Gopher Softball 2024

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Nipomo 56 said:
Is Strelow and Cox coming back? As long as Ehlke’s bat is in the lineup it doesn’t matter to me if she’s DH or at first base.
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So far as I know, Strelow, Cox, and Enter will be back. I believe Strelow will be in the line up somewhere. Connell and Gardner will get some consideration for outfield positions.
 

Still only one Gopher in the transfer portal as of June 3… meaning it may be a very low out-transfer year for us. I find this to be a good thing suggesting we have very good team chemistry.

But that may mean a non-existent “in-transfer” year for us given our current roster count assuming Strelow, Enter, and Cox return.
 

Big entry into the portal from Indiana - Taryn Kern. WOW!
 






WayOfTheGopher said:
Raise your hands if you saw this coming.🙋‍♂️
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It certainly clears a lane for the Gophers to remain at or near the top of the Big Ten conference.

As I typed the above I am reminded of the catastrophe of UCLA entering the conference in a couple seasons.

Oh well… maybe I will have to spend my time following politics or something rather than women’s college softball after the UCLA move.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
Further evidence that DenHartog was special. She could have went the Lindeman/Kern route, but she gave Minnesota her 5 years.
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Thanks to Nat for staying and sending a message that this can be an attractive place for elite talent to spend their entire career. At least Lindaman gave us two exceptional years, and had Allister not left, I’m still not convinced Lindaman would have left, despite her post-transfer comments that deflected away from the coaching change as a primary driver for her departure. The fact that she stayed a year after the change tells me that she was willing to stick it out here, but only if the culture that had developed under Allister could be maintained.

We all know that one of the reasons Piper gave for being interested in the head job in 2020 when she wasn’t in 2017 was that she wanted to restore what we had in the Allister years.
 



ClassOf98Gopher said:
It certainly clears a lane for the Gophers to remain at or near the top of the Big Ten conference.

As I typed the above I am reminded of the catastrophe of UCLA entering the conference in a couple seasons.

Oh well… maybe I will have to spend my time following politics or something rather than women’s college softball after the UCLA move.
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I am hoping that UCLA adds legitimacy to the B1G and reminds administrators that they need to up their game to be competitive and to attract the type of talent needed to compete with UCLA.
 

rwlarson said:
I am hoping that UCLA adds legitimacy to the B1G and reminds administrators that they need to up their game to be competitive and to attract the type of talent needed to compete with UCLA.
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Yeah, well… I just don’t think it’s the administrators that are the problem in terms of “national competitiveness.”
 


Let’s hope she can contribute in the circle in Clearwater next February (2024)… because that long weekend could be brutal if we don’t get good pitching.
 



ClassOf98Gopher said:
Yeah, well… I just don’t think it’s the administrators that are the problem in terms of “national competitiveness.”
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I can’t speak for all the B1G teams but in terms of overall facilities, the Jane needs a complete makeover, including about 1,000 more permanent seats and a new state-of-the art scoreboard.

Administrators aren’t making these types of upgrades without significant private donations backing them.

National recruits compare facilities at schools like Oregon, Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, Clemson, even Liberty has a big, beautiful softball stadium. We are way behind already and we need to start catching up soon.

Yes, there are some PAC schools like UCLA and Washington that also need to start investing more in their facilities, but even cash-strapped Cal is getting a new stadium. I haven’t heard of a recent major upgrade to the stadium at a B1G school other than Rutgers, which was playing on what looked like a high school field two years ago.

So yes, administrators stepping up to help their coaches recruit nationally will be important over the next several years for the B1G. UCLA joining will help recruiting a little, but if we want to actually compete for conference titles with them it’s going to take a top-to-bottom commitment.
 

rwlarson said:
I can’t speak for all the B1G teams but in terms of overall facilities, the Jane needs a complete makeover, including about 1,000 more permanent seats and a new state-of-the art scoreboard.

Administrators aren’t making these types of upgrades without significant private donations backing them.

National recruits compare facilities at schools like Oregon, Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, Clemson, even Liberty has a big, beautiful softball stadium. We are way behind already and we need to start catching up soon.

