Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

Ask Courtney Deifel. Her Arky squad last season had 14 redshirts.

 

Wow! Did not realize that.

 

How good are these Arky players if they can't crack the starting line-up? Have seen a lot of teams in the 64 depending on freshmen pitchers so it give me hope for next year.

 

OTOH, I could be totally wrong on this.

 

This puzzles me. Perhaps it needs more elaboration. Are you saying there were 14 redshirts on their roster last season? Meaning 14 that at one time in their career had redshirted or all at one time? If all at one time, which I have trouble understanding, how would you manage that with the limited scholarships and still have a sufficient active roster? There are only four on the current roster who are designated as redshirts and only one is a redshirt freshman. The rest all played last season...Delce, Turner and Hedgecock.

 

Go to the 2021-2222 roster. There are 27 total on the squad 14 of whom are designated as redshirts.

 

I think that's an aberration due to most of them being designated as a redshirt due to the extra covid year. Could be wrong but that's what it looks like to me.

 

My feeble brain has never been able to keep straight who is in their last year and who isn't due to the covid stuff. There was no consistency in how various teams designated their rosters. Other than someone being shown as a "graduate", you really had no clue. Was a senior really a senior or did she have one year left? What did a "redshirt" designation mean? Arky being a great example. Danielle Gibson in that year was shown by Arky as a redshirt senior. But, she was done. As far as I could tell, there was no clear way to know how any individual school was using the designations in the roster. I think, could be wrong but I hope, that we are done with this mess now starting next year. A senior is a senior...a junior a junior....etc. Correct?

 

‘25 would be the last year for a possible redshirt, 6th year, super senior due to the extra covid year. You’ll still have the occasional medical exemption, but those will be few and far between, just like always.

 

I don't think so. Where am I wrong? Take Emily for instance. She was an incoming freshman in 2021. She was not involved in the 2020 season that was cut short and gave those players an extra year. So, Emily is now listed as a junior and will be listed as a senior next year which should be correct. Next year, 2024, should be her last in the normal sequence of things. I am ignoring unforeseen things such as an injury waiver or a true redshirt. But, for all intents and purposes, all roster designations for all teams next year should be obvious and correct. Where am I wrong?

 

Goddard does get a year for Covid and another for injury from last year. I don’t think she took another redshirt for this year’s injury. I could be wrong, but she has traveled with the team during the regular season, which is not allowed. However, a redshirt can travel post season.

 

Anyone who was on a roster in 2020 was given an exemption that allows them to play a full four years, and they were given a sixth year to get it in.

Since 2020 was not a full year, if they played that year, it would not count towards their “full” 4 years of eligibility. Let’s say they redshirted for some reason one of the next four years, ‘21, ‘22, ‘23, or ‘24, they would still have one year of eligibility remaining, and one year left to take advantage of it. So ‘25 is the last possible year. There won’t be many left, but there will be a few.

If Skylar had been a freshman in ‘20 instead of ‘19, she would still be eligible in ‘25. She played ‘19 and ‘20, took a redshirt in ‘21, played in ‘22 and ‘23. She still has one year left to play and one year left to use it.

It would be more unique circumstances and you would have had to take a similar path to Skylar’s for it to play out that way. They would have had to play in ‘20 as true freshman and taken the rs one of the other years for it to work out. That’s why ‘25 is the last possible year for a redshirt, 6th year, super senior due to the covid exemption. After ‘25, it should be back to normal. The only players hanging around for a sixth year after that would have had to get a medical waiver.

 

She would have to get a medical waiver for this year not to count.

 

Here’s the actual rule and explanation.

NCAA Extra Year of Eligibility


“All student-athletes whose 2020-2021 season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic will now get 6 years to compete in 4 full seasons of their sport in college. Traditionally, there is a 5-year clock for athletes to play 4 years. For seniors, this ruling meant a chance to finish out their college careers. For others, it opens a door to new academic and athletic opportunities.”

 

She played in ‘20 and ‘21. She sat out ‘22, so that would count as her redshirt year. ‘20 didn’t count against her so at the start of this year, she had 3 years of eligibility and 3 years left to use it. She’s eligible through ‘25 as it is, and could still potentially qualify for a waiver to get her “used” eligibility for ‘23 back, getting a 7th year to finish up her career.

 

All of the above is why my feeble mind is totally lost on a lot of this. The only salvation is anyone coming in after 2020 is listed in her true and correct year. Again ignoring a traditional redshirt or some sort of NCAA waiver.