate hot down in Clearwater, and sustained that momentum through the course of the year, with their best wins coming against Louisville, North Carolina State, and San Diego State. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season before the Bulldogs reached conference play, leaving the question of their stability in conference to hang in abeyance for a full year. Mississippi State was famous under Vann Stuedeman for posting a plethora of wins in non-conference play, then struggling against SEC foes. Is that going to be different under Ricketts’ guidance? It’s possible, and actually seeing that difference in action would really cement Mississippi State’s place as a true contender in the conference.
9. Can Missouri’s youth movement hold up to snuff for a full season?
On opening weekend 2020, Missouri saw five different pitchers each earn a win in the circle. Three of those hurlers were freshmen, and went on to collect twelve of their team’s nineteen wins on the shortened year. Jordan Weber, Megan Schumacher, and Emma Nichols will be expected to repeat that kind of success in 2021, now with at least part of a collegiate year under their belts. But can they do it? The Tigers are committed to a full youth movement in the circle – with the exception of Sophie Dandola, now at her third college and second with Larissa Anderson as head coach – and will need those young players to continue to step up and provide quality innings and victories. The Tigers’ offense has some veteran cornerstones and is potent; the young pitching staff will be key to any success that the team has in 2021.
10. “Rebuild, rebuild, rebuild” has to be Ole Miss’ motto… right?
Let’s just recap how things went in Oxford from December 2019 to March 2020. Former SEC champion head coach Mike Smith departed the program in December amidst some controversy. A handful of players did not even travel on opening weekend due to academic reasons. The Rebels went 0-5 in their opening tournament, outscored 21-12 in the five games. Then things seemed to pick up a bit, with wins over Oklahoma State and, in an exhibition, the Mexican national team. To start conference play, though, the Rebels lost three straight games to Missouri, being outscored 18-3 and putting up just one run in each of the three games against the Tigers. With Jamie Trachsel now in Oxford as head coach, the Rebels simply have to be in rebuilding mode at this point. While there is still some talent on the roster, the ultimate conference standing result is far less important at this point than the player development and roster consistency that needs to be had.
11. How does South Carolina’s pitching staff shape up?
Just days before the 2020 season officially shut down, South Carolina announced a season-ending injury to pitching ace Kelsey Oh, who had looked really good in the circle up to that point. In almost a cruel joke, fellow pitching standout Cayla Drotar was, at that same time, on her way back to full health after a freak injury suffered in the second week of the season. Both Oh and Drotar return for the 2021 season – Drotar, a super senior – and now have depth behind them in dual “super freshmen” Bailey Betenbaugh and Karsen Ochs, who each looked solid in their appearances a year ago. Bev Smith can get creative in the circle at times, and the differing looks of each member of the quartet is surely a positive tool to have in her toolbox.
12. Are we at a point of radical change for Tennessee?
The question is there. Are there others for the Lady Vols in 2021? Of course. But the elephant in the room is what Tennessee softball will look like over the next few years, both from a coaching perspective as well as in the conference championship conversation. A return to top-level success in 2021 would quiet many of those clamoring over such queries. The early and lingering injury to Ashley Rogers in 2020 left freshman Callie Turner in a precarious position – as the ace of a staff on a team that needed an innings-eater. Turner’s 2.67 ERA in nearly 100 innings of work is a quality number, and with Rogers now back to good health, the two should combine to form a potent duo for the Lady Vols. After reaching the Women’s College World Series four times in six years to start the 2010s, the Lady Vols haven’t been back since 2015. The need is real to see some on-field progress for the program to remain in their historical stature as one of the league’s top teams.
13. What does a “successful year” look like for Texas A&M in 2021?
After a dismal 2019, things needed to change in Aggieland. Jo Evans hit the nail on the head by hiring Craig Snider away from Florida State, and Snider’s impact on the team’s offense was felt immediately. The Aggies seemed to just be starting to “gel” at the plate when the 2020 season abruptly ended. Looking at the last two years as a singular grouping, “success” could take on a lot of definitions for the Texas A&M squad this season. Is it defined by conference standing, offensive production, individual player growth, postseason qualification, or something else entirely? Any combination of those potentials has to be on the table to define that phrase for the Aggies, and meeting whatever expectations they set will be a positive step up after a forgettable 2019 and a 2020 that lacked an opportunity to build momentum.
