Softball 2023-24 Offseason & Recruiting Thread

[wmsau 63]

It seems to be extremely silent on the AU Softball front. I hope our coaches are out recruiting and working the portal everyday. I seem to see and/or hear a lot of action relative to incoming players with our competition, yet nothing from the AU front. I'm hopeful of good news, when we get further news. As of now, the only news we've received in out-going players. If any of you have applicable information, hopefully, it will be shared here. War Eagle!

[Mikey 16,638]

4 hours ago, wmsau said:

It seems to be extremely silent on the AU Softball front. I hope our coaches are out recruiting and working the portal everyday. I seem to see and/or hear a lot of action relative to incoming players with our competition, yet nothing from the AU front. I'm hopeful of good news, when we get further news. As of now, the only news we've received in out-going players. If any of you have applicable information, hopefully, it will be shared here. War Eagle!

In this case, I'm afraid the adage "No news is good news" doesn't apply.

[TigerPAC 967]

OK ace P Jordy Dahl transfers to Nebraska.  She is a 2-time All American. Wonder what the story or reasoning?

[Gowebb11 9,339]

7 hours ago, TigerPAC said:

OK ace P Jordy Dahl transfers to Nebraska.  She is a 2-time All American. Wonder what the story or reasoning?

She’s from a small Nebraska town. After winning 2 straight titles at OU, maybe she wants to close things out in her home state closer to home. 

[AUSRB 25]

There are a lot of good players in the portal.  NIL and a chance to play on a contending team will play a big role on where these players go.  Im afraid we are down in the pecking order when it comes to getting elite players from the portal.  However, I think we will get a couple of good players  that can really help this team.  Kelly Lynch who was a one time Auburn commit is in the portal and would be an excellent replacement for Brie Ellis at first base and is a really good pitcher.  She is a Washington graduate transfer and is from Georgia I hope Auburn is trying to get her.  It’s hard to get any reliable information because no one wants these things public until it’s a done deal.

[Golden Eagle 370]

4 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

She’s from a small Nebraska town. After winning 2 straight titles at OU, maybe she wants to close things out in her home state closer to home. 

That is exactly what she said in her statement announcing her transfer decision.  From Sports Illustrated story:

Bahl did not name any potential transfer destinations at this time. The 2020-21 Gatorade National Player of the Year at Papillion-LaVista High School in Nebraska, she originally committed to the University of Nebraska before changing her mind and enrolling at Oklahoma.

“I have decided to return home and play the game I love, closer to the things that have made me who I am and that have always been more important to me than this game,” Bahl wrote in a statement on Twitter. “For the last two years, despite the amazing opportunities and accomplishments, my love for home and the acknowledgement of my foundation have grown. Being away from these things has been very tough.”

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso released a statement thanking Bahl for her two seasons with the Sooners.

“Jordy shared with our staff last Friday that she has been feeling a strong need to be closer to home for quite some time and that she planned to enter the transfer portal,” Gasso wrote. “It was a very candid and emotional conversation in which we both communicated our love and appreciation for each other. We are grateful for her two years with our program and for everything she accomplished.”

Bahl posted a 22-1 record with a 0.90 ERA this season.

[Big Fat Barner 143]

I really really would like to pick up at least three transfers this offseason. There is a ton of talent in the portal and I think it would be great to pick up a catcher, an infielder (or two) and an outfielder. This is Penta and Lowe’s last season, we need some transfers to contend. Please do not let Dean whiff on the portal again this offseason. 

[RedDirtFan 39]

I think our best bet in the portal is a few relatively unknown hidden gems from mid-majors: P, C, 3B and Clean up. This is a very tough recruiting job.

I think Dean can develop Rolfe as he did Penta. Hopefully, Widra and Trezvik will come along under his guidance, although Tresvik is content to hit and play OF. Don't we have a pitcher coming in the next class? Why not double down on the players recruited?

Jody left for mental health reasons and already had NE lined up when she hit the portal. OU is a pressure cooker and The Chef is hard on those young ladies. It gets results, so it's hard to argue that the pressure is unwarranted, but it's not for everybody.

Lynch de-committed from Auburn when Myers left...she probably left for 1 of 3 reasons:

1. Myers was gone and Washington was opportunistic,
2. The program was in damage control mode after a meltdown and still too radioactive to bet your future on
   1. Dean is dealing with a mess after the surprise departures of 3 1/2 starters with eligibility (Bryant, Garcia, Ellis, Blaine was a strong contributor (1/2), Garcia could have stayed and pursued a grad program at AU; McCondichie and Engelkes were done, so I don't count them). 
3.   She didn't care for Dean
   1. This persists, but I'm not sure of the timing. This was likely a non-issue because he was interim for a period prior to being named HC. Nonetheless, Dean is an acquired taste.

