The Justin’s World of Softball (JWOS) team is expanding, with the addition of Michael Kyllo-Kittleson announced today. Kyllo-Kittleson joins JWOS after spending the last year as the Executive Editor of FastpitchNews, where she had direct oversight of the site’s collegiate and club softball coverage. While at FPN, Kyllo-Kittleson covered a number of major events in the softball world and authored a number of popular editorial articles on a variety of subjects across the game. Prior to joining FastpitchNews, Kyllo-Kittleson spent five years as the Director of Softball Operations at the University of Minnesota, and was a part of the Gophers’…
Author: jmcleod
A pair of Big Ten schools have added freshman transfers at the semester break. Rutgers announced the addition of Taylor Fawcett, a first-year outfielder formerly of Louisiana-Lafayette. Sources confirmed to JWOS that Fawcett entered the NCAA transfer portal on December 5; Rutgers announced her transfer two weeks later. A PGF all-American as a senior in 2019, Fawcett finished her high school career with a .421 batting average, 146 hits, and 133 RBIs during her varsity career at Pinnacle High School. “We are excited to add Taylor to our already talented team,” said Rutgers head coach Kristen Butler in a press…
(We made a list. We checked it twice. From now until New Year’s Eve, we are counting down the top ten headlines of 2019. Today, we look at #9 on our list.) 9. USSSA Pride leave National Pro Fastpitch The USSSA Pride have long been the backbone of the National Pro Fastpitch. Narrowly the league’s most successful team, the Pride boast five league titles to the Chicago Bandits’ four. The nation’s most prominent professional offering, the league has remained fledgling for several years, but survived in no small part thanks to the efforts of USSSA. Based in Florida, but often…
(We made a list. We checked it twice. From now until New Year’s Eve, we are counting down the top ten headlines of 2019. Today, we look at #8 on our list.) 8. Olympic field takes shape for 2020 It’s been eleven years since an Olympic softball game was played, a number that will round off to an even dozen by the time the 2020 Games kick off in Tokyo next summer, and this year saw the final four teams that will participate officially punch their Olympic ticket. Host nation Japan was already part of the six-team field, while the…
(We made a list. We checked it twice. From now until New Year’s Eve, we are counting down the top ten headlines of 2019. Today, we look at #10 on our list.) 10. WCWS sets attendance record; sees new and returning faces The 2019 Women’s College World Series took place in the midst of a two-year renovation project that was projected to not only give Hall of Fame Stadium a face-lift, but also add seating and expand capacity for the game’s biggest stage. A new two-story press box highlighted the completed improvements to the stadium for this year’s Series, while…
Former National Champion pitcher Paige Lowary has announced her retirement as a player. The announcement was made official by Lowary’s professional team, the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league, in social media posts by the organization. Lowary spent two seasons with the Bandits after being selected with the #1 overall pick in the 2018 league draft. She initially signed a one-year deal with the club, and posted a 2-2 record with three saves and a 3.79 ERA during her rookie year. In 2019, Lowary recorded a 1.68 ERA in 8.1 innings of work, allowing two earned runs on…
In what was a fairly quiet offseason of head coaching moves – until a couple of high-profile changes in the winter months, at least – there have been quite a flurry of assistant’s moves across the nation. Assistants receiving promotions; former players beginning their coaching careers; head coaches leaving their programs for an assistant’s job at the next level; and some who left the sport altogether have combined for nearly 150 moves of various types throughout the assistant coaching ranks. Expanding off of my appearance on the In the Circle podcast earlier this week, and presented in descending order, here…
Central Washington has named Alison Mitchell as the program’s new head coach. Mitchell succeeds Mike Larrabee at the helm of the Wildcats’ program; Larrabee departed CWU in October to take an assistant coaching position at Maryland. Previously the head coach at Redmond High School, Mitchell spent four years leading that program and guiding the squad to four league tournament berths and three division titles. She also has coached with the Washington Ladyhawks organization since 2006, including as a head coach within the program since 2009. Her coaching resume also includes stints as head coach at Skyline High School and Eastside…
Following TJ Hubbard’s departure for UTEP last week, Utah Valley named Shelby Graves as the program’s interim head coach. Graves was hired this summer to be an assistant on Hubbard’s coaching staff, and will lead the team until a new head coach is named. Kent State alumnus Ronnie Ladines is the other full-time coaching staff member besides Graves; she was also hired onto the Wolverines’ staff this summer. Prior to joining the staff at UVU, Graves was on staff at Kansas Wesleyan, where her tenure also included a stint as interim head coach. She spent three years on the coaching…
The Incarnate Word Cardinals have added Tammie Davis as the program’s new pitching coach, the school announced on Monday. Davis spent the past fifteen years working at the prep level and in travel ball, spending time with the Texas Blaze, Diamond Sports Hotshots, and Sudden Impact organizations. During her tenure with those programs, she coached more than 150 former, current, and future Division I athletes. “Adding Tammie was a great find for us. She came highly recommended from two Division I coaches in our league. So that meant a lot to me that they felt comfortable enough to recommend her…