Rounding Third Softball

The NCAA has released the bracket for next month’s Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. 2022 will be the first year the WCWS extends by two days as the amount of games daily are cut to two daily, minus Day One on Thursday and possibly Monday’s “Final Four” that could include “If Necessary” Games. Tuesday will now serve as an off day before the Championship Series starts Wednesday. The complete postseason brackets can be found at 2022 NCAA softball bracket: WCWS schedule, bracket for Oklahoma City | NCAA.com

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has announced substantial changes to the championship format and allowable number of playing opportunities for Division I and II.

Beginning in 2024 the National Championship Tournaments will expand from 16 teams to 20, with 16 automatic district qualifiers and four at-large selections. The championship will expand by nine games and one full day.

The allowable contests during the spring championship segment will also change from 30 dates to 60 games. Teams will also be permitted an additional four competition dates in the fall for a total of 14 dates. The expansion of the championship and non-championship segments will take effect beginning with the 2022-23 academic year.

Tiala Tagaloa will not be returning as head coach at UT Permian Basin it was announced today. Tagaloa compiled a 79-199 overall record coaching the Falcons over six seasons. The 2022 season saw the most wins in program history at 21.

Southwestern Oklahoma State has announced head coach Kim Maher has stepped down. She spent six seasons leading the Bulldogs compiling a 77-179 record. Maher was the Great American Conference Coach of the Year in 2019 after leading SWOSU to its first postseason berth since 2013.

Cedarville University has announced that Kelsey Chapman will continue as head coach on a permanent basis. Chapman led the Yellow Jackets as interim head coach in 2022. She served as an assistant on staff for five years before stepping into the leadership role this season. CU finished the season 24-19.

USA Softball has announced the Top 10 Finalists for the 2022 Collegiate Player of the Year. The award recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female softball players across the country.

The Top 10 Finalists are:

Jocelyn Alo-Oklahoma

Jordy Bahl-Oklahoma

Georgina Corrick-South Florida

Danielle Gibson-Arkansas

Baylee Klingler-Washington

Grace Lyons-Oklahoma

Kelly Maxwell-Oklahoma State

Sydney McKinney-Wichita State

Keely Rochard-Virginia Tech

Danielle Williams-Northwestern

The Top 3 Finalists will be revealed on May 18. The 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will then be announced prior to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

After rolling through the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament to claim the championship last week, Mobile (46-2) held tight to the No. 1 spot in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll. They received 16 of the 18 first-place votes. No. 2 Oklahoma City (42-5) received the other two.

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL [1st Place Votes]	RECORD	FINAL POINTS
1	1	Mobile (Ala.) [16]	46-2	497
2	2	Oklahoma City [2]	42-5	479
3	4	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)	45-3	467
4	3	Oregon Tech	43-10	447
5	5	Science & Arts (Okla.)	44-7	440
6	6	William Carey (Miss.)	45-9	401
7	8	Indiana Wesleyan	46-8	397
8	10	Southern Oregon	46-10	390
9	9	Central Methodist (Mo.)	35-4	388
10	11	Grand View (Iowa)	40-6	348
11	18	Southeastern (Fla.)	43-8	315
12	15	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	35-13	284
12	15	Georgia Gwinnett	32-18	284
14	17	Marian (Ind.)	38-9	271
15	RV	Eastern Oregon	39-13	247
16	12	Coastal Georgia	37-10	241
17	25	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)	41-9	239
18	19	Columbia (Mo.)	28-10	228
19	20	Madonna (Mich.)	29-5	204
20	7	College of Idaho	37-13	202
21	22	Campbellsville (Ky.)	35-14	181
22	13	Texas A&M Texarkana	37-11	166
23	21	Tennessee Wesleyan	34-7	164
24	24	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	37-3	144
25	23	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	32-6	142

Dropped from the Top 25: Aquinas (Mich.)

