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In two weeks, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, Extra Inning Softball will begin what has become an annual tradition: we’ll launch our countdown of the 2022 Top 15 Stories of the Year.
We will start our retrospective review that weekend with Story #15 and finish on Saturday, December 31st (New Year’s Eve day) with the #1 Story of the Year. On New Year’s Day–January 1, 2023–we’ll wrap up the series with our listing of all 15 stories and add 10 more that were considered.
We would love to get YOUR opinion on what you think will have been the most impactful, surprising, shocking, inspiring, funny or interesting stories in fastpitch softball from January 1, 2022 til now!
Let us know what you think—email your opinions and ideas to: [email protected] by Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022 @ 5 pm EST.
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Let’s look back on the last four years and list the stories that we felt were most impactful then… do you agree?
For 2021, here were our Top 15 Softball Stories of the Year as we counted down from #15 to #1 (click on link to read):
- #15… Ty’Liyah Hardeman Foregoes Playing for Bethune Cookman to Support Family after Mom Dies, Now at Kennesaw State
- #14… Dakota Wagner Promotes Tourette Syndrome Awareness Through Her Successes On & Off the Field
- #13… Sara Goodrum, the Trailblazing Former Oregon Duck Softball Player, Makes History in the MLB Ranks
- #12… USA U-18 Team Goes Undefeated in International Play This Fall (& Valerie Cagle Leads the Way!)
- #11… Women’s College World Series Expands & Explodes in TV Rankings Thanks to Great Teams, Games & Storylines
- #10… James Madison’s Cinderella Run & Odicci Alexander Wears the Slipper
- #9… Avery Flatford Signs with Tennessee Tech… While Dealing with Cystic Fibrosis
- #8… The Pro League Status in Softball, Ongoing Developments Both Good & Bad
- #7… College Coaching Legends Retire
- #6… Oklahoma Sooner Domination, Team-Wise & Individually
- #5… The Transfer Portal
- #4… COVID’s Impact Continues
- #3… The NIL Factor (& Montana Fouts Popularity)
- #2… The Olympics Return (But with a Twist)
- #1… College Conference Realignments
For 2020, here were our Top 15 Softball Stories of the Year as we counted down from #15 to #1 (click on link to read):
- #15… NCAA Allows College Athletes to Be Compensated for “Their Name, Image & Likeness”
- #14… The Emotional Tribute for Texas Tech Signee Jaycee Hamlin
- #13… Two USC Union College Teammates Killed in Car Accident by Drunk Driver
- #12… USA Stand Beside Her Tour… Great Start for Team USA’s Barnstorming Event
- #11… The Scrap Yard Dawgs Tweet Controversy & the Quick Dissolution of the Pro Team
- #10… Maggie Bowle’s Softball Career Was Short… but Her Legacy Lives On
- #9… The Explosive Growth & Impact of AthletesGoLive
- #8… How Softball Recruiting Morphed in the Year of the Coronavirus Pandemic
- #7… Athletes Unlimited’s New Pro Model
- #6… The Florida Gulf Coast League – A Big Success in Season #1
- #5… The Alliance Fastpitch Creation Adds New Dynamic to Travel Ball
- #4… PGF & Perfect Game Partner to Create “PG Softball”
- #3… NCAA Grants Extra Year of Eligibility
- #2… The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games Postponed to 2021
- #1… COVID-19 Devastates the World (& Softball Feels It Too)
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For 2019, here were our Top 15 Softball Stories of the Year as we counted down from #15 to #1 (click on link to read):
- #15… Team USA Dominates Summer Competition… with One Exception
- #14… USA Softball’s 2020 Stand Beside Her Tour… Taking the Brand Nationwide
- #13… Sam Show’s Bat Flips – & Clutch Performances – Light Up the 2019 Season
- #12… National High School Player of the Year Sydney Supple Spearheads Hometown Field of Dreams
- #11… Busy Year for the NPF Including USSSA Pride Out & CA Commotion In
- #10… PGF Nationals Celebrates 10 Years with Barnburner Finishes
- #9… Coaches Accused of Abuse by Players at Power 5 Colleges
- #8… Mark Campbell’s Death Stuns Club & High School Softball World
- #7… September 1 Becomes a Special Day in Recruiting (Again)
- #6… 2020 Tokyo Olympic Field of Six Finalized
- #5… Geri Ann Glasco Dies in Car Accident… Softball Community Mourns, Rallies Behind Glasco Family
- #4… UCLA Back on Top with WCWS Title, Rachel Garcia Repeats as National Player of the Year
- #3… Softball Out at 2024 Paris Olympics
- #2… USA Olympic Team Selected for 2020 Tokyo Games
- #1… Transfer Portal Impacts Softball at Multiple Levels!
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For 2018, here were our Top 15 Softball Stories of the Year as we counted down from #15 to #1 (click on link to read):
- #15… Alexia Carrasquillo: The Shot Heard Round the Recruiting World
- #14… Ashley Rogers Overcomes Tragedy to Become National Player of the Year
- #13… High School Senior Sydney Supple Approaching $100K To Build Hometown Field of Dreams
- #12… NFCA’s StrikeOut Cancer Initiative Provides Unity & Half Million-Plus For Research
- #11… There’s Rage in Them Cajuns…. Michael Lotief Firing at ULL Sparks Pushback from Coach & Players
- #10… Controversy at TC/USA Nationals As Championship Team Disqualified
- #9… Mike Stith Wins Club Title & Pro Championship In Same Season
- #8… Team USA Looks Unstoppable Heading Towards 2020 Olympics
- #7… The South Shall Rise Again (Is The West No Longer The Dominant Region?)
- #6… On-Campus Shootings; The Softball World Also Affected
- #5… MSU’s Alex Wilcox Cancer Death Sparks Movement of Support
- #4… Jesse Warren-Led Florida State Makes National Splash
- #3… DI Transfer Mania–Even All-Americans on The Move
- #2… College Coaching Carousel
- #1… Early Recruiting Rules Changes Everything
Finally, any good stories we missed?
Even if yours doesn’t make our Top 15 list, we could still do a feature on it! Send any ideas to: [email protected].