But she’s competitive outside the conference. Recruiting players with a “good package” but not a full ride. My stepdaughter was a pretty accomplished pitcher for her softball team. Her dream college was a private school (Austin College) near Sherman, TX. They don’t give scholarships, but they knocked $25 k off her tuition every year...still $25 k. She graduates in May from TWU...didn’t play softball. There’s the lure of an Ivy League education, but coaches like Banghart excel with a hefty handicap.
Banghart has Coached her team for twelve years and taken her team to the NCAA Tournament 8 times and made it to the second round once.
It’s much harder to take teams from 3 different schools to the tournament than from a school you’ve Coached for years with your own recruits. Even with that disadvantage, Harper has taken this year’s team, a team that had one senior and was mostly freshmen and sophomores, to the Sweet Sixteen against nationally ranked competition, that is past the 2nd round. They played very competitively against Stanford, ranked number 4 in the country, in the Sweet Sixteen.
