Jump to content

Softball vs Ole Miss Series


Recommended Posts

Myers inherited Emily Carosone, Casey Cooper, Lexi Davis, Vic Draper, Morgan Estell, Tiffany Howard, Brandi Melero, and Jade Rhodes. Dean inherited Taylon Snow, Tannon Snow, Casey McCrackin, Chardonnay Harris, Ashlee Swindle, Kaylee Carlson, Justus Perry, Alyssa Rivera, Kendall Veach,  and Makayla Martin. I would not say Myers left the better than he found it. Our expectations were higher but the coach brought in the best bunch of pure hitters Auburn has ever seen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites





On 4/25/2021 at 1:09 PM, saminbama said:

Well, I've been trying very hard to give Dean the benefit of the doubt.  We hired him when we couldn't a find a top notch coach to come in and inherit  the dumpster fire that the Myers' left us with and I thought he deserved more leeway.  

Same here but I disagree on hiring him because we couldn't hire a top notch coach. Dean came in with a reputation as a top notch coach. He was taking a mid major and winning against the big guys. He developed awesome pitching that let him be dominant in his league and compete with anyone in the country. With the talent he should be able to pull in the SEC we should not be in this shape. 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have noticed a couple talk about the great job in recruiting he is doing. The 2020-22 classes are the ones I have been around since they were in 8U. I have watched them play and develop. He has some absolute beasts but he has some I wonder WTH are they thinking. The '21 class is better but there is some serious talent on major teams that wanted to be at AU that didn't get a second look. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mickeyb1 said:

Myers inherited Emily Carosone, Casey Cooper, Lexi Davis, Vic Draper, Morgan Estell, Tiffany Howard, Brandi Melero, and Jade Rhodes. Dean inherited Taylon Snow, Tannon Snow, Casey McCrackin, Chardonnay Harris, Ashlee Swindle, Kaylee Carlson, Justus Perry, Alyssa Rivera, Kendall Veach,  and Makayla Martin. I would not say Myers left the better than he found it. Our expectations were higher but the coach brought in the best bunch of pure hitters Auburn has ever seen.

The reason we know who Emily Carosone, Casey Cooper, Lexi Davis, Vic Draper, Morgan Estell, Tiffany Howard, Brandi Melero, and Jade Rhodes are is because they were coached by Clint Myers. Auburn softball was an afterthought at best before Myers took over.  I will agree that the controversy wasn't helpful, but Auburn softball's image radically changed as a result of the success of Myers and the benefit of that is still being realized in our ability to recruit players that 10 years ago wouldn't have given much consideration to coming to Auburn.

The controversy is one of the reasons that I have been in favor of giving Dean time to get everyone on the team playing together.  There were a large number of players that were not happy that Myers wasn't their coach.  I really thought he would have success this year, but it hasn't worked out that way.  Next year is looking more and more like a must win year in Dean's tenure.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@RHN1975 - I’d love to hear your thoughts on individual players in 19, 20, 21, and 22 classes who are at / coming to Auburn and some who wanted to come.

From my perspective:

2019: From EIS rankings, which I recognize are not perfect, we had a few ranked but none higher than #20 (Majors). I thought Calvert, Koepke, and Dismukes could provide immediate support with Garcia, McCondichie, and Majors as contributors at some point. I didn’t know much about Englekes. Calvert transferred, so I’ll skip over her. Outside of Majors, all have started and played significant roles at times. We need them to continue to improve and be more consistent though. It would be nice to McCondichie return to her last year’s numbers too.

2020: Penta and Lowe were the major gets in this class, and I see them being our starters the next 4 years as long as they stay around. I expected Bryant and Geraughty to contribute more in Year 1. Cox and Packer have been a big surprise. I also see Schmidt continuing to contribute. These players need to be more consistent and improve as they gain experience.

2021: This class might displace a few of the players above because they are very talented. Blaine and Lisenby provide immediate power hitting and catching support as top 20 players. Peralta is a top 10 player who I expect to contribute early. Ellis has lots of power, and I expect her to compete with Englekes at first. Cooper also has a strong bat in the OF. Smith is a speedy slapper in the OF. I’m interested to see where Roach and Moody end up in the field, but they have good bats. I don’t know much on McNemar.

Edited by Jad0003
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Jad0003 said:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on individual players in 19, 20, 21, and 22 classes who are at / coming to Auburn and some who wanted to come.

