RTS is saddened to report the passing of Stonehill College head coach Ken LeGrice. The veteran coach had been courageously battling cancer. LeGrice spent 17 years with the Skyhawks program, the last 12 as its head coach. He guided the Skyhawks to a program-record 197 wins and six Northeast-10 Conference Tournament appearances. In addition to his coaching endeavors, LeGrice spent 34 years as a member of the Brockton Police Department.
Texas Lutheran No. 1 After Punching NCAA Ticket
After winning the SCAC tournament championship, Texas Lutheran (28-4) stayed put in the top spot in this week’s NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. The NCAA Regional bound Bulldogs made it unanimous picking up all eight first-place votes.
| Rank | Team | 2021 Record | Points | Previous |
| 1 | Texas Lutheran (8) | 28-4 | 200 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia Wesleyan | 33-5-1 | 192 | 2 |
| 3 | DePauw | 31-2 | 184 | 5 |
| 4 | Moravian | 26-0 | 176 | 9 |
| 5 | Birmingham-Southern | 29-5 | 168 | T3 |
| 6 | Eastern Connecticut State | 24-2 | 160 | T3 |
| 7 | Belhaven | 30-8 | 152 | 6 |
| 8 | East Texas Baptist | 26-5 | 144 | 7 |
| 9 | Emory & Henry | 25-5 | 136 | 10 |
| 10 | Berry | 25-8 | 123 | 11 |
| 11 | Linfield | 33-7 | 120 | 8 |
| T12 | Christopher Newport | 26-10 | 106 | 14 |
| Salisbury | 21-7 | 106 | 13 | |
| 14 | St. John Fisher | 25-3 | 103 | 12 |
| 15 | Wartburg | 25-6 | 90 | 15 |
| 16 | The College of New Jersey | 17-3 | 70 | 18 |
| 17 | Randolph-Macon | 14-7-1 | 62 | 16 |
| 18 | Mount Union | 30-6 | 61 | 19 |
| 19 | St. Olaf | 21-3 | 48 | 22 |
| 20 | Concordia (Wis.) | 28-6 | 43 | 20 |
| 21 | Rowan | 25-5 | 38 | 21 |
| 22 | Rochester | 26-7 | 34 | 25 |
| 23 | St. Scholastica | 32-6 | 30 | 17 |
| 24 | Williams | 12-0 | 20 | 23 |
| 25 | George Fox | 27-9 | 10 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Alvernia 6, Misericordia 4, Mount St. Joseph 4, Milwaukee School of Engineering 3, Hope 3, Bethel (Minn.) 2, Aurora 1, Ithaca 1.
Dropped out: Coe, Saint Benedict and Trine.
USA Softball Announces 10 Finalists for POY
USA Softball announced today the 10 Finalists for their Collegiate Player of the Year. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award recognizes the top player in all of Division I. The Top 3 Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, May 19. The 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed June 1 prior to the 2021 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The Top 10 finalist list includes:
Jocelyn Alo, Sr., UTL, Oklahoma
Sis Bates, Grad., INF, Washington
Braxton Burnside, Grad., INF, Arkansas
Valerie Cagle, Fr., P, Clemson
Carrie Eberle, Sr., P, Oklahoma State
Rachel Garcia, RSSR., P/INF, UCLA
Mary Haff, RSJR., P, Arkansas
Tiare Jennings, Fr., INF, Oklahoma
Kayla Kowalik, Jr., C, Kentucky
Gabbie Plain, Sr., P, Washington
NCAA Cuts WCWS Ticket/Session Holders by 50%
The NCAA sent a communication to all-session ticket holders for the WCWS today, and needless to say they won’t be thrilled (nor should they be). The plan that NCAA has had a year to structure seems to give four options. The top two of which if fans want to attend being a reduction of seats already paid for, or reduction in overall sessions. NCAA recently set a 50% capacity for all postseason championships.
Augustana Unanimous No. 1 For Second Time This Season
Augustana (36-4) is the unanimous No. 1 in this week’s NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. This is the Vikings fifth week on top and the second time unanimously as they picked up all 16 first-place votes.
