Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

See that Keagan Rothrock, Gator signee, was named Gatorade National Softball Player of Year. Should be that dominant pitcher we need starting in 2024 season.

 

Michigan softball grad transfer stud pitcher tweet.
Coach Walton liked this.

Less than 24 hrs to start a crazy next month of exploring
Where will my next adventure be?

 

Calli Decker is officially in Extra Innings Softball Transfer Tracker
College Softball Transfer Tracker: 2022-23 - Extra Inning Softball
VIVIAN DECKER 06/08/2022 I University of Florida Southeastern Conference

Softball America
NCAA Softball Division I Transfer Tracker
FIRST NAME LAST NAME PREVIOUS PROGRAM NEW PROGRAM
VIVIAN DECKER University of Florida

Really do not like this, that Avocado was the pits.

 

you need to pay for s subscription for all of us.......

 

Only a sophomore. Anybody know if she is on our radar.

MELBOURNE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED GATORADE FLORIDA SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR CHICAGO (June 9, 2022) — In its 37th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Jasmine Francik of Melbourne High School is the 2021-22 Gatorade Florida Softball Player of the Year. Francik is the first Gatorade Florida Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Melbourne High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Francik as Florida’s best high school softball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award to be announced in June, Francik joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Cat Osterman (2000-01, Cy Spring High School, Texas), Kelsey Stewart (2009-10, Arkansas City High School, Kan.), Carley Hoover (2012-13, D.W. Daniel High School, S.C.), Jenna Lilley (2012-13, Hoover High School, Ohio), Morgan Zerkle (2012-13, Cabell Midland High School, W. Va.), and Rachel Garcia (2014-15, Highland High School, Calif.). The 5-foot-6 sophomore right-handed pitcher led the Bulldogs to a 26-2-1 record and the Class 6A state championship this past season. Francik posted a 19-1 mark with a 0.16 earned run average in the circle, striking out 251 batters while allowing just 32 hits and 19 walks in 129.2 innings pitched for a 0.39 WHIP. A member of Great Britain’s Under-22 National Team, she fired 32 shutout innings in five postseason games to lead Melbourne to the title. Francik is the social media manager of the UNICEF Club at Melbourne High. She has volunteered locally as a youth softball coach and at Nana’s Children’s Home, a community for foster children. “Jasmine is a once-in-a-generation player,” said Dan Edel, head coach of Melbourne High School. “I realized [quickly] there was going to be something very special about [her]. She’s the real deal. Her presence in the circle is like nothing I’ve ever seen.” Francik has maintained a weighted 4.43 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.

 

2023 Softball Commit

Breaking News: Keagan Rothrock Named 2021-22 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year

Indianapolis, In. [June 10, 2022] – In its 37th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced that Keagan Rothrock of Roncalli High School in Indianapolis, Indiana is the 2021-22 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year.

Rothrock won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Softball Players of the Year who have combined for 17 Gold medals and five National Championships.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement

Rothrock was surprised with the trophy by her family, coaches and teammates at school.
distinguishes Rothrock as the nation’s best high school softball player.

The Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others to evaluate candidates, selected Rothrock from nearly half a million other student-athletes who play softball nationwide.

Competition for the national award was fierce. Rothrock topped the list of state winners in softball who collectively boast an incredible list of accomplishments, including 36 who volunteer with two-plus organizations, nine returning state Gatorade Players of the Year and 23 with a GPA of 4.0 and above.

“There is ‘dominating,’ and then there’s what Keagan does—and she’s been that way her entire career,” says Brentt Eads, executive editor of Extra Inning Softball.

“Keagan has been nicknamed ‘the Lebron James of Softball’ because of her physical talents and her success at leading teams to championships. She’s a fiery competitor between the lines, but she’s humble and hard-working off the field. She isn’t merely the top hurler in her class. She’s one of the best pre-college pitchers in any age group or any graduation year. She is an excellent power hitter as well, and her work ethic is unmatched for her age level.”

