RTS will be in the Scenic City tomorrow for the start of the three-game Southern Conference Series between Mercer (13-34, 5-10) and Chattanooga (21-23, 5-7). Game 1 of the series starts at 1 pm Saturday. Check-in beginning at Noon on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for real-time updates from the matchup between the Bears and Mocs.
Top 25 Announced For National Freshman Of The Year
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association has announced the Top 25 for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award. The award honors outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. The finalists represent 25 different universities across 15 NCAA Division I conferences. The list will be dwindled twice more to 10, and then three finalists, before the Freshman of the Year Award is announced on May 31. Oklahoma’s Jordy Bahl tops this list of finalist as the potential favorite for the award. The complete list of the Top 25 FOTY can be found at 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year Top 25 revealed
Major Changes Could Be On The Way From NCAA
The NCAA and their sports (including softball) could look a lot different in the coming years. With the announcement of NCAA President Mark Emmert stepping down within the next year on Tuesday, the NCAA Transformation Committee announced some possible future legislation that could radically change the landscape of college sports.
Some of those possible changes include:
-Eliminating scholarship caps on sports that offer only partial scholarships
-Lifting the limitation on the number of coaches per team-
Expanding direct payments from schools to athletes-
Reconfiguring recruiting calendars to eliminate dead and quite periods
-Implementing closed periods in the NCAA transfer portal
Top Ranked CNU Defeats No.2 To Remain On Top
After defeating No. 2 Salisbury (32-4) in a DH last week, top-ranked Christopher Newport (35-1) has kept hold of the No. 1 spot in this week’s NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Captains collected all 10 first place votes.
| Rank | Team | Points | 2022 Record | Previous |
| 1 | Christopher Newport (10) | 250 | 35-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Salisbury | 240 | 32-4 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas Lutheran | 230 | 35-4 | 3 |
| 4 | Eastern Connecticut State | 220 | 28-4 | 5 |
| 5 | Belhaven | 210 | 31-5 | 6 |
| 6 | DePauw | 200 | 26-6 | 7 |
| 7 | Linfield | 190 | 36-7 | 8 |
| 8 | East Texas Baptist | 180 | 27-8 | 4 |
| 9 | Birmingham-Southern | 170 | 32-6 | 9 |
| 10 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 160 | 28-9 | 12 |
| 11 | Bethel | 150 | 25-2 | 14 |
| 12 | Berry | 140 | 27-11 | 13 |
| 13 | Randolph-Macon | 130 | 30-7 | 10 |
| 14 | Virginia Wesleyan | 120 | 29-10 | 15 |
| 15 | Concordia (Wis.) | 110 | 27-3 | 17 |
| 16 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 100 | 18-4 | 19 |
| 17 | Roanoke | 90 | 26-10 | 20 |
| 18 | Babson | 80 | 28-6 | T24 |
| 19 | Wisconsin-Oshkosh | 70 | 20-6 | 11 |
| 20 | Piedmont | 60 | 26-9 | RV |
| 21 | Rowan | 50 | 26-8 | 16 |
| 22 | Geneseo | 22 | 25-3 | RV |
| 23 | Millikin | 15 | 26-4 | 22 |
| 24 | Lynchburg | 14 | 23-17 | NR |
| 25 | Pfeiffer | 9 | 32-8 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Case Western Reserve 8, Wisconsin-La Crosse 7, Susquehanna 6, Saint Benedict (Minn.) 5, Alma 4, Aurora 3, Tufts 3, Mount St. Joseph 1, and Wartburg 1.
Dropped out: George Fox and The College of New Jersey.
