I think he was "communications director" which was a misnomer if I've ever heard one. This appears to be a downgrade, if downgrading from nothing is actually possible.
LIES, DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS! With the storm coming in I decided to do a roster analysis to see what the retention rate was for incoming freshmen and transfers. To do this I went through every roster during the Coach Walton Era, 2006-2025. It was a fun job to recall the many truly outstanding players and the quality journeymen who played a part In this great 20 year run. I believe the figures reported to be generally accurate considering the “octogenarian statistician.’ COACH TIM WALTON ERA 2006-2025 Carry over from 2005 roster. 13 Freshmen 110 Transfers in. 23 Total roster players. 146 Note: From 2005 team, 4 completed career in 2005, 5 players left the team and 13 players joined the 2006 roster. 11 of these player completed their career and 2 left team. FRESHMEN SUMMARY Completed career. 53 Left early. 43 Currently on roster. 14 Total. 110 LEFT EARLY YEARS ON ROSTER 1-25 2-14 3-4 Total 43 CURRENTLY ON ROSTER Seniors. 2. (Falby, Walsh) Juniors. 0 Sophmores. 7 (2024 Signing Class) Freshmen. 5 (2025 Signing Class) Total 14 TRANSFERS IN Completed career 13 Left early 4 Still Playing 6 Total 23 Conclusions: Freshmen Retention: ignoring the 14 players on the current roster who came in as freshmen, the retention percentage is 55%. Based on this, it is likely that 4-5 of the 12 members of the 2024 and 2025 signing classes will not complete their career. Who will the players be? Transfers In Retention: while the retention percentage is 65%, I don’t believe there is enough data to support a conclusion. 4 of the 6 transfer on the roster are seiors. The two juniors, Erickson and Catalan are likely to finish their careers. In conclusion, there are a lot of stories in the roster that you may recall from looking at the player bio’s and some you may not know. For example, Ashley Harris, 2007, classified as a transfer in, was brought in a a pinch runner from the UF soccer team. Brittany Schutte, 2010-2012, a great player injured in her junior year, left team to coach high school softball. You won’t see anything about the 3 freshmen who left the team in 2012 and ruined our chance for a World Series appearance.
McLaine Hudson to UK. Lifelong UK fan and she is staying home. Actually, that's the best possible result if she wasn't going with us. She will help UK. She could have made our more important competitors great.
Two more Tim dropped long ago have committed. Reese Mosolino is a rhp (6'1") from Crystal Lake, IL who camped with us and plays for Indiana Magic Gold has gone with Indiana. She is #82 in Softball America. Corey Goguts is an outfielder from Trussville, AL who plays for the Thunderbolts and has committed to Ole Miss. She is #90 in Softball America. There are only five left from the original list and we are still alive on three of them: Kelsie Donaldson, Ella Kate Smith and Nina Carcone.
How are these still available players ranked and are we in serious contention for their services? How many do we have committed, who do you project to commit, and how does the class rank in the SEC and nationally? Thanks for all of the information you provide.
Not sure where Donaldson is ranked. Ella Kate is #2 in Perfect Game. Nina Carcone is #29 in Softball America. I don't follow rankings....I just pick them up if I stumble on it somewhere. Rankings could be up or down in other services. Are they serious about us? I don't know other than Tim is still actively following them so they haven't said "no" yet. See post #8075 for a complete list of who has committed to us to date. I doubt anyone has ranked the overall class anywhere yet as recruiting is still very much ongoing.
Two examples why I don't place much faith in the various rankings. Ava Hodo is ranked #1 in Perfect Game and #44 in Softball America. Our girl, Shay Bahr, is ranked #38 in Softball America but #10 in Extra Innings.
Everything and all rankings lead me to believe the future of Gator softball will be blindingly brilliant! Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
Softball America rates our class as #3. As I said, Beth is rolling at LSU. We get Ella Kate and we could jump up to #1. According to them 1-10 is all SEC.
It may be just me, but I believe that Coach Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro will make a big difference for Liv. Watch, Liv will take a big step forward this year in the circle.
Since Washington, Oregon and UCLA didn't crack their top ten....is this the first sign of how moving to the Big Ten will hurt their programs?
