RedDirtFan

I share your concern and admiration of Carosone. I'd prefer to see more experience in the captain's chair, but she was promoted to Associate Head Coach, which I see as a leading indicator. I'm not sure how you bring in a new HC with that title on staff and you can't take the promotion away. I think they've already made the decision and Cohen's waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I'm noticing a trend...what else changed in the program in 2017??? I'm not suggesting that we return to the sexual predatory environment...but these young women just deserve better. It's hard to attract SEC softball talent with a great education & mid softball experience. My prediction is that we miss Supers again for Penta's senior year (shame), Dean steps down for personal reasons and Carosone takes the reigns starting in 2024-25.

PS…the hostile environment that Meyers fostered doesn’t warrant more W’s. In the end, the players lose.

Hey LP, based upon your response, I sense that my post was overly aggressive, and I must apologize. That was not my intent. I am sincerely happy that you’ve found an appreciation for Dean as a coach. I’ve had a different and visceral experience. I just want the best for our Tigers. I respect your perspective.

@LPTigerI'm glad you're content with Dean. I gave Dean the benefit of the doubt at first and found myself burned. The only reason he still has a job is Maddie Penta. She's found solace in his coaching and I'm happy for her. He'd be crazy not to put her on a pedestal. Most of the other SEC or Power5 coaches do. However, those coaches either multitask or surround themselves with a staff that they trust to coach and develop the other elements of the game. A few indicators: The first 15 minutes of practice (precious time under the NCAA restrictions) is spent with Dean & Co arguing over what to work on. If you show up to a meeting unprepared in the real world, you won't do it twice if you like your job. For whatever reason, they still don't have a hitting coach. Ever wonder why the hitters peak their freshman year? They're still coasting from the muscle memory that made them successful before coming to Auburn. There's no approach when the players step into the box. I have a lot of respect for Lindte, but he's not a 3B coach. I think the number of base running mistakes this year is cause for a new strategy. Dean doesn't respect Carosone. Who knows why? She's a student of the sport and is very accomplished, which is why I see her move to Associate Head Coach as an indication that Dean will not get another extension and Carosone will take the reigns. No other program in the country has players go for their personal best on weights during the season and the strength/conditioning coach doesn't condone it. We can hypothesize all we want, but only the players and coaches can speak to what's going on in the program. 1 player doesn't make the program. 4 players left (3 starters) after another dead end in Regionals and 3 more left after school started. That's your barometer of trouble ahead. For the young ladies' sake, I pray that I'm wrong.

Look at it this way…2 years is enough rope for Dean…er, I mean time for Carasone to take over. Maybe she won’t run them off.

Mickey & his magic touch!

She was on there last week. I wonder what happened?

It's coming to life...

Thanks for sharing... that's quite a find. I wonder why he "ran the other way"? He was technically a GA in 2021/22. It seems like the logical progression would be to accept the newly approved paid assistant role. I can't imagine investing a year as a volunteer, then not cashing in on a job. He seems to link rationale to the reason the "3 of 4 best hitters" left.

You’ve just made my case. Dean snatched a 3rd place finish from the jaws of a championship conference schedule. We coasted into 3rd on the team’s talent. He’s not developing the talent beyond their growth prior to coming to the program, excluding pitchers. He should be a pitching coach, nothing more. There’s no offensive development or strategy, beyond a 1st and 3rd play learned in T-ball. If you’re the head coach and don’t excel in areas of offense or defense, surround yourself with a strong support staff that does. The addition of the coach from OU could be good, but somebody put out a Press Release that introduces her and her role at Auburn. Talk about the other coaches while you’re at it. All I’ve read is that she’s been part of a World Series winning program. How does that relate or help Auburn succeed? Be intentional for a change.

I think Carlee got a fair shot at 2B and Roach won that position in the end. Carlee’s tweets are very telling about how Dean has lost the respect of the players. I wonder how the rest of the players that left feel? They have too much to risk to go on record. Same for former hitting coach Ken.

The last day to enter the portal was the 28th, the University has 48 hours to disclose. An athlete has until the first day of class to enroll and sign (Icess signed right before classes in 2022). We shouldn't see any more enter the portal and we can still see some join the team. There was a period between semesters where athletes could transfer, but I *think* that has been eliminated.

A hitting coach or at least a consistent approach must happen. It’s rumored that DJ Gasso is in play.

I don’t see anything happening before the SEC Tournament. Improvements I see at other parks are not necessarily the stadium itself, although I have seen some big ballpark experiences that are nice, like a few luxury boxes or a club level area. The improvements for the players include a pitching/hitting lab, dedicated facilities (meeting rooms, state of the art recovery/training rooms, etc). A comprehensive flow and design for the player is what you need to attract the top talent. I’m curious about the plan Myers had for the facility mentioned on this thread. Maybe we spent all of that on settlements.

Amen

I appreciate Cohen coming to games, traveled to UAT series…President Roberts is coming to games, but I feel like the program is on a holding pattern while Football and Basketball are remedied (morse football). They are finally remodeling the locker room and abating the mold, but that’s it. I don’t want to take away from Baseball, but I’ve heard they are getting new facilities? Plainsman Park is amazing as is. Softball is not getting the mindshare right now. Dean & co are struggling to remain relevant in the sport. None of his peers respect him. He doesn’t use small ball, practices are not efficient, the team doesn’t respect him. The photo shoot might seem minor, but Look at the culture we live in. Living your best life on Instagram is the new metric. I will give he media department credit…they put together tremendous in-season graphics and reels.

Clearly, my source left me underwhelmed. Maybe she had good insight and Lynch changed her plans…who knows. I don’t know if any more visits, let’s hope he does. I also cant’t tell you who visited and if there are offers outstanding. Fingers crossed!

I just double-checked…Dean has Lynch lined up for a visit this week! The LSU thing is just a social media follow. Nothing lost! C’mon Magic Mickey! Lynch would be a great backup to Penta. “I’m Madi Penta”!

C’mon! I thought we had Lynch in the bag! Maybe there’s still a shot?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" She decided to improve her situation, so it's not a downgrade in her eyes. She did great things for us and something was so glaringly wrong in her situation that she decided to leave all of our greatness and move on to another SEC school. As much as we love Auburn as a fantastic school and community, it's not enough to outweigh whatever caused 6 young ladies to move on from the softball program and seek a better opportunity for themselves. And that's just the 6 that possess the courage/ability to make that same decision - how many are stuck? Something's not right. Auburn Tigers that are here and those that have committed to us deserve better.

What kind of message is this sending to Lisenby and Elkins? I get that he's down 2 C's, (Godwin graduated and Blaine hit the portal seeing little time behind the dish), but Dean used Lisenby to a large extent and Elkins was biding her time to get her shot. I'm not sure this was the glaring hole in our D. They have strong bats in non-SEC play.

I thought Lenti retired. Hitting coach Ken didn't accept the job.

Apparently, we're not alone:

I read the full context and she was attacked by someone claiming to be an Auburn fan, questioning her decision and insulting her for doing what was right for her. She'll always be a Tiger and 99% of us have her back. But, when the 1% attack, or someone pretending to be one of us attacks, any one of us would defend ourselves. The 1% tends to be more vocal than the true Auburn fan and has been the reason for the departure of some of the stars from The Plains. I can of a few who list fan criticisms on the boards and social media as the reason for their departure. All I can do is be a louder positive voice than the negative few. Her decision is her business and only she and her family know the real reasons. I wish her the best and support her for doing what's right for her situation.