At the time of her selection, the 5-foot-10 junior right-handed pitcher had led the Royals to a perfect 32-0 record and a berth in the Class 4A state championship game. The state’s returning Gatorade Softball Player of the Year, Rothrock owned a 27-0 record with a 0.73 ERA entering the state final, having fanned 366 batters in 163.1 innings pitched through 32 games while surrendering just 17 walks and 51 hits.

A member of the USA Softball U18 National Team, she also batted .529 with 14 home runs and 54 RBI amassing an OPS of 1.628. Rothrock was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American, a MaxPreps First Team All-American and the Extra Inning Softball Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Also a talented artist and an editor of her school’s yearbook, Rothrock has volunteered locally on behalf of Servant’s Heart of Indy, Riley Hospital for Children and Powerhouse Training softball camps. She also coaches youth players privately in hitting and pitching almost daily and donates most of her earnings to her church.


Keagan Rothrock was awarded the trophy on Wednesday at a surprise ceremony at her high school.
Rothrock has maintained a 4.26 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school this fall.

“There are plenty of sports awards for high school athletes, but what sets Gatorade Player of the Year apart is how we look at the whole athlete,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O’Brien.

“Keagan Rothrock’s achievements in sport, in the classroom and in her community are head and shoulders above the competition, which is why she is so deserving of this award.”

Each year, a selection committee evaluates the nation’s top talent to choose one state winner from each of the 50 states as well as Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In all, 608 athletes are honored each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports.

Gatorade has a long-standing history of serving athlete communities and understands how sports instill valuable lifelong skills on and off the field. Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators. Previous winners include a distinguished list of athletes, such as Peyton Manning, Abby Wambach, Jayson Tatum, Elena Delle Donne and many other sports icons.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.

 

On our staff for 2016-17
Sharonda McDonald Named Michigan State Head Coach

• BY JUSTIN MCLEOD
• JUNE 10, 2022
• 8:45 AM

Sharonda McDonald has been selected as the new head coach at Michigan State. (Photo: Campbell Athletics)

UPDATE: Michigan State officially announced the hiring on Friday morning.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Sharonda McDonald will be the next head coach at Michigan State, sources confirmed to Extra Inning Softball on Friday.

McDonald spent the last three seasons as the head coach at Campbell, leading the Fighting Camels to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2021 and ’22. The Camels won a game in the Stillwater Regional in 2021, beating Boston U in an elimination matchup.

Prior to taking the helm at Campbell, McDonald’s coaching resume includes stints as an assistant coach at Florida, Ohio State, Texas Tech, LSU, and Ohio.

In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, McDonald spent a year as the head coach of the Chicago Bandits, a team in the now-defunct National Pro Fastpitch professional softball league.

Michigan State finished the 2022 season with a 24-28 overall record and a 4-16 showing in conference play. The Spartans hosted the Big Ten tournament, but were eliminated in the first round. Longtime head coach Jacquie Joseph retired from her post and took an administrative position in the athletic department in mid-May.

 

This is quite the honor for Mr. Goelz. We will have to give credit to Mrs. Goelz also as she is one of the assistant coaches.

EXTRA INNING SOFTBALL CLUB COACH RANKINGS #’S 1-50
# First Last Club Team
1 Mike Stith OC Batbusters
2 Marty Tyson Corona Angels
3 Dave Mercado Athletics – Mercado
4 Bill Conroy Bevery Bandits
4 Tony Rico Firecrackers – Rico
5 TJ Goelz Tampa Mustangs-Kinsey and Avery's Dad

EXTRA INNING SOFTBALL HIGH SCHOOL COACH RANKINGS #’S 1-50
# First Last High School City ST
1 TJ Goelz Lakewood Ranch Bradenton FL-Kinsey and Avery's Dad Again
2 Rick Robinson Norco Norco CA
3 Franklin DeLoach East Coweta Sharpsburg GA
4 Aaron Fuller Barbers Hill Mt. Belvieu TX
5 Rob Weil Los Alamitos Los Alamitos

Lakewood Ranch Winning the Class 7A Softball Championship
Lakewood Ranch Softball Videos
https://www.maxpreps.com/fl/bradenton/lakewood-ranch-mustangs/softball/media/videos/

 

Delbrey and Amanda Lorenz also "liked" the post

 

Just guessing Oklahoma

 

Amanda Lorenz Should Be Their Next Hitting Coach.