| Rank | School | Points | 2021 Record | Last Poll |
| 1 | Augustana (16) | 400 | 36-4 | 1 |
| 2 | UT Tyler | 382 | 33-5 | 3 |
| 3 | North Georgia | 370 | 35-5 | 4 |
| 4 | Auburn Montgomery | 341 | 35-5 | 11 |
| 5 | Lincoln Memorial | 319 | 36-6 | 7 |
| 6 | Oklahoma Christian | 305 | 34-6 | 6 |
| 7 | Indianapolis | 301 | 37-5 | 5 |
| 8 | Valdosta State | 288 | 32-6 | 2 |
| 9 | West Texas A&M | 275 | 32-10 | 10 |
| 10 | Young Harris | 264 | 30-9 | 8 |
| 11 | Concordia Irvine | 246 | 26-11 | 12 |
| 12 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 213 | 25-14 | 9 |
| 13 | Grand Valley State | 203 | 35-7 | 14 |
| 14 | UAH | 191 | 30-10 | 18 |
| 15 | Central Oklahoma | 177 | 32-10 | 13 |
| 16 | Colorado Mesa | 173 | 34-2 | 16 |
| 17 | Minnesota State | 136 | 30-7 | 17 |
| 18 | Saint Anselm | 124 | 24-4 | 19 |
| 19 | West Florida | 106 | 30-12 | 22 |
| 20 | Winona State | 91 | 31-8 | 20 |
| 21 | Angelo State | 71 | 31-11 | 23 |
| 22 | Southern Arkansas | 68 | 23-7 | 21 |
| 23 | Rollins | 64 | 16-2 | 15 |
| 24 | Georgian Court | 29 | 32-4 | RV |
| 25 | Biola | 26 | 19-13 | 24 |
New to Poll: No. 24 Georgian Court
Dropped Out: t-No. 25 Northwest Nazarene, t-No. 25 Texas A&M-Kingsville
Receiving Votes: Northwest Nazarene (14), Kutztown (11), Texas A&M University-Kingsville (7), Central Missouri (4), Shepherd (1).
European Softball Leader Van Overbeek Passes
Europe has lost one of its most influential individuals in the continent’s history with the sport of softball. André Van Overbeek the former president of the European Softball Federation (now WBSC Europe) has passed at the age of 72. Van Overbeek played baseball and after his retirement became a softball coach in the Netherlands and Russia. He became associated with the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB) in 2005. Van Overbeek was elected president of the ESF in 2009 and served two terms. He retired from softball in 2017.
Kalafatis Out at Charleston
College of Charleston announced Monday that it has parted ways with Head Coach Linda Kalafatis. The veteran coach spent eight seasons with the Cougars and had a record of 205-193. This season CofC was 6-35 and winless in CAA play at 0-18. Kalafatis indicated by Social Media Tuesday morning that she has now retired from collegiate coaching. She finishes with a career record of 1,013-668-2, and is best known for the 16 seasons she spent as head coach at Ohio State.
Oklahoma Owns No. 1
Oklahoma (39-1) doesn’t rent at No. 1, it seems they own. For the tenth straight week the Sooners unanimously hold the top spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.
| Rank | School | Points | Record | Last Week |
| 1 | Oklahoma (32) | 800 | 39-1 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 768 | 32-3 | 2 |
| 3 | Alabama | 718 | 39-7 | 4 |
| 4 | Florida | 705 | 37-8 | 3 |
| 5 | Washington | 673 | 35-9 | 5 |
| 6 | Florida State | 622 | 36-8-1 | 6 |
| 7 | Arizona | 569 | 33-8 | 9 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 558 | 39-7 | 10 |
| 9 | Oklahoma State | 536 | 39-6 | 11 |
| 10 | Arizona State | 518 | 31-12 | 12 |
| 11 | Texas | 462 | 35-9 | 7 |
| 12 | Oregon | 460 | 31-13 | 8 |
| 13 | Clemson | 418 | 37-4 | 13 |
| 14 | Louisiana | 387 | 38-9 | 14 |
| 15 | Missouri | 324 | 35-13 | 15 |
| 16 | LSU | 300 | 28-16 | 16 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 296 | 38-8 | 18 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 290 | 35-12 | 17 |
| 19 | Michigan | 229 | 28-5 | 19 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 162 | 32-12 | 20 |
| 21 | Duke | 159 | 34-10 | 22 |
| 22 | Georgia | 126 | 29-17 | 21 |
| 23 | Minnesota | 92 | 25-7 | 23 |
| 24 | JMU | 86 | 30-1 | 24 |
| 25 | Wichita State | 45 | 37-10-1 | RV |
New to Poll: No. 25 Wichita State
Dropped Out: No. 25 UCF
Receiving Votes: Liberty (32), Ole Miss (27), Notre Dame (13), Fresno State (6), UCF (5), Auburn (4), Miami University (4), Boston University (3), Cal State Fullerton (1), Texas State (1), USF (1).
Weaver Retires as Hendrix Coach
Hendrix College Coach Amy Weaver will retire after 19 seasons with the program. The veteran coach compiled 315 victories during her tenure, and 397 overall as she also coached Mercyhurst for seven seasons before her run with the Warriors. Weaver will remain with Hendrix as Director of Athletics, a role she has held since 2011.
Texas Lutheran Wins Seventh Consecutive SCAC Championship
Seven seems to indeed be a lucky number as of late for some programs across the country. This was the case as Texas Lutheran won their seventh consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball Championship on Monday. The No. 1 nationally ranked Bulldogs defeated Centenary 2-1 in the SCAC Tournament Finals.