From my perspective:

2019: From EIS rankings, which I recognize are not perfect, we had a few ranked but none higher than #20 (Majors). I thought Calvert, Koepke, and Dismukes could provide immediate support with Garcia, McCondichie, and Majors as contributors at some point. I didn’t know much about Englekes. Calvert transferred, so I’ll skip over her. Outside of Majors, all have started and played significant roles at times. We need them to continue to better though.

2020: Penta and Lowe were the major gets in this class, and I see them being our starters the next 4 years as long as they stay around. I expected Bryant and Geraughty to contribute more in Year 1. Packer has been a big surprise. I see Schmidt continuing to contribute.

2021: This class might displace a few of the players above. It is very talented. Blaine and Lisenby provide immediate power hitting and catching support as top 20 players. Peralta is a top 10 player who I expect to contribute early. Ellis has lots of power, and I expect her to compete with Englekes at first. Cooper also has a strong bat in the OF. Smith is a speedy slapper in the OF. I’m interested to see where Roach and Moody end up in the field, but they have good bats. I don’t know much on McNemar.

I think McNemar is more of a defensive specialist.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AU9377 said:

The reason we know who Emily Carosone, Casey Cooper, Lexi Davis, Vic Draper, Morgan Estell, Tiffany Howard, Brandi Melero, and Jade Rhodes are is because they were coached by Clint Myers. Auburn softball was an afterthought at best before Myers took over.  I will agree that the controversy wasn't helpful, but Auburn softball's image radically changed as a result of the success of Myers and the benefit of that is still being realized in our ability to recruit players that 10 years ago wouldn't have given much consideration to coming to Auburn.

The controversy is one of the reasons that I have been in favor of giving Dean time to get everyone on the team playing together.  There were a large number of players that were not happy that Myers wasn't their coach.  I really thought he would have success this year, but it hasn't worked out that way.  Next year is looking more and more like a must win year in Dean's tenure.

Clint built a winning mindset. The team was confident they would be successful at the plate, and they never let an error or mistake spiral into catastrophe. Those aspects are the biggest differences I see with this team versus Clint’s teams. I do think some of the confidence was the players experience. I hope our 2nd year freshman, 1st year freshman, and 2021 signing class can build a similar mindset as they continue to gain reps. The only really bad game defensively I’ve seen since early in the season was Game 2 in Ole Miss, so I am hopeful they are working through those problems.

But those players were not all built by Clint and his staff. Carasone, Estell, and Melero were all .350+ hitters before Clint came to Auburn. Howard took a step back Clint’s first year before taking a huge step forward. Rhodes and Draper both steadily improved each year - could be Clint, could be experience. Cooper came in hitting .400+ and hovered there til her senior year, which was far from bad at .311. 

One interesting note - I think Cooper’s situation is similar to Rivera’s this year. Cooper was the leader and felt pressure to perform, but she wasn’t nearly as protected as she was in previous years. She pushed hard to make things happen at the plate early in the season, but as the season progressed, she adjusted to her new role and allowed others - Rivera, Wallace, Fagen - to hit. Once they showed they could hit, Cooper saw better pitches and took advantage later in the season to build her average back up. Rivera has a lot less protection than Cooper did her senior year, so she is probably pressing even harder. Losing Snow this year was a bigger blow than most of us probably realize.

Edited by Jad0003
  • Like 4
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Jad0003 said:

Clint built a winning mindset. The team was confident they would be successful at the plate, and they never let an error or mistake spiral into catastrophe. Those aspects are the biggest differences I see with this team versus Clint’s teams. I do think some of the confidence was the players experience. I hope our 2nd year freshman, 1st year freshman, and 2021 signing class can build a similar mindset as they continue to gain reps. The only really bad game defensively I’ve seen since early in the season was Game 2 in Ole Miss, so I am hopeful they are working through those problems.

But those players were not all built by Clint and his staff. Carasone, Estell, and Melero were all .350+ hitters before Clint came to Auburn. Howard took a step back Clint’s first year before taking a huge step forward. Rhodes and Draper both steadily improved each year - could be Clint, could be experience. Cooper came in hitting .400+ and hovered there til her senior year, which was far from bad at .311. 

One interesting note - I think Cooper’s situation is similar to Rivera’s this year. Cooper was the leader and felt pressure to perform, but she wasn’t nearly as protected as she was in previous years. She pushed hard to make things happen at the plate early in the season, but as the season progressed, she adjusted to her new role and allowed others - Rivera, Wallace, Fagen - to hit. Once they showed they could hit, Cooper saw better pitches and took advantage later in the season to build her average back up. Rivera has a lot less protection than Cooper did her senior year, so she is probably pressing even harder. Losing Snow this year was a bigger blow than most of us probably realize.

