USA Softball Announces National Team Roster And Staff

USA Softball has announced their coaching staff and roster for the Women’s National Team. Washington Head Coach Heather Tarr returns to head the team, while she will be assisted by Central Florida Head Coach Cindy Ball-Malone, Georgia Head Coach Tony Baldwin, and Florida Head Coach Tim Walton. The roster consists of 15 veterans to the WNT and one newcomer representing six current and 10 former collegiate student-athletes. The team will compete in the WBSC World Cup-Group A event slated to take place July 11-15 in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland. The complete Women’s National Team Roster can be found at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Team-USA/Women

RTS Heads To EIU/TTU OVC Series

RTS steps into the Ohio Valley Conference this weekend as Eastern Illinois (21-15, 9-2) travels to Tennessee Tech (3-34, 0-12). The Panthers and Golden Eagles get the three-game OVC Series started on Friday at 4 pm CST. Check-in on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB and on all RTS Social Media platforms for live in-game action and updates throughout the weekend.

NDSCS Tops NJCAA DIII Poll

For the second straight NJCAA DIII Poll, North Dakota State College of Science (10-9) is ranked No. 1.

Place TeamPointsRecordFirst Place VotesPrevious Rank
 1 North Dakota SCS7010-971
 2 Brookdale5411-304
 3 Caldwell Tech4818-1403
 4 Corning4212-705
 5 Surry3620-1402
 6 RCSJ Gloucester3016-806
 7 St. Cloud Tech2419-407
 8 Patrick & Henry1817-9010
 9 Anoka-Ramsey1221-909
 10 DuPage413-30RV

Receiving Votes: Onondaga, Suffolk County

Former FIU Panther Orr Gervais Passes

RTS is saddened to report the passing of Kennah Orr Gervais. The former Florida International Panther succumbed to a rare cervical cancer at the young age of 30 on April 11. Gervais would go on to coach at Webber International after her playing days at FIU. She is survived by many loving family members and teammates, including her 4-year-old daughter Kylar.

Undefeated Murray State Tops NJCAA DII Poll

Undefeated Murray State (38-0) sits atop this weeks NJCAA DII Rankings.

Place TeamRecordPointsFirst Place VotesPrev. Ranking
 1  Murray State38-0200121
 2  Northwest Mississippi24-2190 2
 3  Parkland34-8180 3
 4  Louisburg41-2170 4
 5  South Mountain36-7160 6
 6  Phoenix34-8150 7
 7  Jones27-6140 9
 8  Northeast Mississippi33-5129 10
 9  Des Moines Area29-7119 5
 10  Copiah-Lincoln24-8101 8
 11  Pearl River29-897 13
 12  LSU Eunice28-1592 12
 13  Kirkwood32-979 11
 14  Catawba Valley30-671 15
 15  Rock Valley22-761 16
 16  St. Louis23-349 17
 17  North Iowa Area26-837 20
 18  Itawamba21-1024 18
 19 Spoon River27-12-123 14
 20  Iowa Lakes24-105 RV

Receiving Votes: Lake-Sumter State, Potomac State, Delaware Tech, Johnson County, Fort Scott, Danville Area

Florida SouthWestern Tops NJCAA DI Poll

Two-time defending National Champion Florida SouthWestern (41-3) sits atop this weeks NJCAA DI Rankings.

Place TeamRecordPointsFirst Place VotesPrevious Rank
 1 Florida SouthWestern41-314081
 2 Grayson32-4133  2
 3 Northwest Florida State43-5126  3
 4 Odessa36-4119  4
 5 Walters State37-1112  5
 6 Wallace State31-5105  7
 7 Chattanooga State34-798  8
 8 Central Florida40-1091  6
 9 Seminole State (FL)39-984  11
 10 Seminole State (OK)23-577  13
 11 McLennan30-1070  9
 12 Salt Lake27-863  12
 13 Galveston28-656  10
 14 Weatherford30-749  17
 15 Indian River State38-1042  14
 16 Butler28-835  16
 17 Hutchinson29-628  15
 18 Volunteer State25-921  19
 19 Lake Land24-614  18
 20 Indian Hills 3 RV

Receiving Votes: Southern Idaho, Temple

Cardinal Stritch To Close

Cardinal Stritch University has announced it will cease operations next month. Falling in with a recent uptick in collegiate closures, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin institute cited downward enrollment and mounting operational and financial challenges as the deciding factor. CSU has been open since 1937 and operates an NAIA athletic department of 13 sports which includes softball.

Longtime TCC Coach Townsend Departing Program

Tallahassee Community College has announced that Patti Townsend will step down as head coach at the end of the season. Townsend coached the Eagles for 20 years and compiled a record of 505-482-1. During they time she led TCC to one FCSAA Championship, three NJCAA Region 8B/FCSAA Gulf District Championships, and one Panhandle Conference Championship. In 2011, the Eagles finished in third place at the NJCAA Division I Softball Championship.

Tallahassee will conduct a national search for a new head coach. However, it is expected that assistant coach Jessica (Seamon) Santiago will garner serious consideration. Santiago is a veteran coach and spent 10 seasons on staff at DI Nicholls State, most recently as assistant head coach in 2021.

Change In This Week’s Top 5

Some movement at the top of this week’s D1 Softball Top 25 Poll. While Oklahoma (36-1) keeps their stranglehold on No. 1, UCLA (36-4) moves into No. 2 followed by Oklahoma State (35-3). Newcomers Florida State (32-7) and Stanford (31-6) round out the Top 5.

RankTeamOverall RecordRecord Last WeekPrevious Rank
1Oklahoma36-13-01
2UCLA36-44-03
3Oklahoma State35-33-12
4Florida State32-73-06
5Stanford31-63-07
6Georgia31-82-28
7Tennessee30-51-24
8Clemson37-41-35
9Texas33-8-13-012
10Washington29-83-013
11LSU33-72-110
12Arkansas28-111-29
13Duke30-82-011
14Texas A&M24-132-014
15Alabama28-122-115
16Baylor30-93-024
17Oregon25-113-016
18Northwestern24-94-020
19Kentucky24-10-13-117
20Virginia Tech31-94-118
21Wichita State34-74-023
22Utah24-82-122
23Florida28-102-1NR
24Indiana30-112-219
25Louisiana30-104-0NR
Dropped Out
Arizona24-150-321
California24-12-10-325

U-15 JWNT Wins Gold

The U-15 USA Junior Women’s National Team won their first Gold Medal on Saturday downing Mexico 14-0 in four-innings at the WBSC Pan American Championship. Team USA went undefeated 8-0 in the event held in Lima, Peru. With the championship the U-15 WNT secured a spot in the WBSC World Cup slated to take place in Tokyo, Japan later this year.