Rounding Third Softball

USA Softball has released its Top 50 Player Watch List for their Collegiate Player of the Year. The award recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by a Division I collegiate softball player. The list will be dwindled as the season progresses, with the winner announced right before the start of the Women’s College World Series in June. Last years winner was Utility Jocelyn Alo from Oklahoma. A full list can be found at USA Softball reveals Top 50 Watch List for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year (teamusa.org)

Reinhardt University Softball Coach Jade Geuther involved in a serious accident that initially left her fighting for her life, now finds herself on a long road to recovery. On December 22 Geuther and two others were on a university golf cart on campus and was hit by a vehicle. The car, driving 62 mph in a 35-mph speed limit zone, threw Geuther 135 feet into a tree. She sustained life-threatening injuries and was unable to breathe on her own for eight days. Her injuries included a broken pelvis, 10 broken ribs, two broken thoracic vertebrae, a collapsed lung, and the need for aortic stent in her heart. 13 surgeries so far has resulted from the accident. Since her long road to recovery started, she has learned to eat and swallow again, and walk (after doctors initially said she would not). Two others on the golf cart were injured in the accident, one sustaining a broken femur and another not sustaining serious injury. Geuther won her 300th career victory last March for the Eagles. Before coming to Reinhardt, she was head coach at Cardinal Stritch University from 2012-15, going 44-12 in her final season and receiving the school’s first-ever national NAIA Top 25 ranking.A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist in Coach Geuther’s medical and personal expenses during her long recovery. https://www.gofundme.com/f/efcht7-help-jade-with-medical-bills?utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&fbclid=IwAR0lskV2l7ydQfZLnoMxauGl2eEKTGbW7MU3Fko6eM8JYxJ8e2ESA1Y0xxo

The Division II Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll has been released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) ahead of the season opening in less than two weeks. The University of Texas Tyler comes in at No. 1, while the 2021 National Champions from West Texas A&M sit at No. 4. Augustana (No. 2), Biola (No. 3), and North Georgia (No. 5) round out the Top 5.

Rank	School	Points	2021 Final Record	2021 Final Ranking
1	UT Tyler (8)	386	33-7	17
2	Augustana (5)	371	49-8	3
3	Biola (3)	365	26-16	2
4	West Texas A&M	360	43-12	1
5	North Georgia	348	43-8	4
6	Grand Valley State	318	45-10	5
7	Valdosta State	310	38-11	6
8	Saint Anselm	266	33-7	7
9	West Chester University	248	34-16	8
10	Concordia Irvine	240	34-13	12
11	Minnesota State	230	40-10	13
12	Indianapolis	223	46-8	11
13	Lincoln Memorial	218	38-8	10
14	Auburn Montgomery	196	40-7	21
15	Oklahoma Christian	192	38-9	14
16	Southern Arkansas	139	29-10	18
17	West Florida	136	33-16	15
18	Angelo State	131	33-14	RV
19	Georgian Court	130	38-6	19
20	Central Oklahoma	77	36-14	22
21	Colorado Mesa	75	39-5	23
22	Texas A&M-Commerce	58	33-18	9
23	UAH	44	32-14	25
24	West Liberty	28	37-17	RV
25	Central Missouri	22	38-14	RV

Receiving Votes: Western Washington (20), Anderson (19), Texas A&M-Kingsville (15), Tampa (12), Rollins (7), Northwest Nazarene (6), Rogers State (6), Kutztown, (3), Adelphi (1).

University of North Carolina middle infielder Kayla Baptista has been hired as a coach for Texas Rangers. She is the first female coach in Rangers History and will join the organization after the completion of her sophomore season at UNC. She will work as a Player Development Coach and indicated through her Social Media that her first assignment will be at the Texas Rangers Baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic. No stranger to the game of baseball, Baptista spent last summer as an on-field coaching intern with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Tennessee State seems to want to play the leadership of their softball program close to the vest. After the departure of former head coach Andrea Browning toward the end of last year with little publicity, their new leader seems to be in place with the same amount of fanfare. Assistant coach Genee McRath has seemingly been promoted to the permanent position. TSU had done a national search for Browning’s replacement, but never announced McRath as the successor. McRath has spent the past two seasons on the Tiger Coaching Staff. The Ole Miss graduate and former Rebel Softball team member had spent most of her professional time in private instruction before joining the staff at Tennessee State.

Perfect Game has announced that two Legends of the Game will be at the forefront of their newest excursion into the sport of softball. Mike Candrea and Jennie Finch will assist in development of the new PG Softball brand. Candrea the now retired coach at Arizona and NCAA’s all-time leader in wins with a record of 1,674-436-2, will serve as advisor for on-field programming and athlete recognition. Additionally, former Wildcat National Champion and Olympic Gold Medal Winner Jennie Finch will serve as an educational ambassador for PGS. These additions follow recent hires of former Oklahoma Sooners Destinee Martinez as national director of softball operations and Jessica Shults as national director of softball scouting.

Coaching veteran Angie Dean has been named the new head coach at Berea College in Kentucky. Dean comes to the Mountaineers after spending 21 years leading the program at the University of the Cumberlands. She directed the Patriots to the 2017 NAIA National Tournament and two Mid-South Conference Tournament Championships.

Oregon has promoted Sam Marder to Associate Head Coach. Marder joined the Ducks Staff last June after serving as an analyst at Oklahoma in their 2021 National Championship season. One of fastest rising coaches in DI, she has also worked with programs at Texas Tech, College of Charleston, and Boise State.

Howard Payne has named Kailey Anderson head coach. The appointment is the first collegiate assignment for Anderson after spending the last few years coaching on the club level and in private instruction. She is a 2020 graduate of Louisiana Tech where she competed for the Lady Techsters in the outfield.

NAIA has released their Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll. In a bit of a surprise 2021’s national runner-up Oregon Tech sits in the top spot, while the defending national champion Southern Oregon starts at No. 5.

2022 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 PRESEASON Poll (January 12, 2022) – NAIA