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Salisbury University Head Coach Margie Knight has announced that her 24th season coaching the Sea Gulls will be her last. Knight, a 2018 NFCA Hall of Fame inductee, currently sits 11th all-time in winning percentage in all divisions with an 829-206-2 record.

Mike Smith has been named the Executive Director of Scouting for National Scouting Report. Smith spent the last 21 seasons with highly successful head coaching stops at Ole Miss, McNeese State, California Baptist, UC Riverside, and Biola amassing 894 wins while also winning an NAIA National Championship in 2009.

The collegiate softball offseason is a time for evaluation, reflection, and rebirth. That rebirth comes in many forms, one of which can come at the top of program in the change of its leadership. Whether that is by coaches moving on to other opportunities. or being moved on to other opportunities; the change can dramatically change the landscape of collegiate softball.

Division I draws the most attention when moves are made at that level. Rounding Third Softball grade the 34 coaching changes in the top spot in the 2019 off-season with grades being bestowed from an “A+”, down to the failing grade of “F”. RTS solicited a group of current and former collegiate coaches to make these grades based on their background and expertise in the sport and profession. An average grade was awarded based on each of the responses per with a short explanation for the grade.

Abilene Christian

Abigail Farler

Grade: B

Hired a coach who is a winner, but not at the level of the Southland Conference and Division I. Inherited a decent squad at Corban and lead them to a lot of success at the NAIA Level.  No direct ties to the softball talent rich State of Texas. Brought in a good staff to help in the transition.

Akron

Meaggan Pettipiece

Grade: C

Losing record as head coach at Division II Northwood. Not many people were itching to get this job as it has been a program that has been struggling for years. Comes from the staff at fellow MAC member Kent State that has had some good success in the last few years.  Should make head way having already recruited that state and region.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Michael Bumpers

Grade: D-

Not many people knocking on the door to take this job at a place that does not care if they have the sport to begin with. Matching that is an athletic department that does not take softball seriously and will not make a quality hire to improve the situation. UAPB just misses a failing score by at least trying to bring some consistency to the program by removing the interim tag and bringing a coach back for a second year.

Alabama State

Todd Bradley

Grade: A-

A home run hire by Alabama State. An odd move seen by some to leave a historic power like Fresno State to move to a mid-major in one of the near bottom conferences in the country. Might be the smartest move of the offseason however, as the Fresno State Ship slowly starts showing signs of taking on water. A well-traveled coach who has experienced success and failure that proves invaluable. Bradley will work to have success and is a real student of the game. Respected recruiter nationally and will be able to build on the success Alabama State has established under their former regime.

Army

Cheryl Milligan

Grade: B+

A very successful veteran coach with numerous NCAA National Championships.  She will have to learn to recruit to the USMA and what fits to that environment. Similar however to the Division III model, she has had a ton of success at in not really dealing with athletic scholarships per se. Army has had the conference and NCAA Postseason success and can again under this new leadership.

Belmont

Megan Rhodes Smith

Grade: C

The “local” well-known hire being a Nashville native and former Tennessee Lady Vol. No experience as a leader of a team and encompassing the entire process of managing the team will be a challenge for this position specific pitching coach. Made staff hires of other locals she was familiar with which might be comfortable, but might not lead to much success the program had found under the previous head coach. Having been on the staff with a solid Lipscomb program just down the street, time will tell if this grade could be proven low.

Boston College

Amy Kvilhaug

Grade: C+

An experienced coach that had announced her retirement just over a year ago from St. John’s. Did have some success in the back half of her run with the Red Storm. Knows the Northeast and recruiting nationally. Takes over what has to be one of the least successful program traditionally in all of Power 5. Little support from the institute and not a good situation with the facility. An average hire from a program that needed more of a shot in the arm.

Buffalo

Mike Ruechel

Grade: B

A veteran of coach of many different levels that seems to bring consistency to a program that has had none. Led Buffalo as an interim last season and should improvement for a program that had been in shambles. Bulls had relied on the tired “great player, must be great coach” mentality in the past which led to little success for the program, but did bring NCAA Violations and Probation. Not many people wanting this gig in the frozen tundra of South Canada, but made a good move on removing the interim tag.

