Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

I think the USF Tournament sold out last year. It's Feb 10-12 this year.

Pro tip: If you call for tickets (1 800 GO BULLS) and press 1 to reach the ticket office, you will not hear ringing and it seems like the line is disconnected. But if you wait about five minutes into the silence, they pickup and you can purchase over the phone. The tickets are not currently available online.

Go Gators!

 

They're back! (And so is my thumb)

Stadium was open, so I went in and took a few pictures. They were setting up for practice.

The scoreboard display is complete. They are still working in the back.

In post #1116 I asked what the spot on the upper right was.

@Porschegator speculated: My guess. Space for pictures of scrappygator and johnny_cakes.
Alas, no such luck, or maybe it is good luck for everyone else.

 

Awesomeness!
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For the purpose of ranking the Top 50 programs, we don’t care what happened in the 1970s or 80s — or even the 90s. That’s ancient history to a potential recruit in 2023. Tradition is nice, but it’s more important to establish a tradition of consistent winning in the past decade, and especially in the last five years. Our ultimate goal here is to identify the programs in the best shape right now, with an eye toward the next five to 10 years.

So we began by awarding programs points for making regionals and having postseason success in the last five years, and a fewer amount of points for success between six and 10 years ago. That gave us a starting point; then national writers Tara Henry and Brady Vernon made adjustments based on evaluations of coaching staff quality and stability, facilities, scholarship/financial aid situation, conference dynamics, momentum and recruiting and player development proficiency.

• No. 50 UMBC
• No. 49 San Diego State
• No. 48 Ohio State
• No. 47 Saint Francis
• No. 46 Nebraska
• No. 45 Liberty
• No. 44 Texas State
• No. 43 Wichita State
• No. 42 McNeese
• No. 41 Cal State Fullerton
• No. 40 California
• No. 39 Fordham
• No. 38 Boston University
• No. 37 Wisconsin
• No. 36 BYU
• No. 35 South Florida
• No. 34 Oregon State
• No. 33 Stanford
• No. 32 UCF
• No. 31 Duke
• No. 30 Clemson
• No. 29 Ole Miss
• No. 28 Notre Dame
• No. 27 Virginia Tech
• No. 26 Mississippi State
• No. 25 JMU
• No. 24 Baylor
• No. 23 Minnesota
• No. 22 Arkansas
• No. 21 Northwestern
• No. 20 Missouri
• No. 19 Louisiana
• No. 18 Auburn
• No. 17 Texas A&M
• No. 16 Oklahoma State
• No. 15 Michigan
• No. 14 ASU
• No. 13 Oregon
• No. 12 Kentucky
• No. 11 LSU
• No. 10 Texas
• No. 9 Tennessee
• No. 8 Georgia
• No. 7 Washington
• No. 6 Arizona
• No. 5 Alabama
• No. 4 Florida State
• No. 3 UCLA
• No. 2 Florida
• No. 1 Oklahoma

 

One of the parameters was projected outlook over the next five years. If it was based solely on that it would be Gators by far. Get ready sports fans this Walton led team is about ready to start down a five year path of unparalleled success. It is going to be a fun ride.

 

Ahh—the new world of college sports…

 

A NCAA rule change earlier this week clamped down a bit on the portal -- basically making it one and done to avoid sitting out -- but NIL is really the worst thing to happen to college sports in a long time, imho.

With there being no cap on NIL payments and a salary cap in the NFL and other professional sports, maybe we'll get to the point where athletes will stay for their entire college eligibility, lest they turn pro and take a pay cut.

 

Tickets for the Jacksonville University game (always a sellout) went on sale today:

Jacksonville University | Athletics Ticketing - vs. Florida

 

Gators starting season where they left off. They are #5 in the preseason rankings. I'll take that. I wouldn't be surprised if they finished higher by the end of the season.

 

Got my tickets to USF tournament the other day. Went to the JU website and game in Jacksonville is already sold out.

 

I’m so ready for softball and baseball season. Let’s go!

 

Gators picked to win the league.

SEC Preview: Gators, Hogs Ready to Battle for Supremacy

 

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I posted ticket availability above within 15 minutes of when they first went on sale, but I had no idea they'd sell out in less than a week. It is a very small stadium. Next year I'll buy a dozen and act as middleman. Don't let the absence of a ticket stop you from coming. If I remember correctly, they have some pretty good "bring our own chair" free seating in the outfield. Last year, I think I sat on the coaching scaffolding in left field, so that's a possibility also.

 

Thanks Johnny, that’s a good idea!

 

Tons of BOOC outfield seating space available. The issue is very little nearby parking to the JU softball stadium. Park to the immediate right of the main gate, or go down the hill towards the St. Johns River to park and huff your way back.

 

I might as well get started early. I'll be calling for Mickey Dean to be fired if AU loses more than 5 or 6 total games this year..not counting the 2 AT Sooners. So anything under 10 is acceptable. Unless everyone gets hurt again, then nevermind..

 

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Funny, everybody except SC projected to make post season.