(SB) Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

I met and talked with a middle school softball coach yrstetday. I asked her how fast could these 6-8th grzde gorls pitch. She told me up to 55 consistently wzs not uncommon. I found that remarkable. She also doesn't like OU. Her other friend coaches girls weightlifting. Very good conversation.

 

This is out of right field I know but I’m excited to hear Kyle Crooks calls next season when Shumaker steps up to the plate.

 

I tried watching but when Jocey was at bat all the announcer talked about was her 2023 OU statistics, completely ignored the monster season she had at UF. Was enough to turn me away. Go USA!

 

yes mine is just now going into the 9th grade but has been consistently clocked at 58-59 mph. Maybe she’ll be a gator one day

 

But she’s not the only one. There’s another her age that’s a tick or two faster on the gun and many around 55-56

 

Not just that. The guy had no clue what was happening most of the time. I'm sure he is from Oklahoma and he would never talk about Jocey's exceptional year at Florida. No softball exists in their mind other than the Sooners.

 

screw OU, We're coming!

 

No clue what was happening? Must be related to Beth Mowins.

 

Well I personally got my first look at our new recruit T.Thomas in this afternoons game. Small sample of course but I excited. Perfect bunt, outstanding speed and what I perceived as a knowledgeable understanding of where she’s at on the bases. She is going to be a terror for opposing teams. Oh and makes a circus catch in right field to end the game.

 

Yes we need someone who can bunt and maybe help teach others to bunt. This addition to the team is definitely an asset. It’s like Delanie Gourley teaching other pitchers on our staff to throw her change up on the ‘14-‘17 teams.

 

CTW Coach of the Year: D1softball.com

 

D1softball.com text:


D1Softball Coach of the Year: Florida’s Tim Walton
AWARDS D1Softball Staff - July 1, 2024

Florida head coach Tim Walton is the D1Softball Coach of the Year following the 2024 college softball season.

Walton led the Gators to an SEC tournament title, a return to the Women’s College World Series, and finished the year one win away from playing for the national championship.

To properly contextualize the Gators’ 2024 season, it’s important to remember the program’s 2023 campaign. In that 2023 season, Florida finished below .500 in conference play and did not host a regional – the latter was previously unheard of during Walton’s years-long tenure at the program’s helm. Instead of being caught in a downward spiral, as so often happens, Walton led his Gators back to the top just one year later.

So many things went right along the way and Walton deserves a lot of credit for those that did. Freshmen pitchers Keagan Rothrock and Ava Brown had been committed to Florida for years, products of the once-allowed early recruiting. Both players remained loyal to the Gators through their high school years and the Gators stayed loyal to them; that faith paid off when Rothrock became an immediate star upon reaching college and Brown proved herself a viable second option in the circle and an everyday lineup piece.

Transfers are not an arena that the Gators have often lived in. Over the years, they’ve picked up valuable additions through the transfer process, to be sure – look no further than Skylar Wallace for proof – but Walton and Florida took the transfer portal by the horns and embraced it last summer. That attention and eye for talent also paid off, with catcher Jocelyn Erickson earning SEC Player of the Year honors while outfielder Korbe Otis took her own stardom to a new level.

And what would a Tim Walton-led team be without a look at the defense? The Gators posted a .975 team fielding percentage this season, with 28 double plays turned. Two players earned Rawlings Gold Gloves at as the best defensively at their respective positions, with Erickson and center fielder Kendra Falby both taking home the award for their stellar play in the field.

For his ability to build a championship-caliber team, for his eye for talent and how it paid off for the Florida program, and for his ability to lead a team in a rebound from a “down” year to a conference championship in the span of one offseason, Tim Walton is the D1Softball Coach of the Year.

 

Well earned.

 

Much deserved. Maybe someone could tell those SEC COY voters.

 

We are lucky to have CTW. A true ambassador for University of Florida women sports.

 

Layla Lamar went yard this morning in Colorado. The chomp was a nice touch.

 

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I agree! I am adding them to the 5 teams I really, really want the Gators to beat without mercy: Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas and Auburn.

 

Doubt it. That's my music and likely not her music.