Wabs said:

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I think we're looking pretty good for next year, honestly, What are yall's thoughts on Dee Dee at C? Is C a portal need? I think KK goes to SS, she has good range and speed. The outfield looks ok, but losing a little pop with Allie leaving.

Pitcher - if we can grab a good one, go for it.
First base - good defender with some pop. Mya would be DP, and Amari slides to the OF or 2B
Catcher?

ETA: Forgot about Kowalewski. Can she play 1B? C?

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I think Dee Dee could be the catcher of the future, but I am not convinced she is ready for it next year. I think Ariel K plays one of the other infield spots, not catcher, but I don't know a lot about her. I would like to see a transfer catcher that is a senior or grad student, and has power come in so Dee Dee can continue to learn and get reps before taking over full time.

One has to trust the coaches at catcher. Platooning pitcher/catcher combos doesn't allow the development of a "hitting" catcher, per se. but should develop a continuity between the pairs game to game.

I thought DeeDee did well in the situations given her. I do not recall many PBs and she protected the plate well. We weren't run on very often so...

I didn't see her as a defensive liability and I think she can hit SEC pitching, given the opportunity.
If we don't have the numbers for a portal addition, we are not in any severe troible.

I am a huge fan of DeeDee, as some of you know. The founder of the Unofficial DeeDee Fan Club !!

I think given more chances she could be great. She hit only .211 in 19 AB's (4 RBI's) but I think it was the pressure to prove herself in just a few opportunies that got to her. And Coach PH for her several times when she started, not good for her psychologically.

But we cannot discount incoming freshman catcher Madison Sauni. #5 catcher in the country at one site, #13 at another. Who got the #1 catcher? Why, the sooners, of course! Anyway, she is a power hitter with good numbers. We also have a two-time all state catcher in the 2026 class.

I was one of those who talked about poor hitting from the position all year and I understand the desire to bring in a proven player and hitter at the position but given we might not have too many roster slots open I would put that at #3 on the portal desire list.

Infield. I think Ariel will start somewhere. KP has done well at 3B so do not see her moving but never know. Coaches have talked about KK being the SS of the future and I think that is set. Perhaps Ariel at 2B and Amari at 1B. Or switch those two. I wish we could have seen Larisa more. She could be a great glove and bat. She's a natural 3B but Coach does like to move players around.

Outfield. Almost definitely Kelsey. Probably Frankie. I would liked to have seen Hailey Golden get more AB's. She might be the third outfielder. Same with Scout but I give the nod to Hailey over her. Could be Freshman Ansley Groce - she has good numbers. But I think she is a slapper. I prefer pure hitters to slappers. We DO have two Top 5 (overall) outfielders in the 2026 class - must think about that.

#2 on my 'proven stud' portal wish list by position? OF or IF, I am cool with either.

#1 on the portal wish list? We NEED a dominating pitcher. Not want but NEED. And certainly not one who gives up a lot of free passes.

But first, on our existing pitchers. When discussing players, especially when thinking of a player's high school stats, I often like to think of a phrase used in finance as a disclaimer - past performance is no guarantee of future returns. But I often DO mention a player's HS stats!

Review the following press release from less than a year ago:

https://12thman.com/news/2024/6/17/three-aggies-earn-gatorade-softball-player-of-the-year-honors

In HS they were all dominating pitchers. I was amazed when I read their stats when they signed and even more when I saw the press release above, after their senior seasons. I really looked forward to this past season. I was almost literally salivating when I read their stats. Those are stats of my dreams. But that was HS, not power D1 ball.

Taylor was redshirted, which I thought was great. Lessentine did really well in some non-conference games but about average later on. We have not see much of Munnerlyn but she was average in the times we did see her. IF, and this is a big IF, they can develop and end up with college stats anywhere close to their HS stats I will be really happy. I am really anxious to see what Taylor does. AND, I wonder if our coaches will let Taylor play two ways. She played 1B in HS. Did they even let her have batting practice this year? Or work at 1B? With her hitting stats in HS (.548, 16 HR, 62 RBI senior year) I think it would be a crime not to let her hit and play 1B in practice to see what she can do.

Now to the present - it would be great to grab a proven ace from the portal. NOT another average pitcher.

For many years I have dreamed of having a 'lock down' pitcher. A really low ERA, a sub .150 BAA, an outstanding SO/BB ratio (5:1 or better), one who simply does not give up many free passes but gets a lot of outs. Even a 'closer', who can come in and completely shut down a team for 4-5 innings but really cannot pitch most innings in a weekend, would be grand. I prefer one who throws hard. Like Canady and Pickens. We have been shut down many, many times by pitchers with lower velocities but I still prefer a speedballer.

