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USA Softball has announced their Top 53 Watch List for Collegiate Player of the Year.
The list consists of athletes from 26 universities and seven athletic conferences. The potential award winners will be dwindled down throughout the 2025 season, with the Player of the Year named in Oklahoma City prior to the start of the Women’s College World Series in June.
For the complete watch list go to https://www.usasoftball.com/…/usa-softball-collegiate…/
Dallas Christian College has been selected by the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) to host their World Series in 2025, 2026 and 2027. The NCCAA World Series will be played at Oak Grove Softball Complex in Grapevine, Texas. Eight teams advancing from regional competition sites will play a double elimination format on May 19-21 to crown the NCCAA National Champion.
Sonoma State University has announced it will discontinue their athletics program due to a nearly $24 million institutional wide shortfall. The NCAA Division II member located in Rohnert Park, California sponsors 11 sports and are members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The softball program opens what will be its last season on January 31 in Irvine, CA at the Concordia Kickoff Classic.
Florida International Head Coach Mike Larabee will be stepping away from the program for the 2025 season. Larabee announced on Saturday he has been diagnosed with Myelofibrosis. He will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant to treat the rare chronic blood cancer.
Larabee has led the Panthers since the 2021 season. Associate head coach Mike Meyers will take over as the interim head coach for FIU.
Florida Gulf Coast Head Coach Dave Deiros will retire at the conclusion of the 2025 season. Deiros will have coached the Eagles for 23 seasons, and has been the only coach the program has known since its inception. He amassed a record of 781-447-3 during that time. FGCU won three regular season championships (2008, 2012, and 2016), the South Division Championship in 2021, and qualified for the ASUN Championships in 10 of their twelve eligible seasons.
PennWest California Head Coach Rick Bertagnolli has announced his retirement after 31 seasons. Bertagnolli led the Vulcans to a 972-389 overall record while wining the 1997 and 1998 NCAA Division II National Championships. He coached 40 All-Americans, 16 of which would go on to be inducted into the California Athletic Hall of Fame.
Assistant Coach Nikki Yanchak will serve as interim head coach for the upcoming 2025 season, with a nationwide search for a new head coach beginning in the coming months
Softball America released their NCAA Division I Preseason Top 25
The Florida Gators start the season in the No. 1 spot, while last years National Runners-up Texas Longhorns follow at No. 2, and the defending National Champion Oklahoma Sooners come in at No. 3.
After 19 seasons Pat Conlan has departed as head coach at Georgetown. Conlan produced a 269-573 record while guiding the program. Georgetown Administration as indicated a national search for a new head coach will begin immediately. The Hoyas open the 2025 season in less than a month on February 7 in Charleston, SC.
Iowa has announced that Head Coach Renee Gillispie is stepping away from leading the Hawkeyes for the 2025 season due to a personal health matter.
Gillispie has lead Iowa for six seasons. In 2024 the Hawkeyes went 18-28 and 6-17 in Big 10 play.
Assistant Coach Brian Levin has been named interim head coach.
Terry Schweikert has been named the new head coach at Whittier College. The coaching veteran spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Cal State Northridge. She has also had stops on staff at Missouri, Nebraska, Cal State Fullerton, Texas A&M, and UC Riverside during a nearly four decade career.