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.
Big 12 Champion Oklahoma Remains No. 1
The Big 12 Regular-Season Champion Oklahoma (45-1) remains the unanimous No. 1 in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Top 5 saw one change however, as Arkansas (39-8) joined in at No. 5.
| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Points | 2022 Record | Prev. Ranking |
| 1 | Oklahoma (32) | 800 | 45-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | 763 | 39-6 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida State | 730 | 45-5 | 4 |
| 4 | UCLA | 698 | 39-6 | 3 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 669 | 39-8 | 7 |
| 6 | Alabama | 616 | 39-9 | 5 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 609 | 38-9 | 6 |
| 8 | Northwestern | 594 | 38-7 | 8 |
| 9 | Washington | 536 | 32-11 | 10 |
| 10 | Florida | 526 | 38-13 | 9 |
| 11 | Duke | 450 | 36-7 | 12 |
| 12 | Arizona State | 431 | 35-7 | 14 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 419 | 33-15 | 11 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 407 | 35-14 | 13 |
| 15 | Auburn | 337 | 39-11 | 16 |
| 16 | Georgia | 308 | 39-13 | 15 |
| 17 | Texas | 294 | 35-15-1 | 17 |
| 18 | Clemson | 291 | 37-14 | 18 |
| 19 | LSU | 210 | 32-19 | 19 |
| 20 | Notre Dame | 184 | 36-9 | 20 |
| 21 | UCF | 174 | 42-11 | 21 |
| 22 | Oregon | 132 | 29-16 | 22 |
| 23 | Michigan | 55 | 31-15 | 23 |
| 24 | Missouri | 54 | 31-17 | RV |
| 25 | Arizona | 46 | 31-16 | 25 |
New to Poll: No. 24 Missouri
Dropped Out: No. 24 Stanford
Receiving Votes: Stanford (41), Louisiana (15), Nebraska (6), San Diego State (5).
Goodwin Out At Yale
Yale has announced that they have parted ways with head coach Jen Goodwin. Goodwin was hired to lead the program in 2012. She compiled an overall record of 106-242-1. This Bulldogs went 11-23 in the 2022 season
JMU Cancels Remainder Of 2022 Season
James Madison announced today that they have canceled the remaining four games of their 2022 season following the tragic passing of sophomore catcher Lauren Bernett. The cancellations include games against Virginia and Elon. Contests against Longwood and Delaware had already been canceled last week. The Dukes finish the season 21-21 and 10-5 in CAA play.
Gator’s Walton Reaches 1,000th Career Coaching Win
Florida Head Coach Tim Walton achieved his 1,000th career coaching victory on Sunday in a 2-1 win over LSU. Walton has coached the Gators for 17 seasons winning two National Championships in his tenure. He has a combined record of 1,000-259 in 20 years as a head coach including three seasons heading the program at Wichita State.
Former Tech Coach Ward’s Contract To Be Honored
Following-up on earlier breaking news of Texas Tech making a coaching change to their program; RTS has learned that the team at Tech was told in a team meeting called earlier today the change was made due to the “lack of improvement” by the program under its current leadership. Head Coach Sami Ward and her staff had been in Lubbock for less than two seasons and had a record 43-52, including 8-28 in Big 12 play. Ward had three years remaining on her five-year contract. Sources have indicated to RTS that the contract will be paid out.
Texas Tech Makes Coaching Change
In a very surprising and unexpected move, Texas Tech has announced a change in leadership. Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt announced Sunday that head coach Sami Ward and her coaching staff have been relieved of their duties, effective immediately. Ward was in her second season leading the Red Raiders after serving as head coach at Loyola Marymount. Tech is 22-26 this season and 5-13 in Big 12 Conference play. Director of Operations Brooke Reed has been appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
RTS Headed To The Scenic City For Bears and Mocs
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