Not knowing how our three young pitchers will work out, grabbing an experienced and proven dominating ace from the portal is a huge NEED. Again, not yet another average pitcher (Grace) !!! Unfortunately, because of NIL, I do not think we can get a pitcher like Canady. Or Pickens. Or a few other pitchers like that. The 'professional' teams out their simply pay more. A lot more. BUT, I CAN hope that our coaching staff can find one similar who is not motivated by money alone.

On Sidne - she did not get a lot of work because of her injury. She did well in non-conference before getting hurt. She only pitched 7 innings in conference. I have to consider her an unknown because of her limited action although there is promise.

Harley Vestal has entered the portal.

I got on here to ask what sites you guys use to check the portal and to put in the two I look at so far ... and noticed that she has entered the portal. Probably wants to get playing time elsewhere, completely understandable. She got few looks this year. The first in our Freshman class to do so. Wonder if Texas State picks her up, they had success with our players last year. Good luck to her in the future !!

Anyway, I check the following sites as of now. Please let me know what you guys use.


https://d1softball.com/transfer-tracker/

https://www.on3.com/transfer-portal/wire/softball/

frankie00 said:

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Harley Vestal has entered the portal.

I got on here to ask what sites you guys use to check the portal and to put in the two I look at so far ... and noticed that she has entered the portal. Probably wants to get playing time elsewhere, completely understandable. She got few looks this year. The first in our Freshman class to do so. Wonder if Texas State picks her up, they had success with our players last year. Good luck to her in the future !!

Anyway, I check the following sites as of now. Please let me know what you guys use.


https://d1softball.com/transfer-tracker/

https://www.on3.com/transfer-portal/wire/softball/

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Those are the ones I have been looking at as well. A lot of freshmen and sophomores in there now, as you said probably looking for more playing time. I wonder how much NIL money it will take to get Sydney B. from LSU? I think she would make the Aggie pitching staff solid and be a big help.

I also follow @softballportal on twitter

New Mexico State P/UT Desirae Spearman has entered the transfer portal.

The 2024 Conference USA Player of the Year, Spearman owns a career .398 batting average with 38 home runs and 90 RBIS, as well as a 3.38 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 199 innings pitched. pic.twitter.com/rXhVOMosNb

— Justin McLeod (@justfactsmaam) May 21, 2025

Kay pointed out on premium that this player was a former teammate of Lessentine

2024 Four-star pitcher Cambree Creager has entered the transfer portal. I would expect she gets plenty of interest despite her stats from this season. https://t.co/p8WuCbdaHi pic.twitter.com/S3c1cGlpJy

— Brady (@BradyVernon) May 19, 2025

She did not have good numbers as a freshman at ASU but she is from Georgetown and played for the Bombers. All State 3 times. So I am keeping an eye in where she lands

Boozer92 said:

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2024 Four-star pitcher Cambree Creager has entered the transfer portal. I would expect she gets plenty of interest despite her stats from this season. https://t.co/p8WuCbdaHi pic.twitter.com/S3c1cGlpJy

— Brady (@BradyVernon) May 19, 2025

She did not have good numbers as a freshman at ASU but she is from Georgetown and played for the Bombers. All State 3 times. So I am keeping an eye in where she lands

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I think both Desirae Spearman and Cambree Creager will get lots of offers. Especially Desirae, with her numbers on the mound and at the plate. The ON3 site is highlighting her.

Looking at the roster page for Desirae. Noted the following: "...launched two home runs while allowing just one run across seven innings in a win over Liberty (4/20)"

https://nmstatesports.com/sports/softball/roster/desirae-spearman/10371

Would also be interested to see if Ford and co had any part of getting her to ASU, and if so would she want to come play for them? Kind of like a Jazz Hill/ Savannah Price situation. I know the rules changed to where they can't recruit until Jr year of HS but I feel like they still talk at younger ages. If my math is right her Jr year would have been Ford's first year at A&M.

This pitcher will get a ton of offers:

The 2025 NCAA strikeout leader has entered the transfer portal. Belmont ace Maya Johnson will be on the free market with one year of eligibility remaining.

Johnson, a Softball America All-American, led Belmont to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The lefty had a 1.52 ERA with a 24-6 record and 366 strikeouts with wins over Arizona State and Georgia Tech. Johnson expects to have major interest from Power Four teams. [BB only 22 !!]

https://d1softball.com/player/1632545/maya-johnson/

Excellent assessment on all points, especially regarding the dominant pitcher!