Yes, there are some PAC schools like UCLA and Washington that also need to start investing more in their facilities, but even cash-strapped Cal is getting a new stadium. I haven’t heard of a recent major upgrade to the stadium at a B1G school other than Rutgers, which was playing on what looked like a high school field two years ago.

So yes, administrators stepping up to help their coaches recruit nationally will be important over the next several years for the B1G. UCLA joining will help recruiting a little, but if we want to actually compete for conference titles with them it’s going to take a top-to-bottom commitment.
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Throw in Baylor to your list. That ballpark is very nice. It helps to have big donors.

Yes, the Jane probably needs upgrades to compete (outside the Big Ten). Luckily, I think the "bones" are already there for it to be better. The earthen bowl design for the stands is pretty nice and it seems like there's plenty of room for expansion. That said, there are small colleges in the south that have nicer stadiums than many D1 ballparks (just tune into the D3 national championships to see). Diamond sports in the south are like hockey is here.

If I won a large Powerball, I'd love to build an indoor mecca fastpitch facility. I can only dream.
 

Softball Season Ticket Renewals started today. I renewed and hope to see them do well again next year
 


Looking forward to seeing her pitch for the Gophers next year.
 

rwlarson said:
I am hoping that UCLA adds legitimacy to the B1G and reminds administrators that they need to up their game to be competitive and to attract the type of talent needed to compete with UCLA.
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We can all shoot for second. The addition helps our RPI massively. Get a sniper win over UCLA in conference play or the B1G tourney and that is huge.
 



Instantly makes Nebraska the B1G favorite and a WCWS contender, and could pay dividends for that program for years down the road.

Also enhances the entire B1G profile, and with UCLA coming the following year, we could be entering a Golden Era for B1G softball. A rising tide floats all boats, so Minnesota also becomes more attractive to national recruits. Let’s Go!!
 

She could be transferring to Creighton or Omaha. ;0
 

She can get the NIL money that Ravioli dude didn't get for committing at QB. Same dude that was a couple days early on the transfer rumor said she's likely to get engaged to her boyfriend from the Nebraska baseball team very soon.
 

rwlarson said:
Instantly makes Nebraska the B1G favorite and a WCWS contender, and could pay dividends for that program for years down the road.

Also enhances the entire B1G profile, and with UCLA coming the following year, we could be entering a Golden Era for B1G softball. A rising tide floats all boats, so Minnesota also becomes more attractive to national recruits. Let’s Go!!
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They got run ruled by most of the good opponents they faced, so will also take them getting a number of other transfers in. But that should be doable for the players that the top 5-10 programs pass on. She'll be easy frontrunner for conference hitter and pitcher of the year
 

rowdaboat said:
They got run ruled by most of the good opponents they faced, so will also take them getting a number of other transfers in. But that should be doable for the players that the top 5-10 programs pass on. She'll be easy frontrunner for conference hitter and pitcher of the year
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Their offense isn’t their problem. No run-rules with Bahl in the circle. They are one of only three B1G teams with a returning All-America offensive player, and they have plenty of good hitters besides Andrews. Yes, they still need to trot someone out there when Bahl doesn’t pitch, but they’ll be plenty good if she ends up there as expected.
 

As of June 16th, still only one Gopher in the transfer portal as displayed on D1Softball.

We mentioned this before on this board, but it sure doesn’t look like a large out-transfer year for our team. We may therefore already know all the names on our 2024 squad right now.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
As of June 16th, still only one Gopher in the transfer portal as displayed on D1Softball.

We mentioned this before on this board, but it sure doesn’t look like a large out-transfer year for our team. We may therefore already know all the names on our 2024 squad right now.
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There is one more transfer window: after fall ball.
 

Alana Vawter, Stanford pitcher, in the portal as a grad transfer.
 

Gopher68 said:
Alana Vawter, Stanford pitcher, in the portal as a grad transfer.
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Most interesting story for them will be if they can keep Canady. Have the academics to do it but their offense was horrendous last year so wouldn't blame her for leaving for OU or FSU
 

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