Rounding Third Softball

RTS has learned that former Barton College Softball Coach Sheryl Neff passed away on September 18 at the age of 64. Neff coached 21 seasons for the Bulldogs between 1995-2016. She also assisted in Basketball, Cross Country and Track & Field during her tenure there.

College of Central Florida has promoted Mike Lingle to lead their program as head coach. Lingle has been an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the Patriots the past eight seasons. Before his time at CCF he had a successful run as head coach at Ocala Forest High School.

Numbers are now emerging on the survey the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) sent to their Division I Head Coaches membership that gauged them on the extension or discontinuation of the Recruiting Dead Period. A slight majority of 133 coaches were in favor of the now extended Dead Period, while 123 coaches were not. 84% of Division I Coaches responded to the survey. The Dead Period was extended by the NCAA on Wednesday through January 1 and will not allow DI Coaches to recruit off-campus, host or participate in camps, or allow PSAs to their campuses for visits.

RTS has learned that Cheyenne Smith will be joining the coaching staff at California Baptist as volunteer assistant. Smith an up-and-comer instructor and coach in California, also spent the past year working with the College of the Southwest as an assistant with an emphasis on recruiting. She played collegiately at New Mexico and Bethune-Cookman.

Dayton has hired former Canadian National Team member Sara Plourde as the programs new pitching coach. Plourde was a member of Team Canada from 2013-2019. She also played professionally during that run with multiple pro franchises.

The NCAA Division III Championship Committee has recommended that the number of participants at spring championships be limited to 75% of their usual capacity due to health and financial concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This indicates an unfortunate sign of things to come as Division I and II could consider similar proposals following suit. The move to cut postseason participation still nearly eight months off would mean fewer opportunities for softball teams in their respective Regional, Super Regional, and National Championship (World Series) play.

Former Nicholls State standout and Southern Miss All-American Courtney Blades-Rogers has been named to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Blades spent two seasons with the Colonels and two with the Golden Eagles between 1997-2000. Blades helped lead USM to consecutive appearances in the Women’s College World Series in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. The Baton Rouge native had a career record of 151-34 with 77 shutouts and an 0.97 ERA.

New Mexico has named Brandon Maurer to their coaching staff. Maurer comes to UNM after serving on staff at Fullerton College in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The former Cal State Fullerton graduate assistant will head up the pitching staff for the Lobos.

Hsin Lin Han has been named head coach for the Chinese Taipei National Team. The former pitcher who appeared in three games at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, guided the Chinese Taipei Junior Team to a fifth place finish in the 2019 WBSC U19 Women’s World Cup.

Former San Diego Coach Larry Caudillo has passed away at the age of 67 the school announced Wednesday. Caudillo led the program for eight years helping transition the program from DII to DI. He is the second-winningest coach in Toreros History with 211 wins.