Tennessee co-head coach Karen Weekly has been announced as part of the three-member class set for induction in the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2018. Weekly, who has been co-head coach for the Lady Vols since 2002, owns more than eight hundred career wins at Tennessee and has helped lead her team to the Women’s College World Series seven times. With the Weeklys at the program’s helm, Tennessee has been established as one of the nation’s top programs, with nine Regional championships, two SEC tournament championships, one SEC regular-season title, and finished as the national runners-up in two of those…
Author: jmcleod
Brian Levin was sitting comfortably in Saint Louis when the Belmont Bruins came calling during the summer of 2016. “I was pretty much on cruise control at [Missouri-St. Louis],” Levin said. “We had a tremendous environment, lots of winning, a top-ten team for the last several years. There were three things that made the Belmont job really attractive to me. I thought that the conference was winnable. When I looked at some of the other coaches and the administration here, it’s obviously a good place to work from that standpoint. And the last thing was that it is a Christian school. I…
Who is she? Sam Forrest, a former third baseman for the Central Arkansas Bears. What is she known for? Forrest enjoyed one of the finest careers in a Bears softball uniform. She was three times named to the all-Southland conference squad, including the first team in 2015. She earned third-team NFCA all-region honors in 2014. At her career’s end, Forrest held the program record for career doubles and ranked in the top ten in thirteen different career offensive categories. Here’s something interesting… Sam’s talent did not end at the softball diamond; since graduation, she has adopted the hobby of “crafting”, as she calls…
Who is she? Mary Holt, a former infielder for the Kent State Golden Flashes. What is she known for? Holt was a three-year starter in the infield for Karen Linder and the Golden Flashes. At her career’s end, Holt was tied for sixth all-time in the program’s record book for home runs. Here’s something interesting… “Mary Holt” is not just the name of this Kent State slugging great; she shares a moniker with a financial executive in the Northeastern United States and a broadcast pioneer from Ohio. Quotable quote: “Everyone says respect the game, and they are right and the…
Another big-name player has announced that she is transferring from Louisiana-Lafayette. Slugging outfielder Aleah Craighton announced on social media Monday evening that she intends to transfer to the University of Arizona. Craighton was a first-team all-American center fielder in 2017, her second all-American award following a second-team nod in 2016. The Prairieville, Louisiana native hit eighteen home runs and recorded fifty-three RBI to go along with a .345 batting average in her junior campaign. After sitting out the 2014 season with a redshirt, Craighton burst onto the scene in 2015 with a .371 batting average and twelve home runs. She recorded…
Former Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns pitcher Alyssa Denham will transfer to become an Arizona Wildcat. Denham confirmed the news in a text message to JWOS late Friday. She spent one season in a Ragin Cajuns uniform in 2017 and was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. In her sole season in Lafayette, Denham posted a 2.27 ERA and a 15-2 win-loss record, with eighty strikeouts in 129.2 innings of work in the circle. Opponents hit just .205 against her on the year. Following the season, Denham was named the conference’s freshman of the year, as well as a top 25 finalist…
For a program in just its fifth year of existence, reaching the final game of a postseason tournament seems like a pretty major accomplishment. For the Lamar Cardinals, reaching the final game of the inaugural NISC (NIT-style) tournament last season was just that – a major accomplishment, but one that ended in incredible disappointment. After the tournament organizers made the decision to end the final game due to rain, after just a minutes-long delay, the game reverted back to the last completed inning, erasing the Cardinals’ lead and giving the championship to the Liberty Flames. It’s an outcome that Cardinals…
Who is she? Laura Messina, a former pitcher for the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils. What is she known for? Messina earned her way into both the program and conference record books. She twice earned the Northeast Conference’s Pitcher of the Year award and earned all-conference honors in each of her four seasons in a CCSU uniform. Here’s something interesting… At her career’s end, Laura had 101 career wins. She broke the Blue Devils program’s previous record of fifty wins in her sophomore season. Quotable quote: “Softball has taught me (and continues to teach me) mental toughness, and that failures are not fatal. No…
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are quietly one of the best mid-major programs in the nation on an annual basis. Not only has the program been home to some of the nation’s finest players, but John Bargfeldt seems to have his club right on the cusp of vaulting to another level entering 2018. “One thing that I really thought our team did last year was find different ways to win,” Bargfeldt said about his team’s 2017 season. “We had some deficiencies, but the neat thing about this game is that there are different ways to win and we found a way.…
Penn State assistant coach Jennifer Abrams was inducted into the Reading High School Hall of Fame last week. Abrams, a former Providence College player and a three-sport star during her time at Reading, is in her second year as an assistant and hitting coach with the Nittany Lions. At Reading High, Abrams not only played softball, but also field hockey and ice hockey, serving as a captain for each squad at different times. She earned eleven varsity letters during her high school career. Abrams would go on to have a four-year playing career at Providence College, playing both softball and…