Liberty's "brand" allows it to access players with a certain belief system -- similar to BYU and Grand Canyon -- who are the cream of that crop. Top-tier facilities and a personality like Dot's helps attract players, as well. I'd also argue Liberty does a great job with player evaluation and development. I was at the entire Conference USA Tournament and some of their best players there, and all season, were transfers, as pointed out above: KK Madrey (LSU), Paige Doerr (Oregon State), Savannah Woodard (Alabama), and their ace, Elena Escobar (North Alabama). They also plucked Rachel Roupe out of high school in rural Maryland, their starting catcher from rural East Tennessee, a couple contributors from Delaware, etc. As a public school without a national name brand and great financial aid for out-of-state students, I do wonder if that hamstrings VT a bit when searching further afield. Not sure when the last time VT had someone from west of Iowa on their roster, and if you're not landing kids from Arizona, California, Texas, etc., does that limit the talent ceiling a bit? ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/20/2025, 1:04:04 PM