Central Michigan

McCall Salmon

Grade: B

A veteran coach with great leadership abilities and well respected in the State of Michigan. Replaces a long-standing head coach that probably held on too long and affected the ability of the program to be consistent in their conference and on a national level.  Did well at NAIA/DII Davenport, but can that translate to the DI level?  Seems to be a good hire after quite a few people passed on the job. Central Michigan shot big and missed seemingly ending up with a head coach that could prove bigger is not

always better.

Connecticut

Laura Valentino

Grade: D+

A lackluster hire that spent time with programs at Duke, UNC Charlotte, and Fairfield with very little to any success at each stop. Might end up being a great head coach, time will tell.  Meanwhile, scores of proven coaches at other levels continually are passed up in favor of political or hires made easy by administrators.  She and her assistant are from the Hofstra Coaching Tree, which has produced some quality coaches and winners shows a bit of a positive.

Delaware State

Jeff Franquet

Grade: A

Seems like an excellent hire by a coach that had been away from the collegiate game for a while. Had good success with coaching stops at Central Florida Community College, Jacksonville, Georgian Court and Central Connecticut State. Solid instructor of the game and has recruiting connections nationally. Could face some early challenges in selling a program with not many resources and little past success. Should be able to build a solid program in a mostly weak conference.

Detroit Mercy

Marc Gillis

Grade: B-

The easy hire of an assistant coach that helped build a championship program there. Does not have the experience at being in charge of a program, but knows this particular squad and all the working pieces. Detroit is a tough sell and this particular institute does not seem very interested in softball even with the success of a conference championship and NCAA berth last season. They let the former head coach walk away into retirement out of mostly frustration and the non-commitment of the institute. The safe hire in this circumstance could be the best hire.

Eastern Illinois

Tara Glasco Archibald

Grade: C

A quality pitching coach for sure, but does that translate to leading a program? A name and “bloodlines” only go so far.  They needed to hire a head coach with more leadership experience, but got a solid position coach with a name/brand. Has a chance to put her mark on a program that struggled last season and saw their head coach depart for a second time for a Power 5 position.

Florida International

Chris Steiner

Grade: A

A quality hire, a great recruiter, and brings a lot of passion and energy. Earned a move up the coaching ranks after building solid programs at Alabama State and Auburn-Montgomery. Has had success everywhere she has been. Florida International could be her toughest challenge selling the Miami area to recruits in the softball rich State of Florida, while competing against old-school powers like Florida, Florida State, and South Florida along with the plethora of other solid schools in the state at all levels. Could finally bring consistent success to a program that has seen a lot of inconsistent success.

Green Bay

Sara Kubuske

Grade: B-

Hiring a DII assistant would normally raise eyebrows, but Green Bay is a difficult place to win and has never really been committed to the sport being notorious for being the lowest paying head coaching job in DI.  Spent some time as an assistant at a quality DII school at the University of Indianapolis. Respected coach, but no DI or head coaching experience. Could prove to be a solid hire and much more than “You get what you pay for”.

Idaho State

Cristal Brown

Grade: C+

Solid success at the DIII level and has a well thought of reputation in the profession. Can that be translated to success on the grandest stage however? Brought in by a new AD who is a former collegiate athlete because she felt this head coach could get this ship going in the right direction by bringing energy and pride to the program. A program still in its infancy that had seen some good early success with the programs first head coach, but had hit rock bottom with its second one. This hire could be a hit-or-miss depending on how recruiting goes early.

Louisiana Tech

Maria Winn-Ratcliff

Grade: B+

A great recruiter thought of very highly in the profession. Has had great success on the Junior College Level that could transition to more the same at the Division I level. Takes over a good situation in Ruston with a solid program being left behind by the former head coach. Good move to hire a veteran head coach from another level over young assistant or a hot name from Power 5. Quality hire for the  timing middle of the fall.

Loyola Chicago

Alicia Abbot

Grade: B-

A Chicago Native with solid recruiting connections in the region. Served the last five seasons as Associate Head Coach at Northern Illinois that saw some success during her time there. Hired on a former DI Head Coach in Beth Golitko from Western Illinois, which could help with a smoother transition to the Captains Chair. Young coach known for being a smart and a good student of the game.

Maryland

Mark Montgomery

Grade: A

In breaking the gender barrier that has long been in place in the Big 10, Maryland made a hire that is known for rebuilding downtrodden programs. Montgomery is a coach that has paid his dues, is well respected and liked in the game, and is a personality on the recruiting front. A home run hire by the Terps considering the time of year.