I don't disagree with any of what you point out.  However, I can't help but laugh when anyone, Auburn person or not, suggests that what Clint did with the softball program was anything less than spectacular.  Coming into the SEC and in two years being elite was something not often seen.  Before Myers, Auburn's highest ranking at the end of the season was #21.  We had never finished ranked in the top 20 and had never been to a Super Regional. During Clint's 4 years, we finished ranked #20,#3,#2,#13.  That didn't just happen due to more experience at the plate.  I know someone will say to stop talking about the past, but we have to at the very least acknowledge the past in order to judge where we are and where we want to be.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AU9377 said:

I don't disagree with any of what you point out.  However, I can't help but laugh when anyone, Auburn person or not, suggests that what Clint did with the softball program was anything less than spectacular.  Coming into the SEC and in two years being elite was something not often seen.  Before Myers, Auburn's highest ranking at the end of the season was #21.  We had never finished ranked in the top 20 and had never been to a Super Regional. During Clint's 4 years, we finished ranked #20,#3,#2,#13.  That didn't just happen due to more experience at the plate.  I know someone will say to stop talking about the past, but we have to at the very least acknowledge the past in order to judge where we are and where we want to be.

I never said Clint wasn’t a elite coach. There’s a reason he has 2 National championship rings. He was a spectacular in game coach who instilled confidence in his players at the plate. They believed going into every game they could win. His 2014 team was why I started following Auburn softball, so you are correct when you say he is the reason I know those names.

We know we saw the team’s hitting regress in 2017 after Carasone, Rhodes, and Howard left. We lost 3 more of our best hitters after 2017 in Cooper, Fagen, and Wallace (transferred to Baylor while Myers was still coaching at AU). It is plausible our hitting would have declined again no matter who was the coach, but we will never know what Myers could have done with these rosters. I believe he wanted to continue coaching, and I wish we could compare alternate universes where he did. We give him the benefit of the doubt because no one knew about Auburn softball before him, but he left a more depleted roster than he found to Dean. He “retired” when Auburn softball was on its greatest run in history, but the next coach was going to be criticized. To compare - who would want to follow Saban at Alabama? At least, Saban won’t leave a fractured, less talented roster when he retires.

I want Auburn to be at the WCWS again. Is Dean the guy for the job? I’m not sure, but we will know more on the team’s progress next year. Our pitching and defense will keep games low scoring, so we only need marginal improvement at the plate to significantly improve our record. If we don’t see some improvement, I’m not sure who he will keep his job. If he doesn’t, he will leave the next coach in better place than when he was hired though.

Edited by Jad0003
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing I’d like to address is people saying Dean is a micromanager. I can see that being the case as I’ve seen him jump Carosone in games for sending a runner and such. I wonder if that’s why our hitting is way below par because he really doesn’t know a whole lot about hitting. He needs to stay with the pitchers and defense and let Carosone and Lenti handle the hitters. I have no doubt Carosone could coach those hitters if she was given free reign.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m not here to debate about Myers; he did spectacular things for us. 
 

I would like to give a shout-out to the recruiting job that Tina Deese and her assistants, Steve Johnson and Mark Ryal, did in getting Estell, Melero, Carosone, Rhodes, Howard, Davis, Harper, Cooper, etc. to the Plains. 

  • Like 5
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, blakem said:

Another thing I’d like to address is people saying Dean is a micromanager. I can see that being the case as I’ve seen him jump Carosone in games for sending a runner and such. I wonder if that’s why our hitting is way below par because he really doesn’t know a whole lot about hitting. He needs to stay with the pitchers and defense and let Carosone and Lenti handle the hitters. I have no doubt Carosone could coach those hitters if she was given free reign.

How do you know Carosone and Lenti aren't handling the hitters? That's their job. 

And just because Carosone was a good hitter, doesn't make her a great hitting coach. Not that she may not be, but until she gets her own high level hitting coach gig then we don't know if she can turn our hitters into better ones...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/25/2021 at 2:12 PM, EagleEye67 said:

well, Moo U is worse this season than we are.  So far.

Whelp, I was proven wrong.  MSU has won 5 in a row, we have lost 4 in a row.  Moo U has passed us in the standings. :(

  • Facepalm 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...