Dallas Christian College has named Pat Hallahan the programs first head coach. He is tasked with building the Crusaders program that starts competition in the 2022 season. Hallahan has a background in both baseball and softball on the collegiate, high school, and club levels. His most recent appointment was at Finlandia University where he worked in recruiting with both the softball and baseball programs.
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SAU Hold No. 1 DII Spot
Southern Arkansas (2-0) has kept hold of the No. 1 spot in this weeks NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. Despite not having competed since January 30, the Muleriders picked up 13 of 16 votes while No. 2 North Georgia (10-0) closed the gap slightly picking up the other three votes.
| Rank | School | Points | 2021 Record | Last Poll |
| 1 | Southern Arkansas (13) | 399 | 2-0 | 1 |
| 2 | North Georgia (3) | 387 | 10-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Augustana | 363 | 0-0 | 3 |
| 4 | UT Tyler | 351 | 2-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Young Harris | 336 | 8-1 | 5 |
| 6 | Saint Leo | 320 | 0-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 308 | 3-1 | 7 |
| 8 | Rollins | 282 | 0-0 | 8 |
| 9 | Valdosta State | 264 | 5-1 | 10 |
| 10 | Oklahoma Christian | 253 | 4-0 | 12 |
| 11 | Concordia Irvine | 240 | 2-0 | 11 |
| 12 | Winona State | 223 | 2-0 | 13 |
| 13 | Saint Anselm | 185 | 0-0 | 14 |
| 14 | Lincoln Memorial | 180 | 7-0 | 20 |
| 15 | UAH | 166 | 7-2 | 17 |
| 16 | Rogers State | 149 | 0-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Indianapolis | 145 | 0-0 | 19 |
| 18 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 130 | 5-1 | 23 |
| 19 | Angelo State | 105 | 2-2 | 9 |
| 20 | Grand Valley State | 97 | 3-0 | 24 |
| 21 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 78 | 4-2 | 15 |
| 22 | West Chester | 68 | 0-0 | 21 |
| 23 | Tampa | 51 | 0-0 | 22 |
| 24 | Lubbock Christian | 44 | 9-2 | 25 |
| 25 | Saginaw Valley State | 25 | 5-0 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Minnesota State (15), West Texas A&M (8), Francis Marion (6), St. Cloud State (5), Metropolitan State University of Denver (4), Southern Indiana (4), West Florida (4), Central Oklahoma (3), Adelphi (2), Biola (2).
RTS Heading to the Happiest Place on Earth for Top 25 Matchup
RTS will be onsite in Orlando this evening for the Top 25 matchup between No. 20 ranked Missouri and No. 22 Central Florida. First pitch is set for 6 pm EST at the UCF Softball Complex. Follow RTS on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB for real-time in game updates.
UCLA Holds Grip on No. 1
UCLA has kept their tight grasp on the top spot in this weeks USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bruins sit at 5-0 for the season and received all 32 first place votes unanimously claiming No. 1.
| Rank | School | Points | Record | Last Week |
| 1 | UCLA (32) | 800 | 5-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 760 | 6-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Arizona | 719 | 5-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Alabama | 700 | 8-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Washington | 665 | 9-1 | 2 |
| 6 | Florida | 657 | 8-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Texas | 590 | 2-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Oregon | 553 | 7-0 | 10 |
| 9 | Louisiana | 543 | 4-0 | 9 |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | 513 | 6-0 | 11 |
| 11 | LSU | 456 | 5-3 | 8 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 455 | 9-0 | 12 |
| 13 | Arizona State | 406 | 6-0 | 15 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 399 | 7-2 | 14 |
| 15 | Florida State | 341 | 7-3 | 13 |
| 16 | Duke | 318 | 8-1 | 18 |
| 17 | Michigan | 264 | 0-0 | 17 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 200 | 2-1 | 19 |
| 19 | Georgia | 173 | 5-2 | 16 |
| 20 | Missouri | 169 | 6-2 | 21 |
| 21 | Arkansas | 130 | 3-2 | 20 |
| 22 | UCF | 124 | 6-1 | 24 |
| 23 | Baylor | 87 | 1-1 | 23 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 73 | 0-0 | 25 |
| 25 | Iowa State | 56 | 9-1 | NR |
New to Poll: No. 25 Iowa State
Dropped Out: No. 22 Mississippi State
Receiving Votes: Mississippi State (55), Stanford, (46), Utah (38), Auburn (27), Clemson (25), Oregon State (22), Tennessee (22), Texas Tech (5), James Madison (3), Liberty (2), Northwestern (2), Southern Illinois (2).
