2Alum4EverVol
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- May 28, 2014
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Fall ball is still about 4 months away and a lot can happen during the upcoming long hot summer months --particularly if you have an astronomical number of eligible players vying for a limited number of available roster slots. Most college softball coaches will be content with fielding a team with 15-17 healthy bodies. UT as of today has 15 returning players in addition to an incoming freshman class of 12. Yes, 12 freshman! That's a pool of total of 27 eligible players to field one softball team. It's large enough to field not one, not two, but three practice squads. The number simply doesn't add up. Something's gotta give. And here's my best educated guess as to who's gonna eventually end up saying a sayonara, not make the final roster and look for the greener pasture somewhere else/do something else. When the dust finally settles, I think the Weeklys will look to cut the final number down to about 20-22 before the season starts. Still very large number for a softball team, but manageable.
Gone from the team:
1-4. Haileigh Norris, Shianne Ybarra, Hannah Devotie & Lauren Irwin: you had your share of great experiences and fun being a lady vol, being in spotlight including a WCWS appearance in OKC. That's more than most softball players can say. That's a memory of lifetime which will serve you well in future. But this is where the bus stops. You don't really add any tangible value beyond being a practice player or an occasional pinch runner or so, the roles several talented new players can more than fill in admirably. We are built for a championship run and chumps gotta go. Bye-bye~
It's a tough call on Lauren Irwin b/c she's a local East TN kid from Seymour, and she simply loves being at UT. She seemed to not only love being a part of the team, but from all appearances she simply cherished the experiences of going to her dream state school. But she'll move on and play at a smaller school and be successful in life.
5. CJ McClain: after losing a starting job to Brooke Vines, I think McClain will look to transfer in spring. I feel bad for CJ. She came into the program highly touted but with some questionable character concerns. The potential for greatness was there within grasp, but the things simply didn't work out for her in the end. The warning signs were present if one looked carefully, however. That dropped ball in SECT championship game which basically cost us the third SECT championship, and her crying in the dugout afterwards are still etched in my mind as unforgettable moments of this past year. Wish her the best moving forward.
That cuts the number down to 22. I think the potential for losing additional one or two even three is still there, but I don't have a crystal ball, and at this point it's such a crapshoot that your guess is as good as mine.
Gone from the team:
1-4. Haileigh Norris, Shianne Ybarra, Hannah Devotie & Lauren Irwin: you had your share of great experiences and fun being a lady vol, being in spotlight including a WCWS appearance in OKC. That's more than most softball players can say. That's a memory of lifetime which will serve you well in future. But this is where the bus stops. You don't really add any tangible value beyond being a practice player or an occasional pinch runner or so, the roles several talented new players can more than fill in admirably. We are built for a championship run and chumps gotta go. Bye-bye~
It's a tough call on Lauren Irwin b/c she's a local East TN kid from Seymour, and she simply loves being at UT. She seemed to not only love being a part of the team, but from all appearances she simply cherished the experiences of going to her dream state school. But she'll move on and play at a smaller school and be successful in life.
5. CJ McClain: after losing a starting job to Brooke Vines, I think McClain will look to transfer in spring. I feel bad for CJ. She came into the program highly touted but with some questionable character concerns. The potential for greatness was there within grasp, but the things simply didn't work out for her in the end. The warning signs were present if one looked carefully, however. That dropped ball in SECT championship game which basically cost us the third SECT championship, and her crying in the dugout afterwards are still etched in my mind as unforgettable moments of this past year. Wish her the best moving forward.
That cuts the number down to 22. I think the potential for losing additional one or two even three is still there, but I don't have a crystal ball, and at this point it's such a crapshoot that your guess is as good as mine.