Mississippi State

Samantha Ricketts

Grade: C

One of the most underwhelming hires of the offseason considering the high-profile nature of the position. Has spent plenty of time at the highest level, will see quickly whether it translates to success as a head coach. Players love her; not sure if “love” will be enough to pay off in the toughest conference in the nation.  Many good names came up for this job, but the AD seemingly went with the easy hire.

Missouri-Kansas City

Kerry Shaw

Grade: C-

The early frontrunner for this job that turned out to be one of the worst run and longest search processes of the offseason. Seemed to be the safe hire with local ties being from Missouri. His previous head coaching stop at DII University of Mary yielded below average results. His big break joining the staff at Texas as hitting coach yielded below average results and a quick escort toward the exit after one season in Austin.

North Carolina A&T

Patti Raduenz

Grade: A

A great hire for a school in the MEAC and at that level. Raduenz has been away from the game for several years after building a solid program at Elon. Tough sell on the recruiting side, but with her connections she would be able to quickly bring the program up to a competitive level.

UNC Charlotte

Ashley Chastain

Grade: D

A young coach with no head coaching experience at any level and has been mostly just a pitching coach at each stop. This leads to questions on being able to lead a program and oversee all facets effectively. A hire by a mid-major Division I that was LONG overdue for change in their program. They seemingly jumped at the chance at hiring a Power 5 assistant from a program that has made great strides without doing their due-diligence first to see the timeline/crossover of coaches and success there. Took over a good situation at Ole Miss and in a short stint there was able to seemingly maintain what the previous pitching coach built. Did not see as much success at her previous stop with the punching bag of the Big 10 Michigan State. Also a concern as she did not surround herself with much experience coaching staff wise which doesn’t add to pros column.

Robert Morris

Jexx Varner

Grade: C+

An alum who has significant assistant experience and a four-year run as the boss at Lafayette. Hard to hold his record at Lafayette against him, as that school has had but one winning season in nearly 20 years. Had the interim tag removed after last season so time will tell on what he can establish moving forward.

San Diego

Jessica Pistole

Grade: B+

This is how they hire in sports that Athletic Directors care about.  They find someone who has been successful at a another level or a smaller conference and gives them the opportunity at the next level. San Diego went after some big assistants, and could not land any of them based on what they were able to offer. They ultimately got the right fit however. A Southern California Native with great connection and a national championship already under her belt. 

Santa Clara

Gina Carbonatto

Grade: B

Carbonatto learned under some good coaches and put herself in environments to learn how to grow as a coach.  She has had success on different levels, and will help Santa Clara grow from a program that has struggled for consistent success.  This is a job with some challenges, but she is familiar with the area. Had a great pitcher at UC Davis that she coached up and hung her hat on to land this head coaching job.

SIU Edwardsville

Jessica Jones

Grade: C+

Comfort hire for SIUE to remove the interim tag after last season.  Has not been a head coach and had had hit-and-miss success at many of her stops as an assistant. Probably deserves a shot at the job after serving the retiring head coach for six years as an assistant. She has her opportunity to put her own mark on the program and earn her keep.

Southern Miss

Brian Levin

Grade: A

Excellent reputation as a steady hand who can recruit.  Although not around for a long period, he quickly built Belmont up and turned around a disastrous situation and culture left for him by the previous staff. He inherits a decently talented squad at Southern Miss.  Southern Miss has missed on some previous coaches; they seemingly have scored on this hire.

St. John’s

Bob Guerrio

Grade: B-

Ton of experience as an assistant and turned in a good year as the interim in 2019. Team has had some success in the Big East, and he has been a key part of that success.  Seemed to be a no-brainer for the promotion and keeps the program on solid ground and moving forward with a little difference voice out front.

Tennessee Martin

Brian Dunn

Grade: D-

This was a job several quality coaches were looking at based on the past successes and solid footing of the program. Admin decided to go the local route with a coach that hasn’t been on the collegiate level for 15 years. There were some better options with more experience interested in this job and the administration didn’t do justice to the program that has been built and its student-athletes.

Tennessee Tech

Michelle Depolo

Grade: C

Had some hit-or-miss success in a nine-year run as head coach at Army. A sudden resignation in the fall of 2018 raised some eyebrows. Spent most of her career in the Northeast, which could be a challenge now dropped in the middle of SEC Country to recruit and in a conference dominated most every year by Jacksonville State. Definitely an upgrade however for the program leadership wise previously.

Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Kristen Zaleski

Grade: B+

Solid hire for a program that had some success in the past, but have made some poor hires the last few times out.  They might have found an answer with a coach that has had a lot of success and is well thought of in state.  Zaleski had a lot of success on the JUCO level, and knows in-depth the talent rich State of Texas from the recruiting standpoint.  

Tulsa

Crissy Strimple

Grade:  B+

A long time mainstay at Tulsa has waited patiently and is now rewarded. Tough to replace a successful coach like John Bargfeldt, but she has the familiarity and know how to make a seamless transition. The program should continue down the same path it has in competing for conference championships and the NCAA postseason each year.

Western Illinois

Open

Grade: F

WIU and their administration gets an automatic failing grade for not having a coach in place with the fall season being well over halfway done and the prime recruiting time opening up. The position seemingly is not very attractive based on the salary and other requirements expected from the position.

The Cape Cod League, the New England Collegiate League, the Coastal Plain League, and many others have supplied ample opportunities for collegiate baseball athletes to hone their craft during the off-season/summer months. For the first time, that opportunity now will extend to collegiate softball athletes.

The Florida Gulf Coast League that launched their own collegiate baseball league last summer announced last week their intentions to offer softball in the summer of 2020. The league will be the first of its kind to allow collegiate players a 30 game schedule from the first of June to the first of July along with training facilities and opportunities to prepare for their next collegiate season.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled at starting a league specific to college softball players,” said FGCL Executive Director Ryan Moore. “Softball continues to grow and we want to be part of that. These athletes have never had the opportunity like this and we, as a board, are committed to them and growing the game.”

The league is expected to consist of 10 teams located in the Tampa Bay area stretching from Clearwater south to Sarasota. The FGCL has already announced the first six members of the league and they include the Bradenton Slice, Manatee Squeeze, IA Lions, SUA Pioneers, Myakka City River Mocs, and Bradenton Lynx.

The Slice have already made big news within softball circles naming National Championship and Hall of Fame Coach Bob Brock formerly of Texas A&M their field skipper for 2020. The league will also feature an All-Star Game and Parents Weekend during the season that allows for the best of the league to square off.

Each team will allow for 16 athletes per roster consisting of collegiate players from throughout the country. The league will also allow each franchise to select two graduated high school seniors to their roster.

Executive Board Member, long-time collegiate coach, and softball philanthropist Lee Dobbins believes the league will revolutionize development of athletes and the sport, “The Florida Gulf Coast League will finally give collegiate softball players the opportunity to further develop their skills each summer through training, instruction from top coaches, and in-game competition against other great athletes. This can only improve the collegiate product giving athletes that choose to compete in the league a leg-up once they return to their collegiate programs.”

Registration is now open for Florida Gulf Coast League Softball and can be found on the league website, www.flgulfcoastleague.com

Starting Thursday the last leg on the Road to the Women’s College World Series comes to an end. Sixteen will enter the weekend and eight will leave and go on to Oklahoma City next week for a shot at the Grandest Prize in softball, the National Championship.

Last week RTS was 14-2 in our regional picks missing only on the Minneapolis and Lexington Regions. All but one (Michigan) National Seeds advanced to Super Regional play making for one of the strongest fields in Super’s History. Below we list Super Regional matchups and broadcast information, how many games it will take, and who will take to the Red Dirt of Oklahoma at the WCWS.

Norman Super Regional (Starts Friday May 24, 2 pm CST ESPN2)

Oklahoma vs. Northwestern

Winner in two games: Oklahoma

Los Angeles Super Regional (Starts Friday May 24, 6 pm PST ESPNU)

UCLA vs. James Madison

Winner in three games: UCLA

Seattle Super Regional (Starts Friday May 24, 6 pm PST ESPN2)

Washington vs. Kentucky

Winner in two games: Washington

Tallahassee Super Regional (Starts Thursday May 23, 7 pm EST ESPN)

Florida State vs. Oklahoma State

Winner in three games: Florida State

Gainesville Super Regional (Starts Friday May 24, 7 pm EST ESPN2)

Florida vs. Tennessee

Winner in three games: Florida

Tucson Super Regional (Starts Friday May 24, 4 pm MST ESPNU)

Arizona vs. Ole Miss

Winner in three games: Ole Miss

Minneapolis Super Regional (Starts Friday May 24, 4 pm CST ESPN2)

Minnesota vs. LSU

Winner in three games: LSU

Tuscaloosa Super Regional (Starts Thursday May 23, 8 pm CST ESPN)

Alabama vs. Texas

Winner in two games: Alabama

The Field of 64 is now set. Starting Thursday, the next step on the Road to the Women’s College World Series begins. Rounding Third Softball has your Regional Matchups and pick those that will move on to the Super Regional Round.

