Tag: Tim Walton

Florida’s Tim Walton named D1Softball’s 2024 Coach of the Year

Florida softball’s magical 2024 season ends with head coach Tim Walton taking home the D1Softball Coach of the Year Award.

D1Softball named Florida head coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] the 2024 Coach of the Year Award on Monday, following a deep run in the Women’s College World Series that ended a win away from reaching the finals.

Although many were upset to see Oklahoma head coach Patty Grasso miss out on the award following a fourth-straight national championship, D1Softball argues that Florida’s transformation over the past year under Walton was more impressive.

Two seasons ago, Florida only had 38 wins. In 2023, they finished with an 11-13 record against the rest of the SEC and were knocked out of the playoffs relatively early in the Stanford Regional.

Walton made a few key additions from the transfer portal — [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] and [autotag]Korbe Otis[/autotag] — to an already strong freshman class, and Florida went 54-15 (17-7) in 2024. Whether the team building or the actual coaching mattered more is inconsequential. That big of a jump forward deserves some recognition.

Florida is pushing forward at full steam, too. Walton has remained active in the transfer portal this offseason to replace a six-woman senior class, including Gators great Skylar Wallace.

Through 19 seasons as Florida’s head coach, Walton has won 980 games with an 81% win rate.

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Florida softball adds two veteran infielders via NCAA transfer portal

Fresh off a deep run in the Women’s College World Series the softball team is already restocking its roster with high-quality talent.

The Florida softball program added a pair of veteran players this week through the NCAA transfer portal. The Gators are coming off a deep run in the Women’s College World Series at the beginning of the month and are already restocking their roster.

On Monday, [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag]’s team brought former Washinton Huskies infielder Rylee Holtorf, who was a 2024 All-PAC-12 First Team shortstop for the Huskies. She holds a career batting average of .290 with 21 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs, 78 runs scored and 56 RBI.

“We are extremely excited to add experience and depth to the youngest team at the Women’s College World Series last year.” Walton said. “Rylee Holtorf brings a wealth of experience and the desire to continue to get better. We are looking forward to getting back on the dirt this fall.”

On Tuesday, the Orange and Blue added former Alabama Crimson Tide infielder Kenleigh Cahalan to the family with two years of eligibility remaining starting in 2025. She was a 2024 All-SEC Second Team selection, and has a career .290 batting average with 65 runs scored, 24 doubles, five triples, nine home runs, 50 walks and 61 total RBI over 126 games played.

“We are extremely excited to add Kenleigh Cahalan to our program.” Walton said. “Kenleigh is a hard worker and an ultra-competitor. We were very fortunate to recruit her a second time through the recruiting process as we followed her throughout her entire high school career and recruited her to be a Gator the first time around. We are looking forward to getting to work!”

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Gators softball beats Baylor Bears in NCAA Super Regionals opener

One more win and Florida will be in the College Softball World Series.

Florida softball took one step closer to a national championship on Friday with a win over the Baylor Bears in the Gainesville Super Regional held inside Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, 4-2.

The win was UF’s 12th straight and seventh straight in postseason play, putting the Gators one away from reaching the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

[autotag]Korbe Otis[/autotag] scored twice — once on a solo homer in the fifth — and [autotag]Katie Kistler[/autotag] had a two-run double in the first to stake host Florida to a lead it never relinquished in this one. [autotag]Keagan Rothrock[/autotag] made her Super Regional debut with a solid effort, giving up two earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five for the first complete game in her last five tries.

[autotag]Skylar Wallace[/autotag] went 1-for-2 with a walk, making her 13-for-18 in the postseason (.722) while also scoring her 86th run of the season. That run was also the 303rd of her career, making the fifth-year senior the all-time scoring leader in NCAA history.

Florida and Baylor face off for Game 2 on Saturday morning starting at 11 a.m. ET in a must-win game for the Bears. If the Gators prevail, they will punch the program’s WCWS ticket for the 12th time in history — all under Coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag]. Should the Orange and Blue falter, the rubber match will be on Sunday, with the time still to be determined.

Highlights from Florida softball’s Super Regional Game 1 win over Baylor

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Florida softball earns SEC Tournament title over Missouri Tigers

The Gators proved to be the best team in the SEC this weekend at the tournament.

Florida softball earned its sixth Southeastern Conference Tournament title on Sunday with a 6-1 win over the Missouri Tigers at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama. The tournament victory ties the Gators for the best in the league and gives head coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] the most of any skipper in SEC history.

The Orange and Blue entered the tournament as a No. 2 seed while Mizzou was a No. 5 seed coming in. The seedings played out as expected in the finals as Florida simply had too much for Missouri.

Walton’s team scored five of their six runs via the long ball, with [autotag]Skylar Wallace[/autotag] and [autotag]Mia Williams[/autotag] both going deep in this one. Right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock tossed her second consecutive complete-game performance to steady the Gators in the circle.

The program improved its SEC Tournament record to 40-29 after a 3-0 sweep this year. This was also Florida’s 10th SEC Tournament Championship game appearance, which ranks second most in league history behind the LSU Tigers‘ 11 appearances.

Highlights from Florida softball’s SEC Tournament Championship win

The Gators now await their placement in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket during the Selection Show that will air live Sunday on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET.

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Legendary UF softball coach named to 2024 NFCA Hall of Fame class

One of the best to ever coach college softball is in line to get his due recognition.

Florida softball head coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] was named as a member of the 2024 National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame class last week at the NFCA convention held in Louisville, Kentucky.

