Rounding Third Softball Postseason Coverage powered by Decker Sports continues this weekend at the Athens Regional. The No. 14 National Seed Georgia (39-13) welcomes Virginia Tech (37-18), Boston (51-8), and North Carolina Central (19-33) to Jack Turner Stadium. Coverage begins Thursday with scheduled team practices and media availability. Regional action gets started Friday as the Hokies take on the Terriers at 2 pm ET. The Bulldogs and Eagles follow at 4:30 pm ET. Check-in on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB and on all RTS Social Media platforms for updates throughout the weekend from the Athens Regional as the NCAA Postseason gets underway.
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French Resigns At Bryant
Sources have confirmed to RTS that Nick French has resigned as head coach at Bryant University. French spent five seasons leading the Bulldogs after one season on staff as an assistant. The well respected pitching coach nationally led the program through the difficult transition to the American East Conference. The 2023 Bryant squad finished 18-29, winning the most games since 2014.
ABAC To Transition To Four-Year Sports
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will transition from two-year to four-year athletics the Georgia institute has announced. Currently an NJCAA member, ABAC will apply for membership in the NAIA and join the Southern States Athletic Conference. The transition is expected to take affect in the 2024-25 sports season. The 2023 Golden Fillies Softball squad went 31-18 and 20-4 in conference play.
Brooks Steps Down At SJU
Erin Brooks has stepped down as head coach at Saint Joseph’s. She will be replaced by associate head coach Gina McCool who has served on staff for the Hawks the last five seasons. Brooks spent six seasons leading SJU compiling a 124-133 overall mark while going 80-56 in Atlantic 10 play.
Division III Selects Championship Field
The NCAA has announced the 62 teams that will compete in the Division III Championship. The Regional Round runs May 18-20, while the Super Regional Round will play May 26 and 27. In an unprecedented and head scratching move, the DIII Finals will be held the same week of the Women’s College World Series June 1-7. The DIII World Series will be held at Bell Park at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas. The DIII Selections can be found below and the bracket at https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/softball/d3/2023
Automatic Qualifiers:
Penn State- Altoona
Wartburg
East Texas Baptist
Cabrini
Swarthmore
John Jay
Millikin
Rosemont
Endicott
St. John Fisher
Simmons
Transylvania
Moravian
Rochester
UMass Dartmouth
Framingham State
Trine
York (PA)
Misericordia
Grinnell College
Bethel (Minnesota)
Eastern Nazarene
Williams
MIT
The College of New Jersey
Husson
Hiram
Concordia Wisconsin
Linfield
Mount Union
Randolph-Macon
Waynesburg
Manhattanville
Berry
Redlands
St. Thomas (TX)
Spalding
SUNY Geneseo
Case Western Reserve
Penn State-Berks
Wisconsin-Superior
Pfeiffer
Wisconsin-La Crosse
The 1 institution selected from Pool B was:
Salisbury
The 18 institutions selected from Pool C were:
Belhaven
Central (IA)
Christopher Newport
Coe
Eastern Connecticut State
Lebanon Valley
Luther
Mary Hardin-Baylor
Marietta
Ramapo
Roanoke
Rensselaer
Rowan
Texas Lutheran
Tufts
Virginia Wesleyan
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Wisconsin-Whitewater
REGIONAL SITES AND HOST INSTITUTIONS (16):
Angola, Indiana – Trine
Annville, Pennsylvania- Lebanon Valley
Ashland, Virginia – Randolph-Macon
Belton, Texas- Mary-Hardin Baylor
Cambridge, Massachusetts- MIT
Cleveland, Ohio – Case Western Reserve
Marshall, Texas – East Texas Baptist
Marietta, Ohio- Marietta College
McMinnville, Oregon- Linfield
Medford, Massachusetts – Tufts
Newport News, Virginia – Christopher Newport
Oshkosh, Wisconsin- Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Pella, Iowa- Central College (IA)
Salisbury, Maryland – Salisbury
Virginia Beach, Virginia- Virginia Wesleyan
Whitewater, Wisconsin- Wisconsin-Whitewater
NCAA Announces Field Of 64 For DI Postseason
Some shocking seeds, pairings, and misses. None-the-less, the Road to the Women’s College World Series is set.
Norman Regional
No. 1 Oklahoma
Hofstra
California
Los Angeles Regional
No. 2 UCLA
Grand Canyon
San Diego State
Liberty
Tallahassee Regional
No. 3 Florida State
Marist
UCF
South Carolina
Knoxville Regional
No. 4 Tennessee
Northern Kentucky
Louisville
Indiana
Tuscaloosa Regional
No. 5 Alabama
Long Island
Middle Tennessee State
Central Arkansas
Stillwater Regional
No. 6 Oklahoma State
UMBC
Nebraska
Wichita State
Seattle Regional
No. 7 Washington
Northern Colorado
McNeese State
Minnesota
Durham Regional
No. 8 Duke
George Mason
Campbell
UNC Charlotte
Palo Alto Regional
No. 9 Stanford
Long Beach State
Loyola Marymount
Florida
Baton Rouge Regional
No. 10 LSU
Prairie View A&M
Omaha
Louisiana
Fayetteville Regional
No. 11 Arkansas
Harvard
Notre Dame
Oregon
Evanston Regional
No. 12 Northwestern
Eastern Illinois
Miami (OH)
Kentucky
Austin Regional
No. 13 Texas
Seton Hall
Texas State
Texas A&M
Athens Regional
No. 14 Georgia
North Carolina Central
Boston
Virginia Tech
Salt Lake City Regional
No. 15 Utah
Southern Illinois
Ole Miss
Baylor
Clemson Regional
No. 16 Clemson
UNC Greensboro
Auburn
Cal State Fullerton
Western Illinois Headed To OVC
Western Illinois will be departing the Summit League for the Ohio Valley Conference effective July 1. The move adds 11 members to the OVC (10 softball playing programs) which in recent years has been poaching grounds for other conference expansions. The 2023 WIU Softball Squad finished the season 9-36.
Northwest University Ends Softball
Northwest University in Washington has announced they will discontinue their softball program. University officials stated the move was, “The right decision for the short and long-term future of Eagle Athletics and Northwest University.” The university said scholarship commitments to softball student-athletes would be honored for those who opt to continue at the institute. Veteran Coach Pam Fink retired after the Eagles last game on April 29. Fink coached for 30 years leading NAIA Northwest since 2018. She is the program’s all-time winningest coach.
Triplett Retires At Newberry
Ciria Triplett is retiring as head coach at Newberry College to spend more time with her family. The winningest coach in Wolves history, Triplett compiled a record of 290-211 in 11 seasons leading the DII program.
Upper Iowa Coaching Door Revolving Once Again
The revolving door of coaches continues at Upper Iowa University. Head Coach Laura North has resigned after one season at the DII school to accept the head coaching position at NAIA William Penn University. In her lone season leading the Peacocks she had a 17-26 record. Sources have confirmed to RTS that assistant coach Erin Kuba has been offered the head coaching postion and is considering it. She would become the fourth head coach since 2021.