As a point of reference, a year ago, would anyone have predicted a starting VT lineup that would have included Cori McMillian, Michelle Chatfield, Rachel Castine, and Annika Rohs? You just never know which is one of the things that is cool about college athletics. We have a solid group of recruits coming in (Jayden Jones and Jordan Lynch are both Top 10 recruits) and there's always the possibilities of a transfer or two. PLUS, there's the likelihood that some of this year's players return in the fall bigger, stronger, faster, and much improved. Just think about the improvement this season of Rachel Castine, Maija Louko, Lyndsey Grein, and Trinity Martin just to name a few. Returning players now have a good idea of what playing at this level requires and their exit meetings with the coaches will have suggestions on what to work on during the offseason. It will certainly be a challenge to replace Emma Ritter, Cameron ***an, Addy Greene, and Maija Louko, but that's all part of college athletics. Last season, we had similar concerns about losing Kelsey Bennett and Jayme Bailey and it turned out okay. Four months to fall ball!

We know a lot of our kids are gruntled, but any evidence of disgruntled kids in the dugout? Do we need Arthur to give anyone a good talking to?

I don't know of anyone - except for Molly, of course, but if they are leaving for more playing time, it's understandable.

Will be interesting to see how the infield is handled. Could Castine or Thrunk possibly be primarily a DP (and backup 2B/SS) if Bre stays at 3B and Rohs stays at SS (the other would take over for Cam at 2B)? Replacing Ritter and Greene will be tough, both at the plate and in the field. I gotta think Trinity gets a shot at one of those OF spots, maybe Lyla Blackwell too. And I haven’t even factored in the recruits yet. Remember, we played 3 true freshmen this year (Chatfield, Rohs, Mazzarone, although obviously Rohs was not an expected starter at the beginning of the season). Curious to see what we might do w Mazzarone also, is it possible she might get more at bats next year (in addition to pitching)?

The team has several players that are extremely capable of performing. Legette & Yager to name a few. They were right there & if given more reps would have contributed to the offense, when others players were in a slump. Several freshman players would have stepped in very effectively if given the opportunity. I know it’s easy to get mesmerized by a few, but you can’t forgot rest of a highly recruited class.

As I mentioned above, it's always exciting to see who returns in the fall bigger, stronger, faster. This year's freshmen now have a better understanding of what it takes to play at this level and hopefully will be ready to step up.

juniors and juniors becoming seniors who have worked hard for a couple three years getting ready for "their" time to play?

The best thing about freshmen is that they eventually become sophomores That said, I do love our recruiting class and expect them to contribute over their careers here in Blacksburg. The challenge is that far too many expect to be in the center of the action when they arrive on campus. It takes a long time for most to be collegiate ready. They’ll figure that out though.

The adjustment to college is huge. Almost every player on a D1 roster was a superstar previously and suddenly everyone else is as good as they are. And the transition from high school to college itself is a challenge for some as well. Some handle that much better than others. We've been blessed with a lot of young ladies that were ready but there's no guarantees.