North Carolina State and head coach Shawn Rychcik are parting ways, the school announced on Tuesday. The 2018 season was Rychcik’s sixth at the helm of the Wolfpack, as he led his program to a 23-31 overall record and just a 5-18 conference mark. The Wolfpack missed the ACC tournament, failing to follow up on their semifinal appearance in the 2017 edition of the tournament. Rychcik posted a 173-162-1 record during his six seasons as the Wolfpack’s head coach, including a 53-59 mark in conference play. His tenure included the 2013 conference tournament title and a Super Regional berth in the 2015…
Author: jmcleod
Thirty-two teams will automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tournament or regular-season title. The remaining thirty-two participant teams will be determined on an at-large basis. We’ve predicted who each of those teams will be and how they’ll be seeded for the regional round. (would-be automatic qualifying teams noted with an *. Teams were selected via regular-season results or by top team at present if regular season still in progress.) #1 seeds (will host regionals; top eight seeds will host a Super Regional, if eligible) #1 Oregon* (Eugene, Oregon) #16 Baylor (Waco, Texas) #2 UCLA (Los Angeles,…
California softball great Kristina Thorson will be inducted into the Golden Bears Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2018. Thorson pitched for Cal from 2003-06, earning a trio of all-American honors during her career and was named the Pac-10 Conference’s Pitcher of the Year in her senior year of 2006. Thorson earned all-PAC honors in all four years of her career, including three consecutive first-team nods in the final three seasons of her collegiate career. One of the all-time program greats, Thorson sits in the top five in four different statistical categories in the Golden Bears’ all-time…
Long Beach State — With one of the best resumes for a non-Power 5 team, the 49ers find themselves in a top-20 position and looking at the possibility of being a #2 seed in a favorable regional. Three of the Niners’ ten losses were to 2017 Women’s College World Series participants and they’ve lost just three conference games. A series loss to Cal State Fullerton could cost the Niners the conference championship, but they are virtually assured an at-large bid in that instance. Wins over James Madison, Auburn, and Minnesota give high marks to the Niners’ record – and contribute…
Editor’s note: In 2016, we published an article entitled “Beyond the Diamond.” Featuring former SIU-Edwardsville player Allison Hill, the article discussed a recent St. Baldrick’s Foundation charity event in which Allison had taken part and had her head shaved after raising more than $3,500 for children with cancer. Now, nearly two years to the day after that event, Allison looks back on her participation and how it still affects her to this day. By Allison Hill There are many different motivations that might cause someone to do something like this: to indulge a family member or friend; having a close…
New Mexico State junior Kelsey Horton has been named the JWOS Player of the Week. The Aggie star put together a stellar performance in week 12, posting a .545 batting average in three games and collecting four home runs. In the series’ opening game, Horton went 3-4 with a double and a solo home run. In a doubleheader the following day, Horton went 1-3 to open the pair of games, scoring twice and driving in two runs on her second home run of the weekend. Horton had an impressive game three, as she accounted for seven of her team’s twelve…
UPDATE 05/11/18: Lamar announced today that Bruder has been fired as the program’s head coach. The announcement comes on the heels of a report earlier this week that detailed many of the allegations against Bruder. ORIGINAL STORY: The Lamar Cardinals announced that head softball coach Holly Bruder has been placed on paid administrative leave. A school release on Friday offered no information, other than to note that Bruder was placed on leave “pending an investigation into a violation of university policy.” Lamar athletic director Marco Born announced Bruder’s leave of absence. Born is in his first six weeks in the…
It would be hard to find better softball than the product that Oregon brought to the table in their three-game PAC-12 series against Washington. The Ducks took nine innings to take home the first win of the series by a score of 7-2, but two tight-knit victories finished within regulation to close out the series. The Ducks outscored the Huskies 16-7, Megan Kleist added nineteen strikeouts to her season’s total, and the Ducks stole thirteen bases in the trio of games. South Carolina continued their hot season with a sweep over Mississippi State, while Florida and LSU jockeyed for position…
The Missouri Tigers hold a 28-24 overall record following a doubleheader sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, putting the Tigers four games over the .500 mark going into their last weekend of regular-season play. The pair of games were a late addition to the schedule for Mizzou, who announced the matchup just two days earlier on Thursday. Both games resulted in shutout victories for the Tigers, by scores of 10-0 and 2-0, respectively, with game one a six-inning run-rule victory. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and 15-25 on the year coming in, were ranked #264 in the…
Who is she? Jenna Smart Brooks, a former pitcher for the Delta State Lady Statesmen. What is she known for? Smart Brooks ranks in the top ten in five different statistical categories in the Lady Statesmen record books, including fourth in career ERA (2.17) and strikeouts (330) and sixth in victories (33). Here’s something interesting… Smart Brooks’ great, great grandfather was one of the founders of the Big Ten Conference. James Henry Smart was the the fourth president of Purdue University and, in 1895, was part of a contingent that gathered in Chicago to establish policies ‘aimed at regulating intercollegiate…