If I'm a 5th year, I'm playing with house money and 1 year for a flyer. I'm going to bet on somebody that has good odds to get me back to OKC. I love the Tigers, but being honest with myself, we're longer odds to go to OKC next year than some other programs that need pitchers.

[Big Fat Barner 143]

There are sooo many quality catchers in the portal, so I think we could even pull off getting one from a power five (but I don’t think Dean will because he isn’t very fond of the portal😒). I am not sure what the reply above is implying, but you cannot succeed in college softball without utilizing the transfer portal; while “doubling down” on incoming freshmen and the backups from last season is easy to say, it is not easy to do. And it has honestly what Dean has done in his tenure at Auburn and it obviously has not work. The portal is the future of this sport, unfortunately. I don’t understand the lack of urgency behind Dean, he needs to be focusing solely on next year’s team in my opinion. 

[Golden Eagle 370]

11 minutes ago, Big Fat Barner said:

There are sooo many quality catchers in the portal, so I think we could even pull off getting one from a power five (but I don’t think Dean will because he isn’t very fond of the portal😒). I am not sure what the reply above is implying, but you cannot succeed in college softball without utilizing the transfer portal; while “doubling down” on incoming freshmen and the backups from last season is easy to say, it is not easy to do. And it has honestly what Dean has done in his tenure at Auburn and it obviously has not work. The portal is the future of this sport, unfortunately. I don’t understand the lack of urgency behind Dean, he needs to be focusing solely on next year’s team in my opinion. 

Don't know why you claim Dean "isn't very fond of the portal".  He picked up 3 portal players this time last year who all contributed this year - pitcher Annabelle Widra (from Michigan), outfielder/pitcher Icess Tresvik (from NC A&T),  and outfielder KK McCrary (from Tennessee). 

Softball has the same challenge baseball has - NCAA rules only allow 12 'equivalent' scholarships (which means partial scholarships can be awarded to more than 12 players).  Cost for AL residents to attend AU per year (tuition and fees only) is over $12k/year and for out-of-state students it's over $32K.  If you want to get top players from the portal you need NIL $$$ to, at a minimum, cover out-of-pocket cost of attending AU.  If you want to encourage Dean to shop the portal, send a check to OTV marked for softball...

[Big Fat Barner 143]

2 hours ago, Golden Eagle said:

Don't know why you claim Dean "isn't very fond of the portal".  He picked up 3 portal players this time last year who all contributed this year - pitcher Annabelle Widra (from Michigan), outfielder/pitcher Icess Tresvik (from NC A&T),  and outfielder KK McCrary (from Tennessee). 

Softball has the same challenge baseball has - NCAA rules only allow 12 'equivalent' scholarships (which means partial scholarships can be awarded to more than 12 players).  Cost for AL residents to attend AU per year (tuition and fees only) is over $12k/year and for out-of-state students it's over $32K.  If you want to get top players from the portal you need NIL $$$ to, at a minimum, cover out-of-pocket cost of attending AU.  If you want to encourage Dean to shop the portal, send a check to OTV marked for softball...

Dean has picked up 7 people from the portal in his 6 years at Auburn. 4 of them pitched. Only 2 of them came from power five teams. And only 1 of them have held a batting average over .300. 7 in 6 years doesn’t scream “fond of the portal.” I have sent money to OTV for softball!!😭 hoping it will bring in some transfers. But let’s be totally real:

I understand these are student-athletes, but Dean has to treat this team like he is their coach and not their friend/father. There are a multitude of players on the team who have practically no impact in our success. There are people out in the portal that can help us WIN. that should be the upmost importance for Dean. If that means bringing in transfers and giving them scholarships thus taking away scholarships from the pinch runners, backups, and struggling starters, so be it. This is why Gasso succeeds, she treats it like a business  

Need I remind you of the returners’ statline:

(conference/overall)

Peralta - (.299/.329) 🐐

Packer - (.240/.307) 

McCrary - (.222/.260)

Tresvik - (.173/.234)

Lisenby - (.278/.234)

Roach - (.214/.245)

Everyone else hits .000 in conference (except Roberts/Cox - both .250 in four ABs).

I love all of these girls, but we need hitters. Period.