Norman Regional

Oklahoma (No. 1 Seed)

UMBC

Wisconsin

Notre Dame

*Winner: Oklahoma*

Los Angeles Regional

UCLA (No. 2 Seed)

Weber State

Missouri

Cal State Fullerton

*Winner: UCLA*

Seattle Regional

Washington (No. 3 Seed)

Fordham

Seattle

Mississippi State

*Winner: Washington*

Tallahassee Regional

Florida State (No. 4 Seed)

Bethune Cookman

South Carolina

South Florida

*Winner: Florida State*

Gainesville Regional

Florida (No. 5 Seed)

Boston

Boise State

Stanford

*Winner: Florida*

Tucson Regional

Arizona (No. 6 Seed)

Harvard

Auburn

Colorado State

*Winner: Arizona*

Minneapolis Regional

Minnesota (No. 7 Seed)

North Dakota State

Drake

Georgia

*Winner: Georgia*

Tuscaloosa Regional

Alabama (No. 8 Seed)

Alabama State

Arizona State

Lipscomb

*Winner: Alabama*

Austin Regional

Texas (No. 9 Seed)

Sam Houston State

Houston

Texas A&M

*Winner: Texas*

Baton Rouge Regional

LSU (No. 10 Seed)

Monmouth

Texas Tech

Louisiana Tech

*Winner: LSU*

Oxford Regional

Ole Miss (No. 11 Seed)

Chattanooga

Southeast Missouri State

Louisiana

*Winner: Ole Miss*

Knoxville Regional

Tennessee (No. 12 Seed)

Longwood

North Carolina

Ohio State

*Winner: Tennessee*

Stillwater Regional

Oklahoma State (No. 12 Seed)

Brigham Young

Tulsa

Arkansas

*Winner: Oklahoma State*

Lexington Regional:

Kentucky (No. 14 Seed)

Toledo

Virginia Tech

Illinois

*Winner: Virginia Tech*

Ann Arbor Regional

Michigan (No. 15 Seed)

St. Francis

DePaul

James Madison

*Winner: James Madison*

Evanston Regional

Northwestern (No. 16 Seed)

Detroit Mercy

Louisville

Southern Illinois

*Winner: Northwestern*

Super Regional Matchups:

Norman Super Regional

Oklahoma (No. 1 Seed)

Northwestern (No. 16 Seed)

Los Angeles Super Regional

UCLA (No. 2 Seed)

James Madison

Seattle Super Regional

Washington (No. 3 Seed)

Virginia Tech

Tallahassee Super Regional

Florida State (No. 4 Seed)

Oklahoma State (No. 13 Seed)

Gainesville Super Regional

Florida (No. 5 Seed)

Tennessee (No. 12 Seed)

Tucson Super Regional

Arizona (No. 6 Seed)

Ole Miss (No. 11 Seed)

Baton Rouge Super Regional

LSU (No. 10 Seed)

Georgia

Tuscaloosa Super Regional

Alabama (No. 8 Seed)

Texas (No. 9 Seed)

This week On Deck with Dobbins sits down with Coach Kelly Ford from California State University Fullerton. Ford is in her seventh season as head coach of the Titans and has lead Cal State Fullerton to four consecutive Big West Conference Championships. Ford has also led CSUF back to the NCAA Tournament in 2016, 2017, and 2018, getting the Titans back to national form. Before coming to Fullerton Ford led JUCO Power Mt San Antonio College. She coached Mt. SAC to four California State Championships (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009) and seven South Coast Conference Championships (2001, 2003-08). Before taking a seat in the Captain’s Chair, Ford spent time as an assistant coach at Fullerton, along with stops at Cal State Northridge and Oklahoma. A Sooner Alum and athlete, Ford graduated from OU in 1992. She also spent two season competing at Central Arizona College winning NJCAA National Championships in both years. 

Lee Dobbins: Coach Ford you and your staff have diligently worked to bring Cal State Fullerton Softball back to the form of old. After some leaner years before your arrival, you have put Cal State Fullerton back on the map in Collegiate Softball with three straight Big West Conference Championships and advancing to the NCAA’s in each of those championship years. What have you done particularly to get Titan Softball back on the national scene?

