Tag: softball america

10 Oklahoma Sooners named to Softball America’s Preseason All-American teams

Led by five first-team selections, 10 Oklahoma Sooners were named to Softball America’s preseason All-American teams.

The Oklahoma Sooners begin their quest for a third-straight national championship at the Mark Campbell Invitational on Thursday, February 9, against Duke.

The unanimous preseason No. 1 team in the country, and back-to-back national champions, the Sooners, are expected to make another run despite the loss of Jocelyn Alo and Hope Trautwein. Patty Gasso has assembled another talented group to take on all comers in the 2023 season.

It won’t be easy, it never is, but the Oklahoma Sooners will be the team to beat for the 2023 national title. With the season under two weeks away, Softball America released their preseason All-American teams. 10 Sooners were selected, including five to the first team. UCLA was the only other team with multiple first-team selections with three and they had just five total selections to the three All-American squads.

Here’s a look at the Sooners’ selections.

Arkansas Softball rises in national polls following sweep of Florida

Arkansas softball’s stock continues to rise with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

The Arkansas Razorbacks softball program did something over the weekend that had never been done before.

In their 26-year history, Arkansas had never won a series with Florida in Gainesville. They did that with a 5-4 win over Florida on Saturday. Arkansas made history again on Sunday by sweeping Florida for the first time in history, defeating the Gators 2-0.

Beating Florida in softball is no easy task, let alone taking all three games of a weekend series in Gainesville. The national polls took note, and Arkansas continues to climb.

Here’s a look at where Arkansas ranks in the latest national polls, for the week of April 25:

Arkansas Softball: Ten’s all-around in this week’s rankings

Arkansas Softball did not move in the latest polls, but they have a chance to improve their stock this weekend against a top-20 SEC foe, Auburn.

Not much has changed for Arkansas Softball as far as their national rankings are concerned.

Following a series win at Ole Miss, their third straight SEC series victory in as many opportunities this season, the Razorbacks remain at No. 10 across the major polls from USA Today, D1Softball.com, and Softball America.

Despite not bumping up in the polls after winning a series on the road against a tough Ole Miss squad, Arkansas will have the opportunity to improve their stock this weekend when they host Auburn, a fellow SEC team that is ranked in the top-20 across the board for a three-game series beginning Friday at Bogle Park.

Here is a look at where Arkansas ranks among other teams in College Softball:

Jocelyn Alo named Softball America’s Player of the Month for February

Oklahoma softball star Jocelyn Alo added another honor to her lengthy list after Softball America named her its Player of the Month.

Jocelyn Alo has another honor to add to her collection. Softball America named Alo its Player of the Month for the season-opening month of February for the 2022 college softball season.

Alo already has seven home runs on the season, 20 RBI and a .473 batting average. In a blistering three-game span against McNeese State, Houston and Texas State in the Houston Classic on Feb. 19-20, Alo blasted five home runs and racked up 10 RBI in the three games combined.

With her homer against Texas State, Alo tied former Sooner Lauren Chamberlain atop the NCAA record books with 95 career home runs. During this past weekend in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Alo didn’t have many legitimate opportunities to break the record as teams pitched around her.

In fact, of Alo’s 16 walks on the season, 10 came during the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. When teams have pitched to her, Alo has been every bit of the superstar that helped her earn 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year honors.

Oklahoma’s next scheduled date is on Monday, March 7 when the Sooners welcome in Minnesota for OU’s home opener at Marita Hynes Field at 5 p.m. After that game against Minnesota, Oklahoma will travel to Alo’s native state of Hawaii for the Rainbow Wahine Classic from Honolulu.

OU plays Baylor there on Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m., Cal on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and then a pair of games against Hawaii on Friday at 10 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.

Whether Alo breaks the record at home against Minnesota or in her native state of Hawaii, it will make for quite the celebration.

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Arkansas Softball Ranked No. 10 in Softball America Preseason Poll

Arkansas joins three other Southeastern Conference teams in the top-10: No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Florida, and No. 9 Missouri.

The preseason mentions just keep coming for Arkansas Softball.

As the season draws closer, the Arkansas Razorbacks find themselves ranked in the top-10 in another preseason poll.

Softball America released their preseason top-25 rankings Tuesday, with the Razorbacks sitting comfortably at No. 10. Arkansas joins three other Southeastern Conference teams in the top-10: No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Florida, and No. 9 Missouri. Georgia (No. 18), Kentucky (No. 20), and Tennessee (No. 23) also represented the conference in the poll. 

 

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Arkansas is also ranked in the top-10 in another publication’s preseason outlook. Earlier this month, D1Softball placed Arkansas at No. 8 in their preseason poll.

D1Softball also projected Arkansas to finish third in the SEC, behind Alabama and Florida.

Arkansas opens the season on February 10 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, where they will play five games over the weekend, starting with Rutgers at 10 A.M.

 

Texas softball pitcher Miranda Elish named No. 2 player in the country

Texas softball pitcher Miranda Elish was off to a hot start in 2020. now she is ranked second in Softball America’s Top 100.

Last season, pitcher Miranda Elish was off to a hot start for the Texas softball team. The only thing that could apparently stop her and the rest of team was COVID-19. The Longhorns were 24-3 before the season was shut down due to the pandemic. The team blanked New Mexico 7-0, while Elish threw her second career perfect game.

Elish led the team in strikeouts with 96. She finished the year with a 11-3 record and an earned run average of 1.25. Her efforts earned National Player of the Year honors for the former Oregon transfer. Big things are expected from Elish in her return to the circle in the 2021 season.

According to Softball America’s Top 100 rankings, Elish comes in ranked  No. 2 in the country. Her ranking gives the Big 12 Conference its only player in top five in the country. In her second season in Austin, there’s certainly unfinished business. Oklahoma was viewed as the preseason favorite but given how last season went, Texas should be the top dog as the season approaches in 2021.

The Longhorns softball team finished ranked No. 3 in the country according to USA TODAY/Coaches poll at the end of the shortened season, despite the fact that Texas defeated the No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Washington teams on back-to-back nights. With Elish leading the way, the sky is the limit for this team in 2021.

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Tom Brady isn’t the only star athlete in the Brady family

Tom Brady took to Instagram today to congratulate his niece Maya for being named Softball America’s 2020 Freshman Player of the Year.

When sports fans hear the name “Brady” they immediately think about greatness and championships, thanks in large part to six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

But, while the Buccaneers quarterback may be the most famous Brady in sports, he may have competition for that title within his own family once it’s all said and done. Brady’s niece, Maya Brady, is a standout softball player for UCLA, and the proud uncle took to Instagram today to boast about her being named Softball America’s 2020 Freshman Player of the Year.

Take a look.

For the record, Maya’s other uncle is two-time World Series champion Kevin Youkilis, who just so happened to win his titles with the Boston Red Sox.

Yeah, they’re a sports family for sure. Congrats to Maya!

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Texas pitcher Miranda Elish named National Player of the Year

Texas pitcher Miranda Elish was named the National Player of the Year by Softball America on Wednesday.

Although it was a shortened season due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there’s several accolades that Texas softball should be proud of. Continue reading “Texas pitcher Miranda Elish named National Player of the Year”

Texas Softball finishes the 2020 season ranked No. 1 in final poll

Although the season was abruptly cancelled, Texas softball can take comfort in knowing they were the No. 1 team in the nation.

What could have been. Continue reading “Texas Softball finishes the 2020 season ranked No. 1 in final poll”