OK softballers who do hope wins the WCWS and why?
I started doing the 'anyone but . . . ' with my wife and my list became pretty short ;)
** Edited by MidloHokie at 5/26/2025, 3:08:36 PM
75 Replies
1y
They probably are the long shot in the race, but seeing Grein holding a national championship trophy would be awesome!
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
looking fwd to Hokie softball next season
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
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1y
Their pitcher is fun to watch. She is the best pitcher in the country. But the rest of the team have to play great for TT to beat the powerhouses.
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
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1y
just enjoy the games.
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1y
7 vs 1 seems the only fair fight vs OU
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1y
. . . Jerry Glasco. He coaches a diverse offensive game and has always seem to get the most out of this talent.
(In response to this post by hokietony)
1y
but I will say, typically, I like to see as many Top 8 teams in the WCWS because it just ratchets up the competition level. Sometimes the dark horse(s) (they upset a team in the Regionals and then get another lower seeded in the Supers that pulled an upset of their own as well) can get there but don't really stand up that well against the elite.
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
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1y
I have no hope, no care, no interest for anyone else.
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
But for the sake of the dislike of said conference and that team, I’ll keep it to myself lol.
But after that anyone but OU.
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
Whoever has the best chance
UCLA?
Texas Tech?
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
entirely different question than who I HOPE will win.
(In response to this post by vatechcowpatty)
1y
And nothing against her and family
Just don’t want the “what if” narrative
** Edited by hokiepro at 5/26/2025, 6:32:08 PM
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nkhooch
1y
CWS I think we've gotten all we can out of the what ifs. And if someone does that, it will give you a chance to what-if the Clemson game again. :-)
(In response to this post by hokiepro)
1y
Understanding why a player like that was unhappy enough to walk away isn’t something we like to face, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t address it. I’ll remain an LG fan. Once a Hokie, always a Hokie… so long as you don’t bail on us for the wrong reasons (money , instant gratification of more playing time, etc.), which she didn’t. Happy to see her have this success, despite how the odds may be stacked against them in the WCWS
(In response to this post by hokiepro)
1y
So it becomes a bunch of speculation that only ramps up the farther Oregon advances. For me it's similar to Amoore in women's basketball or HH at Tenn. I'm not going to actively root against her but I'm not a "fan" either. She's just another player on a different team at this point.
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
What are you talking about? She definitely left for more PT. No one knows
about the money, so she could be 0-2 on your list of "wrong" reasons.
I don't care because I don't feel the need to judge athletes for leaving and going somewhere else. But your post is completely irrational.
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
1y
Definitely NOT. It isn’t my story to tell, but I had the opportunity to speak with her immediately after she entered the portal (before she had received the Oregon offer). While she did earn a starring role there, and perhaps more money, neither of those was the driver at all.
If you are merely speculating, be careful about how definitive you become with your assumptions. I appreciate that you aren’t judging, but I don’t think you are in the know on this one.
(In response to this post by King of Hokies)
IYKYCM
So being disgruntled/unhappy is OK. But leaving for playing time is not OK. They are one and the same to me. And as I said, who cares? They are making their own choices, all of them, for their own benefit just as they should.
My basic message is that you have yourself set up categories of "acceptable" departures and categories of "unacceptable" departures. And your own example is hopelessly stuck right in between your own presumptions.
It's weird. Student athletes, just like all students, should make choices in their own best interests. Unlike your suggestion.
** Edited by King of Hokies at 5/28/2025, 12:04:37 AM
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
1y
More PT…which you said it wasn’t
Seemed she wanted a change and got it. Worked out for her, not us…even though it was just a random decision by the selection committee to change what criteria they cited for them to become hosts
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
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nkhooch
1y
What was the specific criteria they used in the past that they changed?
(In response to this post by hokiepro)
1y
Because it would’ve hurt Oregon massively. (They cited OOC SoS weakness as reason for sending Minnesota on the road in spite of a 50-5 record a few years back) They for the first time ever cited “top 50 win percentage” because it favored Oregon over VT when VT actually had 6 more top 30 wins but same overall top 50 wins…but since Oregon played FEWER, they cited “win % vs top 50”
They ignored RPI VT vs Bama as well as road+neutral wins (VT had a boatload more). They said they’d consider RPI AND KPI if there was a close decision …they didn’t.
** Edited by hokiepro at 5/27/2025, 5:45:27 PM
(In response to this post by nkhooch)
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nkhooch
1y
speculating vs. what was actually said by the committee. Did they release statements detailing their use of this criteria?
(In response to this post by hokiepro)
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Hokie-2x
1y
Her stats here didn't support that. She was like Hooker. Maybe she just needed a new environment.
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nkhooch
1y
have provided the environment that released the obvious potential in these players. Forgive the diatribe and people already know a lot of what I am about to say. A coaches job is to get the best out of each player. That means you can't necessarily treat everyone the same. Hopefully, in the recruiting process you assess that fit. But it's not perfect. Players may have different styles than coaches anticipated and maybe the coaches turned out to have a different style than the player anticipated. If that happens somebody has to move/adapt. Or both of them need to.
