Rankings, Upsets, and Early Season Drama
In my opinion, February marks the start of the best time of year — NCAA Softball Season. Now, more than ever, the increased coverage of our sport has allowed us to tune in from the first pitch at early season tournaments all over the country. And with that, we’ve been able to watch some big “upsets” pretty early on this year.
As the preseason rankings are based primarily off the results from last season, taking several factors into account, the start of a new season can present many new variables that are virtually unknown until that first pitch is thrown. New players come in, new leaders emerge, new dynamics form and no matter how the team looks on paper, the game ultimately never knows who is “suppose” to win on any given day.
Now, more than ever, we are getting the opportunity to watch these premium matchups so early on in the season as these coaches try to prepare their players for May and June. Which is why we are getting the opportunity to see the imperfections so early on as well. By the time the first pitch is thrown in February, a team has really only practiced together for a little over a month. And for many northern and midwest teams, they may not have even gotten the opportunity to practice outside yet.
Those preseason practices are crucial to how a team is going to start the season. Spots of graduated players have to be filled. Different players have to step up and gel into a defensive and offensive game plan. Now, with the huge presence of the transfer portal, so many last minute changes can occur with players leaving and arriving, and the team has to adjust to that.
With the very competitive early season tournaments, teams are being tested very early on where some of the kinks may not be fully figured out yet. Tournaments like the Clearwater Invitational and the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic put teams to the test to play their best softball from the start, without giving any room for error if they want to win.
At this point, we are only two weeks into the 2023 season. So far, we have watched the No. 1 team get taken down by an unranked opponent. Mind you, this is the same team that won it all last year and didn’t lose a game until April 16 in the 2022 season. We have watch the Top 25 shuffle around more times than we can count as these teams battle it out against each other. Because of this, only 4 teams in the Top 25 remain undefeated, which will change again this weekend after the matchups that are slated for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. In the past at this point in the season, it wouldn’t be unusual to see half the ranked teams with perfect records. But the college game is changing, and we’re better for it.
Possibly a year for the hitters?
Last weekend at the Clearwater Invitational alone, there were a total of nearly 90 homeruns across the span of 40 games in 4 days. 12 of the 16 attending teams were ranked in the Top 25 at the beginning of the season, many of which had All-Americans in the circle.
I don’t know about you, but if last weekend was any indication of how this season is going to look, we’re in for a wild ride! And I’m here for it!
Who is your favorite team? Who is your underdog pick? I love making predictions at the beginning of the season as to who I think we will see in Oklahoma City. Sometimes it’s an easy pick. But last year showed us, with three unranked teams at the WCWS, that anyone can win on any given day. For me, that is the beauty of our sport. Nothing is guaranteed. You have to show up every single day and never assume you are going to win or lose a game.
Excited to see how it all shakes out come post season. It should be a good one!
From the sidelines,
Syd