Sources have confirmed to RTS that Amy Hayes is out as head coach at Bradley. Hayes led the Braves for 14 seasons and is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 295 victories. Bradley appeared in two NCAA Postseasons during her tenure.
Goyette Chosen To Lead New Program At Earlham
Earlham College has named Stacey Goyette to lead their new program. She will take on the task of building the DIII squad from ground up after serving the last six seasons as the pitching coach at Butler. Goyette helped guide Bulldog Pitcher Alyssa Graves to the Big East Pitcher of the Year award this season.
OU Unanimous No More, But Still No. 1
Still No. 1, but unanimous no more. Oklahoma (49-2) held on to the top spot in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Sooners took 31 of 32 first-place votes after dropping the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game to No. 6 Oklahoma State (41-12). No. 2 Florida State (52-5) garnered the other vote after winning the ACC Tournament Championship last weekend.
| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Points | 2022 Record | Prev. Ranking |
| 1 | Oklahoma (31) | 799 | 49-2 | 1 |
| 2 | Florida State (1) | 757 | 52-5 | 3 |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 739 | 41-7 | 2 |
| 4 | Arkansas | 708 | 44-9 | 4 |
| 5 | UCLA | 657 | 43-8 | 6 |
| 6 | Oklahoma State | 636 | 41-12 | 7 |
| 7 | Alabama | 619 | 41-11 | 5 |
| 8 | Arizona State | 588 | 39-9 | 8 |
| 9 | Duke | 524 | 41-8 | 9 |
| 10 | Northwestern | 483 | 40-10 | 11 |
| 11 | Washington | 476 | 35-15 | 10 |
| 12 | Florida | 444 | 43-16 | 12 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 420 | 39-16 | 13 |
| 14 | Clemson | 416 | 39-15 | 15 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 335 | 35-17 | 14 |
| 16 | Texas | 283 | 38-17-1 | 16 |
| 17 | Auburn | 253 | 39-15 | 17 |
| 18 | UCF | 242 | 46-12 | 21 |
| 19 | Georgia | 218 | 40-16 | 18 |
| 20 | Missouri | 201 | 36-20 | 24 |
| 21 | Notre Dame | 187 | 39-10 | 19 |
| 22 | LSU | 134 | 34-21 | 20 |
| 23 | Oregon | 95 | 31-17 | 22 |
| 24 | Michigan | 84 | 36-16 | 23 |
| 25 | Nebraska | 47 | 40-14 | RV |
New to Poll: No. 25 Nebraska
Dropped Out: No. 25 Louisiana
Receiving Votes: Louisiana (38), Stanford (12), Georgia Tech (3), Ole Miss (1), San Diego State (1).
Lythberg Promoted To Head Coach At Spring Hill
Spring Hill College has promoted assistant coach Hanna Lythberg to the position of head coach. Lythberg joined the Badger Softball staff in January 2021. She takes over for former head coach Steve Kittrell who retired last week. During the past two seasons, the Badgers have gone 41-29 with Lythberg directing the pitching staff.
Blaylock Retiring At SIU
Southern Illinois Head Coach Kerri Blaylock has announced her retirement. The Hall of Fame Coach had stepped aside back in March due to undisclosed health reasons. At the time assistant coach Jen Sewell took over as interim coach. Sewell has now had the interim tag removed and will lead the program moving forward. Blaylock spent 22 years at the helm of the Salukis compiling a 751-413-1 record and making eight NCAA Tournament appearances
Congleton Not Returning To New Mexico In 2023
New Mexico has announced that head coach Paula Congleton will not have her contract renewed. Congleton spent five seasons leading the Lobos. She compiled a record of 73-158 overall, while also going 25-71 in Mountain West Conference play.
The 64 Are Set
The Road to the WCWS is set. Seeds and Regional Sites for the 2022 NCAA Postseason.
Norman Regional
No. 1 Oklahoma
Prairie View A&M
Minnesota Texas A&M
Tallahassee Regional
No. 2 Florida State
Howard
South Florida
Mississippi State
Blacksburg Regional
No. 3 Virginia Tech
St. Francis
Miami (OH)
Kentucky
Fayetteville Regional
No. 4 Arkansas
Princeton
Wichita State
Oregon
Los Angeles Regional
No. 5 UCLA
Grand Canyon
Loyola Marymount
Ole Miss
Tuscaloosa Regional
No. 6 Alabama
Chattanooga
Stanford
Murray State
Stillwater Regional
No. 7 Oklahoma State
Fordham
North Texas
Nebraska
Tempe Regional
No. 8 Arizona State
Cal State Fullerton
LSU
San Diego State
Evanston Regional
No. 9 Northwestern
Oakland
McNeese State
Notre Dame
Clemson Regional
No. 10 Clemson
UNC Wilmington
Louisiana
Auburn
Knoxville Regional
No. 11 Tennessee
Campbell
Oregon State
Ohio State
Durham Regional
No. 12 Duke
UMBC
Liberty
Georgia
Seattle Regional
No. 13 Washington
Lehigh
Weber State
Texas
Gainesville Regional
No. 14 Florida
Canisius
Wisconsin
Georgia Tech
Columbia Regional
No. 15 Missouri
Missouri State
Arizona
Illinois
Orlando Regional
No. 16 UCF
Villanova
South Dakota State
Michigan
Thoughts Ahead Of NCAA Selections
A few interesting points and possibilities ahead of tonight’s selection of the Division I Championship Field:
-The SEC might be hosting the fewest regional tournaments in a very long time. While Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas are locks to host, after that it’s likely the rest of the SEC representatives will be sent to other regionals. This could produce some roadblocks for regional hosts/higher seeds seeing good SEC teams coming their way.
-Arizona finished last place in the Pac-12 which always seemed unfathomable before. The Wildcats have not missed the NCAA postseason since 1986. Arizona is definitely on the bubble, and at this point the wrong side of it.
-Does the NCAA Championship Committee place three Regional Rounds in the State of Florida? Florida State and Florida are a lock to host. A third site could be UCF, and they are deserving based on RPI, SOS, and rankings. If the Golden Knights aren’t chosen to host, they might be the most dangerous team in the postseason taking to the road.
-Texas A&M is a bubble team for the Field of 64. The Aggies finished the season 29-26, but have a good RPI and SOS. If A&M misses the postseason, head coach Jo Evans is at the end of her contract and a move to new leadership could be made by Aggie Administration.
-Arizona State won the Pac-12 Championship straight out over conference runner-up UCLA. The Sun Devils are 12th in the latest RPI, the Bruins are 5th. Can the Championship Committee seed UCLA as a Top 8 team and keep ASU out ignoring the finish in the Pac-12?
USCAA World Series Starts Tomorrow
The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Small College World Series starts tomorrow in DuBois, PA. The event runs May 16-19 at Heindl Field. Defending Champion Florida National University has garnered the top seed for the event.
USCAA Teams include:
Florida National University
Miami University-Hamilton
Penn State University-Hazleton
Carlow University
Penn State University-DuBois
Central Maine Community College
Penn State University-Schuylkill
D’Youville College
Penn State University-Brandywine
Mississippi University For Women
Complete seedings, schedule, and details can be found at https://www.smallcollegeworldseries.com/…/Schedule_Release
Bedlam Rings As Big 12 Title Heads To Stillwater
BEDLAM! Oklahoma State has knocked off the top team in the land Oklahoma to take home the Big 12 Tournament Championship. The Cowgirls defeat the Sooners 4-3 to secure the Big 12’s automatic bid to the NCAA Postseason.