 

[RedDirtFan 39]

11 hours ago, Big Fat Barner said:

Dean has picked up 7 people from the portal in his 6 years at Auburn. 4 of them pitched. Only 2 of them came from power five teams. And only 1 of them have held a batting average over .300. 7 in 6 years doesn’t scream “fond of the portal.” I have sent money to OTV for softball!!😭 hoping it will bring in some transfers. But let’s be totally real:

I understand these are student-athletes, but Dean has to treat this team like he is their coach and not their friend/father. There are a multitude of players on the team who have practically no impact in our success. There are people out in the portal that can help us WIN. that should be the upmost importance for Dean. If that means bringing in transfers and giving them scholarships thus taking away scholarships from the pinch runners, backups, and struggling starters, so be it. This is why Gasso succeeds, she treats it like a business  

Need I remind you of the returners’ statline:

(conference/overall)

Peralta - (.299/.329) 🐐

Packer - (.240/.307) 

McCrary - (.222/.260)

Tresvik - (.173/.234)

Lisenby - (.278/.234)

Roach - (.214/.245)

Everyone else hits .000 in conference (except Roberts/Cox - both .250 in four ABs).

I love all of these girls, but we need hitters. Period.

 

Great points, especially about players not contributing. Why is that a thing or even tolerated? If the coaches can’t motivate them, can’t the players pick them up? Doesn’t it mean something to put on the jersey?

Even a marginal coach knows better than to ask/tell a player to hit the bricks. Some make it miserable and I think Dean has tried that. So is more miserable only marginally so? Auburn’s a great place, but it’s not worth living in misery. 

Dean’s not playing the friend role, except for a few. 

I don’t think Dean is a fan of the portal because it doesn’t suit him. He has had limited success and the hidden gems are hard to find. So, I think he is better suited to double down on who he’s recruited…not doing so would be admitting that he failed, which also doesn’t suit him.

Until he treats it like a business, Dean can phone in the numbers and continue to be successful, but this won’t be a top tier program and maybe that’s OK. I’m not OK with moderate success, but I’m just a donor. I hate to say it, but Cohen is addressing bigger problems at the moment and it might be a few seasons before the inspection shines on The Jane. 

[TigerPAC 967]

i am a fan of AU softball but don't follow recruiting like i do in football, baseball, and gymnastics.  curious....the recently named 7A player of the year from Fairhope:  did we recruit her?  did she just want to be close to home (going to USA)?  i have no idea, just wondering.  tia

[Jad0003 411]

I wouldn’t say Dean isn’t fond of the portal either. He didn’t pick up anyone in 2018 or in 2022, but he has picked up at least 1 player every other year. We haven’t been able to pick up as high-profile transfers as some of the big softball schools though. We haven’t always been able to match the production level of the players transferring out either.

The portal has been a little slower this year in terms of quality talent. Luckily for Auburn, we do not need another pitcher as a lot of schools are competing for the limited number of quality pitchers in the portal. I do think we need another catcher plus another IF, OF, and / or UT player. There a few good catchers in the portal - Kauf (GT), Gordon (Louisville), Hudson (Liberty), Owen (Marshall), Nugent (Oklahoma). Roe (Florida) can also player catcher and infield. In terms of the other positions, Kotzelnik (ULL, IF), Popelka (Texas, OF), Beautate (Tennessee, IF), Otis (Louisville, OF), Mitchell (ND, IF). I’m not sure if Auburn is interested in any of these players or if any other players have visited, but these players caught my eye.

I’m not sure of the likelihood, but players can always return to the team too. In Phillip Marshall’s post on the subject, he claimed Dean would welcome them back if they did not find a home.  

Edited June 14, 2023 by Jad0003

[Big Fat Barner 143]

21 hours ago, Jad0003 said:

I wouldn’t say Dean isn’t fond of the portal either. He didn’t pick up anyone in 2018 or in 2022, but he has picked up at least 1 player every other year. We haven’t been able to pick up as high-profile transfers as some of the big softball schools though. We haven’t always been able to match the production level of the players transferring out either.

The portal has been a little slower this year in terms of quality talent. Luckily for Auburn, we do not need another pitcher as a lot of schools are competing for the limited number of quality pitchers in the portal. I do think we need another catcher plus another IF, OF, and / or UT player. There a few good catchers in the portal - Kauf (GT), Gordon (Louisville), Hudson (Liberty), Owen (Marshall), Nugent (Oklahoma). Roe (Florida) can also player catcher and infield. In terms of the other positions, Kotzelnik (ULL, IF), Popelka (Texas, OF), Beautate (Tennessee, IF), Otis (Louisville, OF), Mitchell (ND, IF). I’m not sure if Auburn is interested in any of these players or if any other players have visited, but these players caught my eye.

I’m not sure of the likelihood, but players can always return to the team too. In Phillip Marshall’s post on the subject, he claimed Dean would welcome them back if they did not find a home.  

Dean would have be dumb to be uninterested in the following portal players. 
I guess my opinion on Dean in the portal is that he picks up a player each year, but can never get the big fish (or even the medium fish) to buy into the auburn softball program. I look at someone like Courtney Deifil who somehow manages to get a plethora of GOOD transfers to go to ARKANSAS, a team who historically, isn’t better than auburn. I just think Dean isn’t cut out for the portal life as a coach. Which is a problem. 

