Molly is graduating and going on to grad school somewhere. VT will continue to play after a bunch of other teams end their seasons. There is value in other coaches knowing and being able to approach Molly before they fill out their roster with other pitchers. There can be no contact until she is in the portal. What this DEFINITELY means: - She can now begin talking to other teams and considering her grad school options - VT was involved in (not driving) the process to some degree and processed paperwork sometime this week - She has the ABILITY to transfer, but could return - VT has no obligation to honor any attempt by Molly to return Things that ARE NOT TRUE: - Molly is quitting the team mid-season (she likely will continue through the entire post-season) - Molly entered the portal during the middle of the Liberty game (although that is when it hit social media) - This MUST be about softball unhappiness (grad school transfers happen for many reasons) - The timing will SURELY create drama (not the first in-season portal entry of a grad student for us) Spring athletes have quite a number of unique challenges. One of those challenges is the short timeframe between the end of the season (for us, the season will end post-graduation) and the start of next year's fall semester. If a graduating senior with additional eligibility wants/needs to go to grad school somewhere else (outside of a sports context, that would be considered normal and advised behavior by most) they need to start getting applications in quickly. If they want to play next year, that FIRST means finding a team that has a need at their position. In my evaluation, Molly waiting until this late in the season to enter the portal has already put her back up against the wall. I remember a few years ago before Alexa transferred to Arizona State that she was in the portal for much longer (potentially most of the season?) and had worked out her future grad school option well before graduation. I hope most of the readers here wish Jacobson the very best of luck in her search for a grad school and in continued softball success somewhere. Based on what I see from the outside, that is what the coaches and the rest of her teammates will be doing.