Kelly Ford:  Fed the expectation that we want to be in the hunt every year for NCAA’s.  Really focused on coaching character and culture vs. chasing W’s.  Most importantly if you create an atmosphere where the athletes can build confidence they can be open to being coached.  If they don’t have any confidence, it doesn’t matter how good of a coach you are you won’t be able to improve them.  Those are a few key principles I have focused on.  One other piece is letting my assistant coaches coach and have input.  I have surrounded myself with a staff that is better than I in certain areas so I can get better.

Dobbins: Over the last few years recruiting has been a major topic of conversation particularly when it comes to the average (young) age that Prospective Student Athletes are being recruited and making verbal commitments to programs. Legislation has now been initiated restricting contact/offers to PSAs until September 1 of their junior year in high school. Talk a bit about that change in the recruiting dynamic since that legislation has been adopted. Has it slowed the process and made balancing recruiting better? Has the legislation been effective in curving earlier recruiting in any way? 

Ford: Philosophically, I think it is a good change for all parties.  As it pertains to Cal State Fullerton and my program I see some downsides as we really used to start building the close relationships with the athletes when they came to camp and took advantage of sharing the great things going on at our University.  The conversations have now changed to focusing on skillset and coaching at camps which is actually a good thing.  I don’t think we will know how it really all shakes out until the athletes that have verballed before the new legislation have phased out.  That is when we will really see if the it has equaled the playing field or given it a big slant. 

Dobbins: Being in the middle of biggest concentration of softball talent on the planet in Southern California and middle of Pac-12 Country; what have you seen as both challenges and benefits in recruiting to a school like CSUF that falls very much in-between that Mid-Major and Power 5 level institute?  What have you and your staff done to carve out your recruiting niche to keep the top recruits in Southern California instead of leaving the state or going to the “bigger” institutes? 

Ford: We are so lucky at Cal State Fullerton.  I love our location both on the recruiting side and the competing side of things.  Recruiting wise we are in the hot bed and just like the Power 5’s we go after players that will make us better, are willing to compete day in and day out for their position and bring the team first mentality to the table.  I love being able to drive 30 minutes put a full recruiting day in and be able to go home to my own bed that night.  We go after athletes that excel playing in front of their families.  Most of our players/parents live within two hours of our campus and with approximately 65% of our games at home it is common that our athlete’s families come to every one of them.  Absolutely a selling point for our program.  The Big West Conference is unique in every one of our conference opponents is in the State of California except Hawaii, so traveling to games make it easy for us and our families.  We also rarely miss classes with our travel schedule which the players appreciate.  Competition wise top teams want to play at our place.  They love our beautiful facility, have a great chance of hitting good weather and know they will face an incredible line up of opponents.  We host the largest Division I tournament held on a college campus, The Judi Garman Tourney.  We are able to do this because we have 2 Division I Softball fields on our campus.  Tournament time the softball complex is electric!  You will often find baseball and softball competing at the same time and since our fields are back to back it is an amazing atmosphere on like game days.   

Dobbins: I recently heard a phrase directly referenced to collegiate softball; “The era of the free agent has begun.” This seemingly is referencing the latest NCAA Transfer Legislation that eliminates the permission-to-contact process. The transfer rates in the last five years had seemingly already been at an all-time high. Recently however, it seems the flood gates have opened directly connected with this legislation. What are your thoughts on this legislation and its effect on the collegiate game?

Ford: It is a tough pill to swallow and I think we are all shocked at the ease of putting your name on the portal.  We have to roll with the changes and stay ahead of it.  I go back to fostering your culture and coaching character and having faith that if you provide a positive student-athlete experience they will want to come back.  On the flip side we have had great success with transfers into to Cal State Fullerton and will continue to go after transfers that will fit in character wise and make us better.

Dobbins: The “Point of Emphasis” the last few years from a rules and officiating standpoint have been the obstruction rule (particularly at the catching position) and the enforcement of the players positioning and movements in the batter’s box and leaving the dimensions and confines of it (particularly slappers). What are your thoughts on these two particular points of emphasis the last few years? Are they being enforced accurately and effectively? If not, what needs to change from an enforcement standpoint?