[AUSRB 25]

1 hour ago, Big Fat Barner said:

Dean would have be dumb to be uninterested in the following portal players. 
I guess my opinion on Dean in the portal is that he picks up a player each year, but can never get the big fish (or even the medium fish) to buy into the auburn softball program. I look at someone like Courtney Deifil who somehow manages to get a plethora of GOOD transfers to go to ARKANSAS, a team who historically, isn’t better than auburn. I just think Dean isn’t cut out for the portal life as a coach. Which is a problem. 

I agree Dean needs to make a splash in the portal.  So far he’s brought in some players that have helped but haven’t been difference makers.  We have some real needs going into next season and the portal is the only way to fill them.  So I think we find out for sure this summer whether Dean is cut out for recruiting in the portal.  I hope he is.

[RedDirtFan 39]

On 6/14/2023 at 2:38 PM, Jad0003 said:

I wouldn’t say Dean isn’t fond of the portal either. He didn’t pick up anyone in 2018 or in 2022, but he has picked up at least 1 player every other year. We haven’t been able to pick up as high-profile transfers as some of the big softball schools though. We haven’t always been able to match the production level of the players transferring out either.

The portal has been a little slower this year in terms of quality talent. Luckily for Auburn, we do not need another pitcher as a lot of schools are competing for the limited number of quality pitchers in the portal. I do think we need another catcher plus another IF, OF, and / or UT player. There a few good catchers in the portal - Kauf (GT), Gordon (Louisville), Hudson (Liberty), Owen (Marshall), Nugent (Oklahoma). Roe (Florida) can also player catcher and infield. In terms of the other positions, Kotzelnik (ULL, IF), Popelka (Texas, OF), Beautate (Tennessee, IF), Otis (Louisville, OF), Mitchell (ND, IF). I’m not sure if Auburn is interested in any of these players or if any other players have visited, but these players caught my eye.

I’m not sure of the likelihood, but players can always return to the team too. In Phillip Marshall’s post on the subject, he claimed Dean would welcome them back if they did not find a home.  

I would advise against returning from the portal. I've always advised any of the people that I mentor NOT to take the counteroffer after you've turned in your resignation. You'll always be known as the person who quit on them, doesn't buy into the mission, and will bear the mark of the one that was willing to leave. Publicly, Dean would welcome them back, but their life would be more miserable than when they decided to leave.

[Big Fat Barner 143]

22 hours ago, RedDirtFan said:

I would advise against returning from the portal. I've always advised any of the people that I mentor NOT to take the counteroffer after you've turned in your resignation. You'll always be known as the person who quit on them, doesn't buy into the mission, and will bear the mark of the one that was willing to leave. Publicly, Dean would welcome them back, but their life would be more miserable than when they decided to leave.

Yes. I do not get this. I know they are all friends but the transfer would basically be saying “hey i know i quit on y’all, but i decided to come back once nobody else offered me more money”

[AUBwins 10,075]

At least we can still follow her easily on SEC+.  Gosh I'm going to miss her.  Proud of her. She'll be amazing there. 

[blakem 296]

I’m kinda shocked because I honestly thought she was trying to get closer to home. Technically she did get closer to home but Fayetteville is still over 8 hours from Houston and only an hour and a half closer than coming to AU. I hate we’ll have to face her…

[AUBwins 10,075]

5 minutes ago, blakem said:

I’m kinda shocked because I honestly thought she was trying to get closer to home. Technically she did get closer to home but Fayetteville is still over 8 hours from Houston and only an hour and a half closer than coming to AU. I hate we’ll have to face her…

I like being able to follow her easily but definitely hate facing her with a staff that can coach hitting.  Yikes! I think she pushes 25 HRs next year

[Big Fat Barner 143]

Bri Ellis going to Arkansas just proves she wants to win games. Not be closer to home; Only an hour closer to home. This blows because it basically means she has no trust in our staff to take her to the next level of postseason softball which we all knew they were not capable of. This sucks. 

[Mikey 16,638]

1 hour ago, AUBwins said:

At least we can still follow her easily on SEC+.  Gosh I'm going to miss her.  Proud of her. She'll be amazing there. 

She was amazing at Auburn. This is not good. Kids who weren't doing well looking for a fresh start is one thing. Established stars leaving because they don't like what's going on here is a totally different story. I'm disappointed, to say the least.

[Big Fat Barner 143]

Dean better get off his ass and recruit some transfers now. Dude needs to realize that this 2024 team will not succeed without transfers 

[Big Fat Barner 143]

Never thought i would see the day where Auburn would lose their star hitter to ARKANSAS. just shows you the direction that Dean is sending this program too.