Rounding Third Softball

In a move that is being described as “slid under the radar” by many coaches, the NCAA has cut the field for the Division II Softball postseason in 2021. The field previously set at 64 will now be trimmed to 48 participating teams. The move is a “cost cutting” measure as described by the NCAA due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. Eight predetermined Regional sites will now host six teams with each site winner advancing to the DII National Championship Finals in Denver. Super Regional play will be eliminated for the 2021 postseason.

Softball Australia has announced that it will hold a National Selection Camp for the Aussie Spirit squad that will compete in the rescheduled Olympic Games in 2021. The training camp will take place at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) from February 18-March 3, 2021. 34 athletes, including the complete 2020 Australian squad, have been invited to attend to compete for a spot in the Tokyo Games next summer.

Former Beijing Shougang Eagles Head Coach Hunter Veach has joined the coaching staff at UAB as volunteer assistant. Veach joins Head Coach Joe Guthrie’s staff filling the position that was occupied by his younger sister Kendall Veach. The younger Veach has moved into the position of graduate manager for the Blazers. The elder Veach has also had stops with the Cleveland Comets on the professional level, and has worked on staff at both Auburn and Auburn-Montgomery.

Boise State has promoted assistant coach Andrew Rich to associate head coach. Rich is in his third year with the Broncos and is considered key in the programs recruiting efforts helping land two nationally ranked classes since joining head coach Maggie Huffaker’s inaugural staff.

Cal State Northridge has hired Cal State Fullerton volunteer assistant coach Charlotte Morgan as their new head coach. RTS reported last month Morgan was one of two finalists for the position. The Matadors offered Morgan the chance to lead their program after the other finalist Letty Olivarez turned down a one year contract offer from CSUN to remain on staff at San Jose State. Morgan, the former Alabama All-American, also worked on staffs at UT Arlington, Oklahoma State, and Georgia Tech.

Montevallo has named Whitney Hawkins to their coaching staff to lead the Falcon pitchers. Hawkins comes to UM after two seasons at Lindsey Wilson where she was associate head coach. She has also had stops on staffs at East Mississippi Community College and North Alabama.

The California Collegiate Athletic Conference will forgo winter/springs sports for 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. The conference stated it had “exhausted” multiple return-to-play models that would keep student-athlete health and safety at the forefront. The conference’s Board of Presidents then voted not to proceed with athletics for the remaining scheduled seasons. The CCAA sponsors 10 softball playing members on the Division II level.

National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) has canceled their 2021 season it was announced today. This is the second consecutive year as the 2020 season was also not played. The fledgling league has termed it as “suspended” due to the pandemic citing home venues not being available or available only with restrictive conditions that make team operations difficult. The NPF also cited challenges with international players being able to travel and compete in the league this coming season. The league, made up of a large majority of those international players from particular national team programs, have five current franchises with two based in Illinois and one each in Ohio, California, and Minnesota.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced new dates for the inaugural 18U Women’s World Softball Cup. The 16 team international event will take place August 28-September 5 in Lima, Peru. The event had been rescheduled once from August 2020, and then again from March/April 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic.

Young Harris has made a surprising change at the top releasing head coach Kayla Lucas. After weeks of speculation, YHC released a short statement regarding the “termination”. The move seemed to have caught both the softball community and the team off guard as they both publicly rally to Lucas’s defense. Lucas coached the Mountain Lions for five seasons, with the 2019 season resulting in 44 wins and a trip to the DII Softball National Championship. The squad got off to a 19-3 start before the 2020 season was cut short. This type of unexpected and oddly executed move regarding a softball program is not the first Young Harris Athletic Director Jennifer Rushton has been involved in. In 2016 she was was senior associate athletic director at now defunct Armstrong State that dismissed head coach Ted Evans after 12 seasons and a National Championship event run that same year. Assistant coach Jessie Homesley will serve as interim head coach for Young Harris moving forward.