RTS is saddened to report the passing of University of Mobile Softball Athlete Amberly Montgomery. Local news reports that Montgomery was involved in a fatal car accident Sunday morning. A junior outfielder from Satsuma, Alabama, she had appeared in two of three games played by the Rams to start their 2021 season. “Amberly was a great teammate and so much fun to coach. No matter the role she faced, she did it so well at 100% effort. She is going to be missed so much.” Mobile Head Coach Allison Sellers-Cook commented.
Purdue Fort Wayne Adds Pair to Coaching Staff
Purdue Fort Wayne completed their coaching staff for the 2021 season adding both assistant coach Heather Sanderson and graduate assistant coach Katey Hendershott. Sanderson joins the Mastodons after serving on the coaching staff at Alverno College, while Hendershott comes to PFW after finishing her playing time at Michigan State.
FDU Adds Vergona to Coaching Staff
Former Fordham standout catcher Ally Vergona has joined the coaching staff at Fairleigh Dickinson. The appointment is the first for Vergona as a collegiate coach. She most recently coached the NJ Heist Gold club team and has assisted at both Emerson and Paramus Catholic High Schools.
Fougerousse Joins Indiana State Staff
Indiana State has named Nicole Fougerousse the programs new pitching coach. Fougerousse’s last collegiate position was on staff with Tennessee State in 2016. She has most recently been owner and operator of her own indoor training facility in Linton, Indiana.
Ford Joining U.S. National Team in Training Capacity
Former James Madison three-time All-American pitcher Jailyn Ford has been invited to train with the U.S. National Team in their preparation for the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. Although USA Softball has indicated Ford won’t be on the team and only joining in a training capacity, the move could indicate that might be a future consideration in adding a youthful arm to further solidify the pitching staff for the upcoming games.
East Texas Baptist No. 1 in Preseason Poll
East Texas Baptist was voted the No. 1 team in the 2021 NFCA Division III Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Tigers collected all eight first-place votes to start the season atop the rankings. ETBU also finished the 2020 season at No. 1 with a 15-0 record before the pandemic ended the season.
| Rank | Team | 2020 Record | Points |
| 1 | East Texas Baptist (8) | 15-0 | 200 |
| 2 | Texas Lutheran | 19-1 | 192 |
| 3 | Christopher Newport | 12-1 | 184 |
| 4 | Virginia Wesleyan | 11-1 | 176 |
| 5 | Salisbury | 17-3 | 168 |
| 6 | Linfield | 12-2 | 160 |
| 7 | Central (Iowa) | 6-1 | 152 |
| 8 | Kean | 9-1 | 144 |
| 9 | DePauw | 6-3 | 136 |
| 10 | Berry | 12-2 | 128 |
| 11 | St. John Fisher | 7-3 | 100 |
| 12 | Transylvania | 9-1 | 96 |
| 13 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 12-3 | 87 |
| 14 | St. Olaf | 7-1 | 79 |
| 15 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 9-1 | 77 |
| 16 | Eastern Connecticut State | 2-0 | 69 |
| 17 | Carthage | 10-2 | 61 |
| 18 | Birmingham-Southern | 14-4 | 55 |
| 19 | Moravian | 9-1 | 52 |
| 20 | Geneseo | 4-1 | 44 |
| 21 | Wisconsin-La Crosse | 2-2 | 42 |
| 22 | Trine | 7-3 | 40 |
| 23 | Randolph-Macon | 8-3-1 | 29 |
| 24 | Tufts | 0-0 | 23 |
| 25 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 12-0 | 21 |
Others receiving votes: Maryville (Tenn.) 19, Illinois Wesleyan 17, Ferrum 12, Williams 11, St. Catherine 8, Wisconsin-Oshkosh 7, Manhattanville 6, Mount Union 3, Averett 2.
JSL Opens Season April 3
The Japanese Softball League (JSL) has announced it will start the 2021 season on April 3 and feature a 132 game schedule. The 12 JSL teams will play a double round-robin regular season, with the top five teams advancing to the league playoffs. The championship finals will be played November 6-7 at Fukushima Azuma Stadium, one of the venues of the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which will take place July 23-August 8 as the league pauses. The league features many international players, including Monica Abbott and Veronika Peckova (Toyota Red Terriers), Kaia Parnaby and Stacey Porter (SGH), Dallas Escobedo (Toyota Shokki Shining Vega), Keilani Rickets (Hitachi Sundiva), Ally Carda and Jailyn Ford (Honda Reverta), among others.