Thank you. I do tend to write a bit too much at times but I am very passionate about Aggie softball. I think about the team a LOT and sometimes I just start writing down my thoughts and a lot comes out!

So my guess is she ends up at Tech or OU bc they seem to spend the most on softball pitchers.

Berzon was a cancer on the LSU team. The coaching staff aren't upset with her leaving. She cost us as many games and she won this year.

That's interesting to know. Would a change of scenery help, or is that just her personality?

Kylei Griffin is in the portal. She was a backup her whole career, with a low BA, and would not have started. I always wondered why we picked her up. As with Harley I understand her leaving. Will open up an IF spot for us. I hope they both find places they like, get to start and do well there!

With Kylie (IF) and Harley (OF) leaving we are down to 21 on the roster. IF the coaches want to keep the roster at 25 means 4 spots open. I think one MUST BE the absolute best experienced and proven starting pitcher they can find and afford.

Listed remaining roster at IF and OF below. Roughly sorted by playing time and (my guess) probability of starting at this time (future transfers will certainly change this!). I would go with Larisa Perez as the top backup for IF with Hailey Golden being my guess at filling the open spot in OF. Note that Reagan Jones was in the first game last year, was injured and out for the season, and I do not think made a single appearance this year. I think the coaches might bring in 2 IF from the portal because, IMHO, a team needs at least 8 at the IF position and Reagan is practically an unknown. But, Frankie CAN play IF needed. We also have a couple of very highly-rated OF'ers committed in 2026 (although they can always change their mind!).


Kennedy Powell - Infield
Amari Harper - Infield
KK Dement - Infield
Ariel Kowalewski - Infield (Redshirt)

Larisa Perez - Infield
Reagan Jones - Infield (Redshirt)
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Frankie Vrazel - Outfield (came in as UTL)
Kelsey Mathis - Outfield

Hailey Golden - Outfield
Annsley Groce - Outfield
Scout Lovell - Outfield (came in as INF)
Piper White - Outfield (Utility)

LB12Diamond said:

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So my guess is she ends up at Tech or OU bc they seem to spend the most on softball pitchers.

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It paid off for Tech. They just advanced to their 1st World Series ever, largely thanks to the ace pitcher they paid for.

frankie00 said:

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I think one MUST BE the absolute best experienced and proven starting pitcher they can find and afford.

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I am fascinated to see how this metric evolves over the next couple of years in the new financial era. We've had to deal with roster and scholarship limits but now how much you choose to pay one player or position group can alter the rest of your team.

I'm not sure if I'm going to like all the repercussions but I am fascinated by the process.

I almost wrote it this way, "they can find ... and afford."

It is sad that I had to add the 'and afford' part but that's the way it is.

As you mentioned, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the years and with some type of salary cap enforced deciding who to pay what will be really important. Colleges DO do the same now in a way in deciding who gets scholarships and what fraction of one. But whatever is decided it has to be as fair as possible.

I often mention the Yankees. They literally bought the best players available every year and won a ton of championships because of it. OU is a good softball example of that now. Well, they do have good coaches and scouts, too, but having a ton of money certainly helps!

AnotherOldAgDad said:

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frankie00 said:

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I think one MUST BE the absolute best experienced and proven starting pitcher they can find and afford.

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I am fascinated to see how this metric evolves over the next couple of years in the new financial era. We've had to deal with roster and scholarship limits but now how much you choose to pay one player or position group can alter the rest of your team.

I'm not sure if I'm going to like all the repercussions but I am fascinated by the process.

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You can add NIL on top of the rev share. Structuring the NIL like most collective deals have been isn't going to fly, but I'm sure if the program can put together some significant corporate sponsors, they can make a sizable deal that will be approved.

Clemson needs a single.

damn
2nd and 3rd with no outs and the Tigers can't close it out.

2nd and 3rd. No outs. No runs.

Can-o-corn

Odd that baseball has adopted the safety bag that I associate with rec softball, and the automatic no-pitch intentional walk. Meanwhile, neither adopted by NCAA softball...

RED AG 98 said:

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Odd that baseball has adopted the safety bag that I associate with rec softball, and the automatic no-pitch intentional walk. Meanwhile, neither adopted by NCAA softball...

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yep

I was just thinking that NCAA softball is more baseball than baseball

maxag42 said:

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Umps cheating in the tu-Clemson game. Upheld a call that was so obviously not the right call.

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tu cheating? No way.....