Softball World Mourns the Loss of Obletter
RTS is saddened to report the passing of Italian National Softball Team Head Coach Enrico Obletter. The manager of Team Italy was battling COVID-19 and had recently taken an unfortunate turn according to friends and colleagues after a series of oxygen and other treatments. Obletter would have led the Italian Olympic Team later this summer in the Tokyo Games. Considered an elite coach and well thought of in the World Softball Coaching Community, Obletter catapulted the Italians onto the global stage by capturing the 2019 European Softball Championship title and qualifying for the 2020 Olympics Games after winning the 2019 WBSC Softball Europe/Africa Qualifier.
Changing of the Guard in the ACC?
Friend and associate to RTS Chip Grubb from Tech Sideline was in the ACC Pod in Atlanta along with us this weekend. He talks about all the action and the upstart Hokies.
MGCCC Names Interim Coaching Staff
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College moved quickly to fill their completely vacant coaching staff going with former longtime head coach Kenneth Long to serve as interim coach, and high school assistant coach Shelbee Sowders and former South Alabama student-athlete Katelyn Gruich as interim assistants. Long coached the Bulldogs for 18 seasons amassing 584-232 record before his retirement. MGCCC Administration seemed to prefer the interim route until the summer hiring season after being engaged by a few highly successful current and former coaches from various collegiate levels.
Ivy League Call It Quits Again
Being the first to cancel their sports seasons in 2020; The Ivy League is at least consistent and now made it two in a row canceling spring sports for 2021 due to pandemic concerns. This will be the second season in a row Ivy Softball Institutes will not compete in league play or decide an Ivy League Champion.
Neel Out at MGCCC
RTS has learned from sources that Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Head Coach Eric Neel is no longer with the program. It’s unclear to the reason of the early season departure and there has been no release or comment from MGCCC. Neel was in his second season coaching the Bulldogs. Danielle Barton and Ally Raines are still listed on the athletic department website on the coaching staff page as assistant coaches.
Southern Arkansas Holds On To No. 1 in DII Top 25
Southern Arkansas has held on to the top spot in this weeks NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. SAU opened the season last month 2-0. The Muleriders collected 15 of the 16 first place votes while No. 2 North Georgia collected the other vote.
| Rank | School | Points | 2021 Record | Last Poll |
| 1 | Southern Arkansas (15) | 399 | 2-0 | 1 |
| 2 | North Georgia (1) | 385 | 6-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Augustana | 363 | 0-0 | 3 |
| 4 | UT Tyler | 353 | 2-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Young Harris | 327 | 5-1 | 6 |
| 6 | Saint Leo | 318 | 0-0 | 7 |
| 7 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 311 | 3-1 | 9 |
| 8 | Rollins | 292 | 0-0 | 8 |
| 9 | Angelo State | 271 | 1-1 | 5 |
| 10 | Valdosta State | 233 | 2-1 | 12 |
| 11 | Concordia Irvine | 231 | 0-0 | 11 |
| 12 | Oklahoma Christian | 220 | 2-0 | 13 |
| 13 | Winona State | 188 | 0-0 | 15 |
| 14 | Saint Anselm | 185 | 0-0 | 14 |
| 15 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 176 | 0-0 | 16 |
| 16 | Southern Indiana | 167 | 0-0 | 17 |
| 17 | UAH | 149 | 5-1 | 20 |
| 18 | Rogers State | 134 | 0-0 | 18 |
| 19 | Indianapolis | 115 | 0-0 | 21 |
| 20 | Lincoln Memorial | 106 | 3-0 | 22 |
| 21 | West Chester | 69 | 0-0 | 24 |
| 22 | Tampa | 50 | 0-0 | 24 |
| 23 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 45 | 2-0 | RV |
| 24 | Grand Valley State | 43 | 0-0 | 25 |
| 25 | Lubbock Christian | 19 | 5-2 | 19 |
Receiving Votes: Minnesota State (17), Metropolitan State University of Denver (8), St. Cloud State (6), Francis Marion (5), Saginaw Valley State (5), Adelphi (4), Central Oklahoma (3), Biola (2), West Liberty (1).