Walton is one of the most decorated coaches in NCAA Division I history, having spent 19 of his 22 years as a head coach with the Gators. For his career, he has put together a 1,049-287 record — good for a .785 winning percentage, ranking third among active NCAA head coaches with a minimum of 10 years of experience as head coach.

In 2022, the veteran coach eclipsed the 1,000-career win mark, making him the second-fastest NCAA Division I head coach to reach the milestone behind the legendary Arizona Wildcats coach Mike Candrea. Overall, there are just 11 currently-active DI head coaches with 1,000 career wins and only 30 coaches all-time have achieved the feat.

During his time in Gainesville, he led the Gators to back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2014 and 2015, eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships, five SEC Tournament titles, 11 trips to the Women’s College World Series and five WCWS Championship series appearances.

Additionally, he also coaches three Collegiate Women Sports Award winners, two USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year recipients, an NFCA Division I Player of the Year winner, one NFCA Freshman of the Year recipient, five SEC Pitchers of the Year and five SEC Players of the Year.

The induction ceremony will take place at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in Dallas, Texas on December 6, 2024.

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Ohio State football advances in 2025 Texas 5-star cornerback’s recruitment

The Buckeyes are in a good position with the elite corner #GoBucks

As many of us have seen during the last year plus, the [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] football program has been trying to turn its defensive back room.

Multiple new faces who we will see this season — and in seasons to come — are helping defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag], and secondary coach [autotag]Tim Walton,[/autotag] make the change.

The Buckeyes are going to be content with just making the adjustment for one season, they want it to be a reoccurring reload, and 2025 Texas cornerback, [autotag]Devin Sanchez,[/autotag] is one prospect that could help continue the changes.

The 6-foot, 2-inch, 170-pound defender dropped his top 10 list on Thursday afternoon, with Ohio State making the cut.

Sanchez has been to Columbus multiple times, so it should be no surprise that the Buckeyes graphic made this announcement. The corner is one of the best recruits in the 2025 class, ranking No. 2 at his position and 7th nationally according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Also included in Sanchez’s top ten were Michigan, LSU, Alabama, USC, Texas, Florida State, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech.

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Ohio State offers Georgia 2025 cornerback after a visit

The cornerback had a great time in Columbus that help land an offer #GoBucks

It has become a recent trend with [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] recruiting that they are much more willing to offer a prospect following a visit to Columbus.

That is exactly the case with Georgia 2025 cornerback [autotag]Devin Williams[/autotag], who tweeted that he received an offer from the Buckeyes following a “great visit.”

The 5-foot, 10-inch, 155-pound defender is rated the as the No. 4 best cornerback and 51st overall prospect by the 247Sports composite rankings. Williams’ offer list is extremely impressive as well, so getting him to play his college football up north will be a big-time battle for head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and defensive backs coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag].

Williams has made multiple visits this spring and if Ohio State is able to get another visit in the future, it would put them in a very good position.

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This clip from Ohio State’s spring practice gives hope for defensive back improvement

This group has to be better this fall, doesn’t it? #GoBucks

This past season the Ohio State cornerbacks did not fare well at all. The group totaled no interceptions and had plenty of costly penalties called on them as they rarely looked for the ball while it was in the air.

It seems like Buckeye defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] and secondary coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] are trying to fix that. In this clip shared on Twitter by Dan Hope, it looks like the group is making a much more concerted effort to look for the ball while it’s in the air.

The Ohio State secondary will have plenty of different names roaming the backend of the defense, some new (Davison Igbinosun and Ja’Had Carter) and some old ([autotag]Sonny Styles[/autotag] and [autotag]Denzel Burke[/autotag]). The hope is that this mix of new and old in the 2023 season will have much better results.

If Ohio State can figure things out on the back end of the defense and limit some of those big plays we saw the last couple of years, there could be a lot of memorable moments playing for some pretty special things this coming season.

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Ohio State trending to add elite 2024 Arizona defensive back

Great news for the Buckeyes #GoBucks

Once again, it seems like we are a reporting broken record regarding [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] secondary recruiting. But after this past season, the need to add depth to the position to combat injuries and transfers continually rears its ugly head.

The corners struggled to stay on the field, and when they played the results were so-so at best. As a group, they didn’t record an interception all season. Buckeye cornerbacks coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] needs his position room to excel and that starts with players he and head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] can recruit to campus.

Enter Arizona cornerback [autotag]Miles Lockhart[/autotag], the 5-foot, 10-inch, 185-pound player who is rated the 37th best athlete and No. 298 overall player on the 247Sports composite. Lockhart was offered a scholarship last summer and will visit on the weekend of June 16.

That information was enough for two of 247Sports recruiting experts, Blair Angulo and Bill Kurelic, to put in crystal ball picks for Lockhart to end up committing to Ohio State.

It’s not a coincidence Lockhart is wearing an Ohio State headband while hoisting his state championship trophy.

If everything plays out the way the experts think it will, expect Lockhart to end up in the 2024 Buckeyes recruiting class.

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The day after: Thoughts on Ohio State’s crushing loss to Georgia

So many thoughts but these stuck out in my mind the most. How about yours Buckeye fans? #GoBucks

If you were like me, it was hard to sleep Saturday night.

For more than three quarters of the [autotag]Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl[/autotag], it looked like [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] would face [autotag]TCU[/autotag] with a national championship on the line. Georgia had different plans. It mounted a massive comeback during the fourth quarter and sent the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a disappointing loss.

Since the game ended, many thoughts have passed through my head, some good, some bad and a great many pondering what the future for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his program will look like. Here are my thoughts the day after Ohio State’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal. (Also, happy New Year’s everyone, even if it wasn’t what many of us wanted).

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