Quite a bit of information comes across the desk of National College Softball Editor Justin McLeod- that’s me. The Dugout Digest is my column where I share everything from coaching scoops to spotlight articles to recommended reading material.
Today’s edition of the Digest includes a look back at the year that was. Let’s talk favorite stories, mileage counts, and the things that went right this year.
As per usual, with comments or questions (for a future mailbag or just in general), you can send me an email: justin@extrainningsoftball.com. As long as I see your email, you’ll get a reply.
Now, onward.
Let’s start with the stories
This year, I wrote some of my favorite stories ever. Getting to tell a good story is easily the best part of my job and I got to tell some really, really awesome ones. This one about FAU’s Riley Ennis and her team helping her family recover after Hurricane Ian and this one about an anonymous bidder who became an integral part of the Louisiana-Monroe program were two of my very favorites. One thing that makes a story for me, even before I write and publish it, is often the look in someone’s eye during an interview. Both of these stories had that; I’ll remember both for quite a while.
I’m also really proud of my Fall Profile Series. This year, four coaches got the spotlight. FAU’s Taylor Smartt, Austin Peay’s Kassie Stanfill, Liberty’s Kasey Fagan, and UCF’s Kaija Gibson all sat down with me and trusted me to tell their stories and bring an inside look at them to the world. Originally intended as a fall feature only, I had so much fun writing the series that there will be a new set of spotlights this spring. Really excited for that – the subjects are known, but I’m not ready to roll out that list quite yet. I chose some players as well as coaches for this round.
Another thing that I’m proud of this year is the introduction of The Golden Mics and the Softball SID awards. As college softball continues to grow, the people who work behind the scenes deserve to be spotlighted for their efforts in aiding that growth. Even though broadcasters wear microphones and are in front of the camera, the softball broadcasting industry isn’t nearly as well-known or as highlighted as in other sports. We’re working to change that and The Golden Mics is part of that effort. The Golden Mic trophies being presented to the winners are pretty solid, too, if I do say so myself.
A brief interlude
One question that I’ve been asked more than any other this year is whether I’m happy that I made the move to Extra Inning Softball and gave up the gig that most people know me for (“Justin’s World of Softball”). I’m busier now than ever – including when I ran my own show – so that might seem like it would be a factor in my answer. It isn’t; the answer is unequivocally yes. One of the biggest things this move has done is allowed me the time and the brain power to publish better content than I ever have before. Developing concepts like the Golden Mics is another thing on my list of positives this year.
Onto the mileage log…
Unfortunately for those who keep up with my Dr. Pepper intake, I didn’t log all of my consumption of the 23 flavors. I’ll try to be better about that next year.
One number that I do have, though, is my mileage log. This year, I traveled to and through twenty states. I took three flights – to Maryland, Arizona, and California – and drove everywhere else.
The final mileage checks in at 16,226. By far the most I’ve ever traveled in one year since I started covering college softball, it’s shaping up like we could get close to that number again in 2023. Time will tell.
What we did right
There was no airing of grievances column on Christmas Eve-Eve. Blame your resident college softball editor for the oversight.
Instead, we’re going to go in the other direction and highlight a few of the things that we did right in the sport of softball in 2022.
For starters, let’s actually go outside the realm of college softball and step into the pro game for a brief moment. When the WPF announced their formation, I had my doubts. I still have many of those same doubts, especially given some of people in leadership positions for the entity, but the WPF did something right in their early goings. Initially intended to play as a professional league, when the WPF realized they had only two teams, they did the smart thing and formed an exhibition, barn-storming tour instead.
Why is that important? For years, the NPF – now defunct, for many reasons – put their ego in front of all else and that professional league suffered for it. The WPF took a different approach; instead of “if you build it, they will come”, the WPF’s mantra seemed to adapt into more of “take your product to the people”. For my money, it worked – the WPF’s product was as good as anything I’ve seen in professional softball across the last decade and it was presented as well or better on the same scale.
Back to college softball for some more awarding of kudos.
Parity in college softball is often discussed, but rarely understood. This year, that parity looked superb. Five unseeded teams reached the Super Regional round in the NCAA tournament, meaning five top-16 seeds lost at home in the tournament’s opening round. Some people didn’t like the fact that many of the NCAA tournament’s bubble spots were filled by Power 5 and AAC teams and felt like mid-major programs weren’t given proper consideration. While I can debate certain programs’ inclusion or exclusion in the tournament field itself, an overarching bias was something I did not see.
In fact, that’s another positive that should be noted – last season’s (2022) NCAA tournament field might be the best job the NCAA softball committee has done in recent memory. Putting my personal opinions on certain teams aside, the committee’s logic and reasoning was as solid and consistent as it’s ever been.
A final thumbs up to Jocelyn Alo, who proved herself to be a bonafide superstar in the sport of softball and in college athletics in general. Alo made herself a household name during her home run record chase and she admirably and impressively took on the role of the sport’s best ambassador. It would have been easy and simple for Alo to crack under the attention and pressure that was on her during her record chase, or even after she set the new record and began to add to it. But she didn’t and, in fact, she thrived in the role.
Perhaps not since the days of the 2004 and ’08 Olympic teams have young softball players had a single individual who could stand atop every one’s list of heroines. Alo fits that bill – and, to the sport’s good fortune, she’s around the softball scene for a while longer.