 

Alex Storako chooses Oklahoma. Didn't even give us the courtesy visit that was planned.

Gasso has basically gotten the best transfer pitcher available every year for the last three years - Shannon Saile, Giselle Jaurez, Hope Trautwein, and now Storako.

This is starting to feel like Alabama in football. Something has to be done or everyone is going to get left behind.

 

alex storako
@alxsto_

Excited to announce that I will be pursuing my Master’s degree and playing softball at the University of Oklahoma❤️

Can’t wait to be a Sooner! #BoomerSooner

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Like I predicted with absolutely no knowledge of the situation other than the direction collegiate athletics is headed.

 

She chose the #127 rated public university. Guess education wasn't a priority.

 

In my attempt to fight my insomnia, a simple two sentence posting has morphed into a stream of consciousness of (ir)rational thought.

Jennifer Rocha has been promoted to Associate Head Coach-the same title she held at UF before Gasso poached her away from Florida-at Oklahoma, which makes her "Head Coach-in-waiting" once 60 year old Gasso retires. You'd think Gasso's son JT would want the job? I'm still angry Gasso went after Rocha. She has the reputation, the NCAA titles and the money to choose any pitching coach and hire them from any Division 1 program in the country. Remember at the time the Gators had played in 3 out of the last 4 Championship series-winning twice-and the year we did not play in the WCWS we were the top seed (but lost to Georgia in Supers). And we consistently had the top pitching staff/lowest ERAs in the country. Hiring Rocha achieved 2 things for Gasso: getting the top pitching coach in the country, and the upper hand over her biggest rival of the last decade. You know Walton has so much respect for Gasso (he won't schedule them for a regular season game or series) that he probably would never say no to her or stand in her way. And it wouldn't surprise me if Gasso had known this about Walton and decided to take advantage of Tim's loyalty to hire Rocha away from UF. Of course this is all speculation and if any of it were true, then more power to her. Gasso saw something special in Walton and gave him his 1st big break. If it weren't for her, the Gator softball program would probably not be an elite program that it has become under Tim Walton.
Then again maybe Gasso is innocent and did not approach Rocha. Rocha's from Oklahoma and has family there. She may have been a little homesick? I can't imagine why anybody could be homesick for Oklahoma. The place sounds so dreadful-landlocked, flat, too conservative, cold winters, no beaches for 1000s of miles or any bodies of water (or is it body of waters?) larger than a pool (yet there's a town named Stillwater). Even the town names are boring (Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, Enid and the aforementioned Stillwater). Nevertheless, when the Sooner's pitching coach left for the head coaching job at Oregon, it may have been Rocha who reached out to Gasso 1st? But that's boring. It's a much more compelling story the other way, right? IMHO Gasso knew her pitching coach was receiving offers for Division 1 HC jobs and had Rocha at the top of her list for some time. Between having her son as Oklahoma's hitting coach-statistically he is the best hitting coach in the country-and Rocha coaching the pitchers- Gasso does not have to worry about another team poaching them from her. Those two won't be going anywhere. She'll have the top 2 assistants for the rest of her coaching career. That's a huge advantage she has over the rest of the country.

 

not even close, purely about Softball and Rocha in this case. The pitching coach we have does not have the best rep for developing pitchers. We have all kinds of exhibits right now that are about to leave campus or on the roster right now. Oklahoma makes FSwho look like Harvard

 

P Haley Pittman has entered the portal. Not an impactful loss on the field. But in terms of numbers, Gators left with 3 pitchers at the moment for 2023. (Hightower, Trlicek, Delbrey). Incoming freshman (Gigante) pitches and plays 1B. More known for her hitting at this point. Expect a transfer pitcher or two. Hopefully a quality one.

 

Been to Oklahoma once. My first night welcome was 3 simultaneous tornadoes heading towards my hotel. Lol Probably the ugliest state that I have been to, they gave away the land lol, but if you are from there I'm sure there's always an attachment. It's not for me, that's for sure.