The number of summer league offerings in college softball will soon double with the recently-announced formation of the Sunflower College Summer Softball League, which is set to debut in 2022.
Details about the new summer league were released in a press conference on Monday. Casey Walkup, who previously served as commissioner of a similar baseball league, made the announcement and will serve in the role of commissioner for the new league.
According to details released at the press conference, the Sunflower Softball League will consist of a 4-week summer season that will take place from June 17th-July 17th. The league anticipates fielding a six-team league with individual rosters of 16 players, with nearly 100 softball student-athletes taking part.
League games will be played in the midwestern part of the US, namely in the Wichita, Kansas area.
Game format was also noted in a league press release, namely that “[the] SSL plans a mixture of single-game and doubleheader formats, with all teams participating in a weekly showcase on Saturdays at Wilkins Stadium on the [Wichita State] campus.”
Only one summer softball league – the Florida Gulf Coast League in Bradenton, Florida – currently exists that offers a consistent work-product. Walkup noted a desire to bring collegiate summer softball to the Midwest.
“The country is saturated with summer baseball leagues,” Walkup said. “However, in softball, currently only one established league exists, and it resides in Florida. This is an opportunity for young women in our region to compete throughout the summer, and an opportunity for South Central Kansas communities to support women’s sports as well.”