UT Tyler Still Tops DII Poll
UT Tyler (38-4) is still No. 1 in this week’s NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. It’s the 11th week the Patriots have been on top of the DII Poll this season.
| Rank | School | Points | 2022 Record | Prev. Ranking |
| 1 | UT Tyler (16) | 400 | 38-4 | 1 |
| 2 | Indianapolis | 371 | 41-5 | 3 |
| 3 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 359 | 41-8 | 5 |
| 4 | Central Oklahoma | 354 | 41-7 | 4 |
| 5 | Auburn Montgomery | 349 | 34-8 | 2 |
| 6 | Rogers State | 306 | 39-7 | 8 |
| 7 | Angelo State | 296 | 37-8 | 10 |
| 8 | Cal State San Marcos | 282 | 36-8 | 6 |
| 9 | Tampa | 278 | 30-10 | 11 |
| 10 | Valdosta State | 259 | 29-9 | 7 |
| 11 | Concordia Irvine | 241 | 42-7 | 9 |
| 12 | Augustana | 232 | 36-7 | 12 |
| 13 | Lubbock Christian | 204 | 36-8 | 14 |
| 14 | Anderson | 191 | 37-7 | 13 |
| 15 | Oklahoma Christian | 167 | 36-10 | 15 |
| 16 | Minnesota State | 146 | 38-10 | 18 |
| 16 | Southern Indiana | 146 | 35-10 | 17 |
| 18 | West Florida | 118 | 28-12 | 20 |
| 19 | North Georgia | 112 | 35-15 | 16 |
| 20 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 107 | 37-11 | 19 |
| 21 | Grand Valley State | 79 | 36-5 | 24 |
| 22 | Kutztown | 39 | 30-12 | 25 |
| 23 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 34 | 36-13 | 23 |
| 24 | Chico State | 33 | 34-11 | RV |
| 25 | Adelphi | 22 | 33-11 | RV |
New to Poll: No. 24 Chico State, No. 25 Adelphi
Dropped Out: No. 21 Embry-Riddle, No. 22 West Texas A&M
Receiving Votes: Washburn (21), Nova Southeastern (19), Colorado Christian (16), Embry-Riddle (9), Carson-Newman (7), Cal State Dominguez Hills (2), East Stroudsburg (1).
Core Stepping Down At Lincoln
Lincoln University has announced Christine Core will be stepping down as head coach effective at the end of the season. Core is in her fourth season coaching the Tigers. With four games left in the 2022 season, LU has a record of 12-31.
Sooners Still Ruling The Top Of DI
25 straight weeks Oklahoma (42-1) has reigned supreme on top of the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.
| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Points | 2022 Record | Prev. Ranking |
| 1 | Oklahoma (32) | 800 | 42-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | 760 | 36-6 | 3 |
| 3 | UCLA | 728 | 36-5 | 4 |
| 4 | Florida State | 699 | 43-5 | 5 |
| 5 | Alabama | 653 | 39-8 | 2 |
| 6 | Oklahoma State | 650 | 38-7 | 6 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 636 | 35-8 | 7 |
| 8 | Northwestern | 548 | 34-7 | 10 |
| 9 | Florida | 535 | 35-12 | 8 |
| 10 | Washington | 515 | 28-11 | 11 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 455 | 30-13 | 9 |
| 12 | Duke | 417 | 36-7 | 12 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 410 | 33-13 | 15 |
| 14 | Arizona State | 392 | 32-7 | 13 |
| 15 | Georgia | 342 | 37-11 | 14 |
| 16 | Auburn | 297 | 36-10 | 18 |
| 17 | Texas | 294 | 32-15-1 | 16 |
| 18 | Clemson | 266 | 33-14 | 17 |
| 19 | LSU | 226 | 30-17 | 21 |
| 20 | Notre Dame | 190 | 35-9 | 22 |
| 21 | UCF | 175 | 39-11 | 20 |
| 22 | Oregon | 132 | 26-16 | 19 |
| 23 | Michigan | 92 | 29-14 | 23 |
| 24 | Stanford | 78 | 31-13 | RV |
| 25 | Arizona | 46 | 27-16 | 24 |
New to Poll: No. 24 Stanford
Dropped Out: No. 25 Nebraska
Receiving Votes: Missouri (23), Louisiana (18), Nebraska (14), Oregon State (6), Mississippi State (1), San Diego State (1), Texas A&M (1).