Ford: The obstruction is a good rule in theory and I am always for protecting the players.  My only complaint is the subjectivity of the call.  I haven’t seen it called consistently across the board and it is tough for the umpires to make that call with a naked eye.  The speed of our game makes it difficult.  I have heard a lot of talk about how the “slapper” rule has affected our slappers but I have actually seen the players adapt and seem to be a non-issue that may also be because we only have 1 slapper this year.  Ask me next year when we have three. 

With most conferences moving into the postseason tournaments starting tomorrow (minus the PAC-12 and MWC) the world of softball is less than a week away from finding out what 64 teams will start the Road to the WCWS and the biggest prize of all, the National Championship. RTS takes a quick look of who we predict will be in the field of 64 on Sunday.

The 32 Conference Automatics:

American East: UMass-Lowell

American Athletic: Tulsa

Atlantic 10: George Washington

Atlantic Coast: Florida State

Atlantic Sun: Liberty

Big 12: Oklahoma

Big East: DePaul

Big Sky: Weber State

Big South: USC Upstate

Big 10: Michigan

Big West: Cal State Fullerton

Colonial: James Madison

Conference USA: North Texas

Horizon: Illinois Chicago

Ivy: Columbia

Metro Atlantic: Monmouth

Mid-American: Miami (OH)

Mid-Eastern Athletic: Florida A&M

Missouri Valley: Drake

Mountain West: Colorado State

Northeast: LIU-Brooklyn

Ohio Valley: Jacksonville State

Pacific-12: UCLA

Patriot: Boston

Southeastern: Alabama

Southern: Chattanooga

Southland: Nicholls State

Southwestern: Prairie View A&M

Sun Belt: Louisiana

Summit: North Dakota State

West Coast: Loyola Marymount

Western Athletic: Grand Canyon

The 32 At-Large:

Washington

Arizona

Texas

Minnesota

LSU

Florida

Northwestern

Oklahoma State

Tennessee

Kentucky

Ole Miss

Texas Tech

South Carolina

Auburn

Arkansas

Virginia Tech

Georgia

Stanford

Arizona State

North Carolina

Missouri

South Florida

Mississippi State

Boise State

Notre Dame

Louisville

Ohio State

Wisconsin

Houston

Lipscomb

Oregon State

Indiana

Last Four In:

Houston

Lipscomb

Oregon State

Indiana

Southern Illinois

Illinois

Texas A&M

San Jose State

The University at Buffalo has announced that they have named Mike Ruechel head coach of the Bulls removing the interim tag he has coached under this season.

Ruechel is in his second season with Buffalo after serving as an assistant coach last year. Prior to his arrival in the frozen tundra he served two seasons as an assistant coach at Indiana Wesleyan University. Before his collegiate stints he worked as head coach for the Oconto School District in Wisconsin.

Buffalo is 10-32-1 currently on the season and 6-1o-1 in MAC play. 

(Last week Louisiana Tech had a natural disaster on their campus as a destructive tornado swept through the Ruston Campus. While no students or staff were lost, the damage was considerable including the near complete loss of the Softball Facility. Louisiana Tech will rebuild and are doing so with the help of their supporters and the public. Anyone willing to donate to the reconstruction can donate at LouisianaTechGivingDay.org/Athletics)

This week On Deck with Dobbins sits down with the head coach at Louisiana Tech, Mark Montgomery. Montgomery is in his seventh season leading LA Tech and has returned the program to the success of old. Montgomery has led the Lady Techsters to five 30+ win seasons along the way collecting the 2017 Conference USA Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament Appearance. He owns a career collegiate coaching record of 511-480 over his 18-year span as a head coach. Before taking the reins at LA Tech Montgomery had head coaching stops at Georgetown (KY), Centenary, and Northern Colorado.

Lee Dobbins: Coach Montgomery you took over the program at Louisiana Tech that had seen a lot of success and was a national power in the 1980’s under Hall of Fame Coach Bill Galloway, however the program fell off in the 90’s and first part of the century before your arrival. What have been the keys for you and your staff building Louisiana Tech back up and making them nationally competitive again? 

Mark Montgomery: The emergence of Conferences like the SEC with their monetary investment into softball presented challenges for all mid-major programs starting in the 90s. To compete against those schools in today’s climate is a challenge. Louisiana Tech is fortunate to be in a geographically talent rich area and to be at a school within a community that takes both athletics and academics and their successes very seriously. That has allowed our coaching staff to really build a foundation for sustained success through recruiting and athletic facility improvements.   