That has to be balanced against the overall environment coaches want to create. Meaning you can't treat one player completely differently than you do all the other players. Or you risk losing unity. Or if you do, you have to be able to communicate the reason for that with the rest of the team. All that stuff requires communication.
Valeri Cagle, Clemson, was a Jordy Bahl type player. Their star pitcher and best, very strong, hitter. I was told that she did not ride on the bus with the rest of team. She preferred individual transportation. So, they accommodated that. They could have laid down the law and said she had to ride the bus and be part of the team. But, obviously they couldn't allow the entire team to do that. If someone else asked to do that, coaches would have to explain why Cagle could and why other players couldn't. It was clear that Cagle was getting "special treatment". But, she was also critical to the success of the team. Team players who only care about team success would probably have an easier time accepting it.
Not saying that's the LG situation. But, maybe she had a unique personality or style that required a different coaching approach than the staff takes with all other players or that fits their preferred coaching style or principles. If they knew she was unhappy, and they should have, they would have to decide if they wanted to try and accommodate that unique need to get the best performance from LG. In fairness to the coaching staff, I doubt they knew that LG had this level of potential. (And that's another issue). Sophie adequately replaced what we got from LG in her sophomore year. To us, it didn't look like a significant loss.
But, I would hope, that this coaching staff would be introspective and humble enough to at least determine if they need to learn something from this situation rather than just dismiss it as "if she doesn't want to be here, then we don't want her here". Because with the level of talent they recruit, they will run into this situation again.
(In response to this post by Hokie-2x)
1y
That pretty much put it down to TT and Oregon for me so I will pull for TT over Oregon. I like Gerry Glasco as well so it would be a good cinderella story to see him win a championship with TT.
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
It would be proof to what we all suspect… that a Natty can be bought
(In response to this post by NC_Hokies)
1y
May cost more now, but it still takes a "bought" team.
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Hokie-2x
1y
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Hokie-2x
1y
Philosophers.
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1y
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1y
They didn’t get a bunch on transfers and build a $48 million stadium for free did they ?
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
1y
. . . big time. Is it bad for the sport that softball players finally can make $$ playing? It's certainly bad for supporters of teams from schools that will not pay players. I don't like the impact it's having on 90% or the schools that play the sport but I'm not sure any of this is bad of the players.
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
1y
go to the highest bidders. That's just the way it is unfortunately.
** Edited by NC_Hokies at 5/26/2025, 9:10:53 PM
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
1y
. . . their skills and get paid are pretty happy. At least at this point it appears that most of the softball 'earners' are getting paid because of their sports-related abilities and not their willingness to post pics in what, today, passes for a bathing suit. I'm not necessarily knocking the Livvy Dunns or the world but would rather have my team's players rewarded for their ERA.
(In response to this post by NC_Hokies)
1y
it was a little more regulated as far as how much is paid out by each school. Even pro sports teams have salary caps, it just seems to be a free-for-all in college sports. It means that the same couple of teams will always win championships and just reload the next year. Reduces parity and puts VT, as well as most other schools, at a big disadvantage.
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
was a scholarship programs cheated. Any new regulations established for new rules won't stop the money cheating nor the academic cheating. It's was free-for-all before NIL and it will be a free-for-all with any new regulations.
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1y
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1y
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1y
Canady's deal just makes them the most visible.
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1y
So both.
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1y
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1y
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
Although I like everything the State of Texas related, SEC is a no go so that eliminates Texas, Florida, Tenn, Okla, and Ole Miss.
I am sort of neutral (but leaning towards the negative) on the two Big 10 teams (UCLA and Oregon).
That leaves Texas Tech.
Pecking Order: Texas Tech, Oregon, UCLA, Ole Miss, Texas, Okla, Fla, and then Tenn.
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)
1y
What do so many people dislike about the SEC that they don’t see happening with TT softball?
(In response to this post by hokietony)
1y
outside that sphere. Like discussed in this thread, championships are bought and personally I would rather see someone win outside of SEC. Especially now that OU and UT joined. It's great to see somebody else throw a crap ton of money into their non-SEC school's program to win. It means the sport is growing.
(In response to this post by Hokie4Life_89)
1y
(In response to this post by hokietony)
Texas Tech "would" be my pick except they are...
paying their star pitcher $1 million a year. I guess with little enthusiasm, I'll go with Lindsey Grein's team and those ugly yellow uniforms. Tech should get a mention or two whenever Grein pitches.
(In response to this post by hokietony)
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RJHokie
1y
completely rained/washed out so that no champion is crowned……
(In response to this post by hokietony)
1y
And like NiJaree Canady
** Edited by atticus555 at 5/26/2025, 3:17:59 PM
(In response to this post by MidloHokie)