Ceo Joins Embry-Riddle Staff
Former Texas Longhorns standout Stephanie Ceo has joined the coaching staff at DII Embry-Riddle in Florida. Ceo served last year as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech after coming over from the coaching staff at Saint Mary’s College in California.
NCAA Sends WCWS Ticket Survey
The NCAA has sent an electronic survey to all regular event ticket holders of the Women’s College World Series to gauge their comfort level in attending this years event. The survey asks each ticket holder to choose whether they plan to use their 2021 reserved tickets, cancel them outright, cancel them but renew again for the 2022 event, or currently indicate they have yet to decide on attending the 2021 edition of the event. The email goes on to state, “At this time, we are not sure what the capacity will be at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium for the WCWS. As a reminder, all tickets for the championship will be mobile delivery and we expect that masks and other protective measures will be required.” The annual event being held June 3-9 in the Softball Mecca of Oklahoma City to crown a National Champion in Division I was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
USA Softball Announces Collegiate Player of the Year Watchlist
USA Softball has released the Top 50 Watchlist for their Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The award for top collegiate player enters its 19th season and recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by NCAA Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.
The list includes:
Odicci Alexander – James Madison – Pitcher/Infield – RS Sr.
Jocelyn Alo – Oklahoma – Utility – Sr.
Aliyah Andrews – LSU – Outfield – Sr.
Sis Bates – Washington – Infield – Grad Student
Amber Bishop-Riley – Liberty – Infield – Sr.
Jenna Cone – George Washington – Infield – Grad Student
Georgina Corrick – USF – Pitcher – Jr.
Haley Cruse – Oregon – Outfield – Sr.
Mia Davidson – Mississippi State – Catcher/Infield – Sr.
Kalita Dennis – Howard – Infield – Jr.
Carrie Eberle – Oklahoma State – Pitcher – Grad Student
Charla Echols – Florida – Infield – Jr.
.Tristen Edwards – Nebraska – Outfield – Sr.
Summer Ellyson – Louisiana – Pitcher – Sr.
Megan Faraimo – UCLA – Pitcher – RS Sophomore
Morganne Flores – Washington – Catcher – Grad Student
Tatyana Forbes – NC State – Outfield – RS Sr.
Montana Fouts – Alabama – Pitcher – Jr.
.Rachel Garcia – UCLA – Pitcher/Infield – RS Sr.
Kelli Godin – UCLA – Outfield – RS Sophomore
Kate Gordon – James Madison – Outfield – RS Sr.
Kindra Hackbarth – Arizona State – Outfield – Fifth Year
Jessie Harper – Arizona – Infield – RS Sr.
Bailey Hemphill – Alabama – Utility – Grad Student
Mary Iakopo – Texas – Catcher/Utility – Jr.
Janae Jefferson – Texas – Infield – Jr.
Aaliyah Jordan – UCLA – Outfield – RS Jr.
Giselle “G” Juarez – Oklahoma – Pitcher – RS Sr.
Lexi Kilfoyl – Alabama – Pitcher – Sophomore
Baylee Klingler – Washington – Infield – Jr.
Fa Leilua – Mississippi State – Infield – Grad Student
Kendyl Lindaman – Florida – Infield – Fifth Year
Nicole Mendes – Oklahoma – Utility – RS Sr.
Dejah Mulipola – Arizona – Catcher – RS Sr.
Bubba Nickles – UCLA – Utility – RS Sr.
Shealyn O’Leary – Texas – Pitcher – Sophomore
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza – Arizona – Outfield – Fifth Year
Briana Perez – UCLA – Infield – RS Jr.
Gabbie Plain – Washington – Pitcher – Sr.
Keely Rochard – Virginia Tech – Pitcher – Jr.
Linda Rush – Drexel – Infield – Sr.
Sydney Sherrill – Florida State – Infield – RS Jr.
KB Sides – Alabama – Outfield – Sr.
Makena Smith – Cal – Catcher/Infield – Sophomore
Bailey Vannoy – Charlotte – Catcher – Jr.
Kayla Wedl – UIC – Infield – Grad Student
Emily Williams – Mississippi State – Pitcher – Sr.
Danielle Williams – Northwestern – Pitcher/Utility – Jr.
Brooke Yanez – Oregon – Pitcher – Jr.
Samantha Yarbrough – Auburn – Pitcher – Jr.