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.

She gave me a hug after the game and i gave her a hard time about the tweet of her swinging a bat. She probably wants to go somewhere where she will be able to pitch a lot. With all the current VT pitchers returning plus two freshmen coming in, she probably realizes that she won't get a lot of innings. I wish her all the best. She is a hard worker and a great teammate.

Given the timing, I'm just going to assume that #SwingHardMolly is a message to all of Hokie Nation that Pete is supporting Molly Jacobson's portal entry and encouraging her to do something great at wherever her next fit may be. Classy move by him if I'm decoding that correctly.

who loves & wants to PLAY, it can't be easy to see that it's not gonna happen at a place you love. Best regards to her and thanking her for 'pitching in' to be a Hokie these years where she would have had more PT elsewhere.

She's preserved eligibility during her time at VT and has been open about being interested in potentially moving to North Carolina (the state, not necessarily UNC). Her academic interests are very similar to former Hokie Alexa Milius, who left VT in part because they didn't have the graduate program she was looking for (and possibly because she wanted more playing time as well). Alexa was very open with the coaching staff about this, and I believe Molly has been as well. She has a good head on her shoulders. Comes from a great athletic family in Iowa -- one of her brothers is actually an NFL tight end (plays for the Saints) but played college basketball at Nebraska and Iowa State.