JMU’s Lauren Bernett Passes
RTS is saddened to report the passing of James Madison student-athlete Lauren Bernett. A sophomore catcher for the Dukes, Bernett was a key member as a freshmen last season in the teams historic run to the Women’s College World Series. The McDonald, Pennsylvania native just yesterday was just named Colonial Athletic Conference Player of the Week after her outstanding on-field performance. A student-athlete that excelled in the classroom, Bernett was a member of the National Honor Society and majored in Biology with a minor in Pre-Veterinarian Medicine.
RTS To Be In Athens For Georgia/LSU SEC Series, Harris-Champer Honoring
RTS will be in Athens tomorrow for the start of the three-game SEC Series between No. 14 Georgia (36-9, 9-6) and No. 21 LSU (28-16, 8-7). Game 1 of the series starts at 6 pm Friday. Check-in beginning at 5 pm here, on Twitter, and Instagram for real-time updates from the Top 25 matchup between the Bulldogs and Tigers.
Before Saturday’s Game 2 UGA will welcome back former Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer as she will be honored prior to first pitch. Harris-Champer coached the Bulldogs for 21 seasons amassing 959 victories, 19-straight NCAA appearances, and five trips to the Women’s College World Series.
Mobile New NAIA No. 1
Mobile (37-1) is the new No 1 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll released today. The Rams received 11 first-place votes. Former poll topper Oklahoma City (31-4) comes in at No. 2 earning seven first-place votes, while Oregon Tech (38-7) is at No. 3 with one vote for first-place.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 3 | Mobile (Ala.) [11] | 37-1 | 518 |
| 2 | 1 | Oklahoma City [7] | 31-4 | 511 |
| 3 | 2 | Oregon Tech [1] | 38-7 | 495 |
| 4 | 4 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 39-3 | 489 |
| 5 | 5 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 37-6 | 461 |
| 6 | 7 | William Carey (Miss.) | 37-6 | 441 |
| 7 | 6 | College of Idaho | 35-8 | 425 |
| 8 | 8 | Indiana Wesleyan | 35-6 | 409 |
| 9 | 11 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 27-4 | 388 |
| 10 | 9 | Southern Oregon | 38-10 | 383 |
| 11 | 12 | Grand View (Iowa) | 30-5 | 347 |
| 12 | 10 | Coastal Georgia | 34-7 | 335 |
| 13 | 13 | Texas A&M Texarkana | 32-8 | 330 |
| 14 | 16 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 25-5 | 286 |
| 15 | 14 | Georgia Gwinnett | 29-15 | 276 |
| 15 | 17 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 31-11 | 276 |
| 17 | 18 | Marian (Ind.) | 26-7 | 249 |
| 18 | 20 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 36-7 | 242 |
| 19 | 21 | Columbia (Mo.) | 22-10 | 191 |
| 20 | 19 | Madonna (Mich.) | 20-4 | 178 |
| 21 | 24 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 30-5 | 162 |
| 22 | RV | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 28-13 | 138 |
| 23 | 24 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 22-6 | 134 |
| 24 | 23 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 29-3 | 130 |
| 25 | RV | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 37-8 | 122 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Ottawa (Kan.), Cumberlands (Ky.)
Others Receiving Votes: Ottawa (Kan.) 120, Cumberlands (Ky.) 105, William Jessup (Calif.) 77, Midland (Neb.) 45, Vanguard (Calif.) 31, Eastern Oregon 25, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 24, Bellevue (Neb.) 10, Oklahoma Wesleyan 7, Cottey (Mo.) 7, Middle Georgia State 6, Rio Grande (Ohio) 5, Webber International (Fla.) 4, Mount Marty (S.D.) 4.