Selection Sunday is finally here. The conference champions have all been decided and we will soon know who will be playing where next weekend. With just a few hours before the committee makes their decisions known, here are our final Bracketology projections.
Author: jmcleod
Oklahoma State standout Vanessa Shippy has been named the JWOS Player of the Year in the Big 12 conference. Shippy was joined by conference Pitcher of the Year Paige Parker (Oklahoma) and Jenae Jefferson of Texas, who was crowned Freshman of the Year. Shippy led her squad with a .460 batting average and paced the conference with her .613 on-base percentage and sixty-five runs scored. Shippy earned a pair of conference Player of the Week honors during the year and collected four home runs and twenty-eight RBI on the season. Parker led the conference with her 0.51 ERA in Big 12 games, holding…
The SEC tournament has moved from twelve participants to just four in two days’ time, and the conference bracket has already seen its share of upsets. Mississippi State bested Texas A&M late in the first round, while Arkansas took care of business against Georgia in the quarterfinal round. Four teams remain standing: Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, and Arkansas. Before those squads duke it out for a spot in the conference championship game, here are four things that stood out to us from the teams in the semifinal round. 1. Arkansas’ Haff is the real deal Haff really seems to fight…
Sam Houston State has promoted Garrett Valis to be the Bearkats’ next head softball coach. Valis had been an assistant coach with the Bearkats for the past four years, serving as the top assistant under Bob Brock. Brock had announced in February that the 2018 season would be his last as head coach. The Bearkats finished the 2018 season with a 24-33 record and ended the year in the conference tournament semifinals. The squad reached the Southland conference tournament in each of the last three seasons. Prior to being hired as an assistant coach at Sam Houston, Valis’ coaching resume…
When Cal Poly pitcher Sierra Hyland graduated following last season, one might have thought that the Mustangs were in trouble after losing their pitching ace. Not the case, however – Lindsey Chalmers, now in her own senior season, was primed and ready to lead her team from the pitching circle. Heading into the last week of the regular season, and possibly of her collegiate career, Chalmers holds a 19-9 record and a 2.24 ERA on the year. Tasked with leading the pitching staff and assuming the role of ace and filling Hyland’s stead, Chalmers has emerged the victor in…
Rutgers has relieved head coach Jay Nelson of his duties. Nelson spent twelve seasons as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach, and shepherded the program through their transition from the Big East to the Big Ten Conference. The Scarlet Knights reached the conference tournament in each of their first two Big Ten seasons, 2015 and 2016, but have won just thirty-three games over the last two years. A victor of 279 games during his tenure at RU, Nelson’s best season came in 2013, when his club reached the 30-win plateau for the first and only time during his tenure. The Scarlet…
Grambling State fired head coach Wilbert Early on Thursday. Early spent twelve seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, posted a 118-319 record during his tenure. Grambling posted an 11-29 record during the 2018 season, with a 1-17 mark in SWAC conference play. The Tigers’ single conference win in 2018 was also their only victory over a Division I opponent, as the remaining ten wins came over lower-division opponents. Prior to being hired at Grambling, Early had been an assistant at Southern University, a conference rival of the Tigers.
Tennessee senior Meghan Gregg and Florida junior Kelly Barnhill were named the SEC Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, in the all-conference portion of the 2018 JWOS Awards. Gregg hit .329 against SEC opponents during the conference season, with six home runs and twenty RBI. Coming off of the SEC’s Player of the Year award in 2017, Gregg ended her final season in orange and white with a .394 overall batting average and sixteen home runs, to go along with a slugging percentage of .770. Barnhill continued her dominance in the circle in her third season as a Gator, posted…
Florida State seniors Jessie Warren and Kylee Hanson paced the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, and for their efforts, the duo was crowned the ACC’s Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, in the 2018 JWOS Awards. Finishing off a mighty career that saw her break records and leave her name all throughout the program’s record book, Warren hit .403 overall with sixteen home runs and fifty-four RBI. She cemented her place as the Noles’ all-time home run leader and finished tied for 21st in the nation in home runs. Hanson, in her first year as a Seminole after transferring as…
Wisconsin’s Kelsey Jenkins earned the JWOS Big Ten Player of the Year, while Michigan pitcher Meghan Beaubien earned a pair of awards, taking home the Pitcher and Freshman of the Year honors. Jenkins hit well both in and out of conference play, as she finished with a .420 overall batting average in forty-seven games. In conference play, Jenkins posted a .462 batting average with eleven extra base hits and fourteen RBI. She led her team in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, the latter a .578 mark. Beaubien started the year hot and maintained that consistency through much of the regular season.…