Rounding Third Softball

RTS has learned Saginaw Valley State will name Embry-Riddle (AZ) head coach Christie Ambrosi to the same position. Ambrosi spent two seasons at ERAU going 29-33 in her first collegiate coaching position. The Kansas Native played at UCLA and was member of the U.S. Olympic squad that won a gold medal at the Sydney, Australia games. She ran the Kansas City Softball Academy before moving into collegiate coaching. Ambrosi inherits an ideal situation and loaded squad left by former head coach Todd Buckingham who departed for an assistants position at Western Michigan. The Cardinals were 16-2, had knocked off the #1 team in the country, and were ranked inside the DII Top 25 when the pandemic ended the 2020 season.

Sources in Arizona have confirmed to RTS that the Maricopa County Community College District will move forward with sports starting January 4, 2021. The district which includes eight ACCAC softball playing members on the NJCAA DII level, had canceled sports this fall and had no student-athletes on their campuses this semester. It was thought at the time the move was going to be for all sports for the totality of the 2020-2021 athletic year. This fall the district had established a committee of college and athletic administrators along with institution athletic trainers and other medical experts to gauge the viability of moving forward with the spring. A vote this morning by institute presidents and the chancellor of the Maricopa County Community College system reversed course clearing the way for sports to return this spring.

RTS has learned Louisiana infielder Brittany Holland will be transferring to Arizona State for the 2021 season. Holland will have three years of eligibility remaining for the Sun Devils after spending one year at JUCO Central Arizona in 2018, and one redshirt pandemic season with the Ragin’ Cajuns after an injury ended her 2019 season. She hit .333 in 11 games played in the shortened 2020 season.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore has announced they will forgo athletics for the remaining 2020-21 school year due to ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. A Division I member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Hawks Softball squad finished a pandemic shortened 2020 season 3-18. The move coined by an institutional release as “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the welfare of student athletes”, seems to be more about financial stability and lack thereof by schools of similar size and level like UMES.

RTS has learned that Rutgers middle infielder Aleah Mara will transfer to Toledo for the 2021 season. Mara played two seasons for the Scarlet Knights batting .252 in 2019 and .299 in 2020. The Michigan native will join the Rockets with three years of eligibility still intact as a result of the pandemic shortened 2020 season.

CBS Rivas won the Spanish Softball League Championship defeating Viladecans Sercotel in the best-of-three series final. They completed a perfect 16-0 season with a 7-2 victory over Viladecans Sercotel. The title was the second for CBS Rivas in as many years.

Stony Brook has added longtime LIU Post head coach Jamie Apicella to their coaching staff as volunteer assistant. Apicella compiled 826 wins in 21 seasons at the DII powerhouse. LIU Post eliminated their program after the 2019 season when Long Island University merged its Brooklyn and Brookville-based athletic programs.

As was expected, the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee has now extended the recruiting Dead Period for Division I through April 15, 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The current dead period was set to expire on January 2, 2021. Although DI Softball Coaches cannot regularly be off-campus during this stretch due to the established recruiting calendar other than for scholastic contests until after the WCWS in June, they will still be restricted from bringing recruits on campus for visits and conducting camps now through April.

Northern Vermont University-Johnson has named Anya Adams head coach. Adams spent the 2020 season coaching the Ghajnieslem Redcoats club team in Malta. Prior to her time overseas she was the owner and director of operations at Pure Performance Inc. located in Fairfax, Virginia.

RTS has learned Cal State Northridge has dwindled their candidates for their open head coaching position to two; San Jose State assistant coach Letty Olivarez and Cal State Fullerton volunteer assistant coach Charlotte Morgan. Both had just joined their current programs this fall. Olivarez joined the Spartans after being on staff the last two seasons at Texas Tech, while Morgan had been pitching coach most recently at UT Arlington before joining the Titans.