Others Receiving Votes: Ottawa (Kan.) 90, William Jessup (Calif.) 73, Midland (Neb.) 53, Bellevue (Neb.) 25, Vanguard (Calif.) 21, Mount Mercy (Iowa) 20, Rio Grande (Ohio) 19, Cumberlands (Ky.) 16, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 14, Bryan (Tenn.) 8, Webber International (Fla.) 7, Cottey (Mo.) 5, Oklahoma Panhandle State 5.

Christopher Newport (35-1) is once again the unanimous No. 1 in this week’s NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Captains head into the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference tournament as the top seed later this week.

Rank	Team	Points	2022 Record	Previous
1	Christopher Newport (10)	250	35-1	1
2	Salisbury	240	34-4	2
3	Texas Lutheran	230	38-4	3
4	Eastern Connecticut State	220	34-4	4
5	Belhaven	210	34-5	5
6	DePauw	200	31-7	6
7	Linfield	190	36-7	7
8	East Texas Baptist	180	30-8	8
9	Mary Hardin-Baylor	170	31-9	10
10	Berry	160	29-11	12
11	Virginia Wesleyan	150	33-11	14
12	Bethel	140	30-3	11
13	Birmingham-Southern	130	32-8	9
14	Randolph-Macon	120	32-9	13
15	Roanoke	110	30-12	17
16	Piedmont	100	29-9	20
17	Babson	90	34-6	18
18	Wisconsin-Oshkosh	80	24-8	19
19	Rowan	70	30-8	21
20	Concordia (Wis.)	60	32-4	15
21	Geneseo	50	30-4	22
22	Millikin	40	31-5	23
23	Trine	15	24-11	NR
24	Susquehanna	13	25-7	RV
T25	Amherst	8	21-7	NR
T25	Case Western Reserve	8	26-9	RV

Others receiving votes:  Wisconsin-La Crosse 5, Ohio Northern 3, Tufts 3, Dubuque 2, Buena Vista 1, Kean 1,  and Rochester 1.

Dropped out: Alma, Aurora, Lynchburg, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Mount St. Joseph, Pfeiffer, Saint Benedict (Minn.) and Wartburg.

UT Tyler (40-4) has kept hold of the No. 1 spot in this week’s NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Patriots are fresh off securing their second straight Lone Star Conference regular-season championship.

Rank	School	Points	2022 Record	Prev. Ranking
1	UT Tyler (16)	400	40-4	1
2	Texas A&M-Kingsville	377	43-8	3
3	Indianapolis	364	45-7	2
4	Auburn Montgomery	352	38-8	5
5	Central Oklahoma	343	44-8	4
6	Rogers State	309	43-9	6
7	Angelo State	302	38-9	7
8	Tampa	282	33-10	9
9	Cal State San Marcos	271	39-9	8
10	Valdosta State	260	33-9	10
11	Augustana	238	42-7	12
12	Concordia Irvine	229	43-8	11
13	Lubbock Christian	214	37-9	13
14	Minnesota State	189	42-10	16
15	Southern Indiana	170	40-10	17
16	Anderson	152	38-8	14
17	North Georgia	125	40-15	19
18	Texas A&M-Commerce	120	39-13	20
19	Oklahoma Christian	103	38-12	15
20	West Florida	100	30-13	18
21	Grand Valley State	91	38-5	21
22	Adelphi	66	39-11	25
23	Washburn	42	42-11	RV
24	Kutztown	35	33-13	22
25	Lenoir-Rhyne	28	37-14	23

New to Poll: No. 23 Washburn

Dropped Out:  No. 24 Chico State

Receiving Votes: Chico State (15), Embry-Riddle (7), St. Mary’s (8), Colorado Mesa (4), Rollins (3), Nova Southeastern (2), Lincoln Memorial (1).

RTS has confirmed that Texas Woman’s University is parting ways with head coach Amber Barker. Barker just completed her fourth season, leading the Pioneers to a 12-33 record. During her tenure she compiled a 36-104 overall tally.