College softball 2024 preview: Top players and WCWS projections.
The collegiate softball season has officially begun, and the path to the 2024 Women’s collegiate World Series begins now.
This year will be remembered for numerous reasons, including Oklahoma’s desire to make history and the several impact players that transferred in the summer. We will also bid farewell to the Pac-12, the game’s most storied conference, due to realignment.
We asked our collegiate softball specialists to answer some of the game’s most pressing topics. Can the Sooners achieve a four-peat? Which arrivals will have an impact?
They also provided early player of the year picks, WCWS predictions, and suggested sleeper teams to watch. Finally, with the Clearwater Invitational beginning on February 15, they revealed the games they have circled on their calendar.
READ MORE……
What’s the biggest non-Oklahoma storyline in 2024?
Jenny Dalton-Hill: I’m looking into impact transfers across the country. New rosters feature significant names and players. Can these guys, who have won player of the year awards in several conferences, step in and immediately make an impact on their new teams? Does NIL put greater pressure on some players to perform in their new environments? Can they focus on their work or will they read and believe the hype?
Michele Smith: I’m looking forward to seeing how the conference realignments play out once they begin in 2024. Adding BYU, UCF, and Houston to the Big 12 strengthens the conference in 2024 and elevates it to new heights with the looming departure of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC next year. With the arrival of Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State in 2025, the Big 12 will become a dominant conference.
Madison Shipman: I’m curious to see if the teams that have made it to the WCWS in recent years and depended largely on their aces can repeat with fresh pitchers. Alabama lost Montana Fouts; Florida State lost Kathryn Sandercock; Tennessee lost Ashley Rogers; UCLA lost Megan Faraimo and Brooke Yanez; and Northwestern lost Danielle Williams. Who will emerge as the pitching staffs’ new aces?
Amanda Scarborough discusses the Pac-12. This is the last year we will be able to see the most decorated softball conference, with 24 national championships won by five different programmes. We are coming off a year in which UCLA (which has the most national championships with 12) went 0-2 in regionals, Arizona and Arizona State failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament, and Utah, Washington, and Stanford won the Women’s College World Series. I’m interested to see how this year’s conference turns out. Stanford was voted as the Pac-12 favourites in the preseason coaches’ poll for the first time ever, adding to the intrigue of the season.
Leave a Reply