Dobbins: Over the last few years recruiting has been a major topic of conversation particularly when it comes to the average (young) age that Prospective Student Athletes are being recruited and making verbal commitments to programs. Legislation has now been initiated restricting contact/offers to PSAs until the start of their junior years in high school. Talk a bit about that change in the recruiting dynamic since that legislation has been adopted. Has it slowed the process and made balancing recruiting better? Has the legislation been effective in curving earlier recruiting in any way? 

Montgomery: I think the jury is still out as to how recruiting will be affected long term.  It is great for the student athlete to have more time before feeling pressure to commit to a college.  Nobody who hasn’t played at least a year or two in high school had any business committing to a college. Yet it was happening often.  That being said it is extremely difficult to legislate morality and ethics. Lots of coaches said they were against early recruiting, yet rushed out and committed eighth graders the week before the legislation was finalized.  I think it is going to take a few years to see how effective the new rule really plays out. Do some schools secretively lay groundwork so as to commit kids that first week of September, or do kids truly get to take some visits and make informed decisions as to what will be the best fit. Regardless, it is better than the old way.  I just hope we don’t see some unintended consequences.

Dobbins: From a recruiting standpoint Louisiana is saturated with DI programs more than a lot of states; What have been your keys in recruiting and selling LA Tech as a destination for talent all over the country? Has concentrating your recruiting efforts out-of-state been by design, or just how it has worked out?

Montgomery: We kind of created a geographical formula for recruiting upon my arrival.  Most of the DI programs in Louisiana are in the southern part of the state. There is great talent down there but lots of competition for it, not only in LSU and ULL but many other DI schools.  We decided to stay along the I-20 corridor.  Get as many kids in North Louisiana as possible but follow that I-20 interstate through East Texas, (where we have gotten some great kids) all the way into Dallas Metro Area.  There are more people in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex than the entire state of Louisiana, and there are only two DI softball programs. We know lots of schools recruit there, but we wanted to really work that area hard. We felt that if we could pick up 60-80% of our recruits in that four-hour stretch of interstate and then use personal connections with friends and coaching acquaintances, we could really build a talented roster and maintain that year in and year out.

Dobbins: I recently heard a phrase directly referenced to collegiate softball; “The era of the free agent has begun.” This seemingly is referencing the latest NCAA Transfer Legislation that eliminates the permission-to-contact process. The transfer rates in the last five years had seemingly already been at an all-time high. Recently however, it seems the flood gates have opened directly connected with this legislation. What are your thoughts on this legislation and its effect on the collegiate game?

Montgomery: The idea was to make transfers more transparent. Unfortunately, what has happened is it has allowed for the ease of transfer for any reason. Sometimes players need a change through no fault of their own.  This was especially true with all of the early recruiting for those players that got to their new school and realized it wasn’t the fit that they thought it would be when they were in the 8^th or 9^th grade.  However now, with the portal being set up, illegal recruiting is being done behind the scenes that allows a player to transfer easily, already knowing where they are going to land.  It is a great thing for the kids who are leaving for a new opportunity and hoping to find a situation that better suits their needs.  However, once again you can’t legislate morals and ethics, and this is where we may have opened Pandora’s Box. This is going to be problem in all sports, not just softball. However, in some sports you have to sit and wait a year which at least has some teeth.  However, in softball you can be eligible immediately.  All that being said, we never want a player who doesn’t want to be here, so we gladly grant all requests for transfers.

Dobbins: The “Point of Emphasis” the last few years from a rules and officiating standpoint have been the obstruction rule (particularly at the catching position) and the enforcement of the players positioning and movements in the batter’s box and leaving the dimensions and confines of it (particularly slappers). What are your thoughts on these two particular points of emphasis the last few years? Are they being enforced accurately and effectively? If not, what needs to change from an enforcement standpoint?

Montgomery: Just like all umpiring, the types of plays you are referencing are very subjective.  All we can do is try to continue to teach, train and develop the best umpires we can. I really believe that the NFCA and the NCAA are working hard to make this better.  I think the biggest issue we are facing is the lack in our number of officials.  That leads to the lack of quality.  I really wish I knew how to fix that one, but until we have more umpires in the system I am afraid that we are going to see lots of poor subjective decisions. I’m at the highest level of softball and I start to think we have it bad, then I go watch one of my daughter’s high school games. Seriously, quality officiating and the decline in numbers of officials may become one of our biggest issues and no one is really talking about it.