Softball Recruiting

[1972Shocker]

As far as I can tell Alison Cooper has not yet committed elsewhere so I suppose their is still a chance she could withdraw from the portal and return. I guess that possibility could largely depend on her reasons for entering the portal in the 1st place. Anyone heard anything different?

How much Alison's departure will impact the Shocks will largely depend on Alex Aquilar coming back fully healthy and on what redshirt freshman Erica Shertz can bring to the circle in addition to having the good Chloe show up for the whole year.

[SubGod22]

Late addition to this coming year? Not 100 on that. Looks like she asked out of her NLI last week from Northwestern State.

Appears she was one of the top players in the Houston area. Plays travel ball with Texas Blaze.

Appears to be a pitcher

Further Twitter stalking indicates the HC of NSU resigned on July 3 after only one year there.

Also looks like she averaged about 2 K's per inning in 5A during this past season. I can't find career stats, but she did have over 600 K's during her career.

[SubGod22]

Looks like she'll be playing with her sister in Jersey

[shoxlax]

Good find Sub. That one slipped by me.


From Alvin Newspaper:


Manvel Lady Mavericks’ senior hurler Ryley Nihart was named to the Co-Most Valuable Player in 18-5A to highlight the eight all-district softball selections for the area finalist Lady Mavericks.

Nihart, who shared MVP honors with Texas City’s Trinity Spencer, went 21-6 in the circle for Manvel, who advanced past the first round of the postseason for the first time since 2019. The senior right-hander also struck out 273 for the season and surpassed the 600 K career total.

[shoxlax]

As far as I can tell Alison Cooper has not yet committed elsewhere so I suppose their is still a chance she could withdraw from the portal and return. I guess that possibility could largely depend on her reasons for entering the portal in the 1st place. Anyone heard anything different?

How much Alison's departure will impact the Shocks will largely depend on Alex Aquilar coming back fully healthy and on what redshirt freshman Erica Shertz can bring to the circle in addition to having the good Chloe show up for the whole year.

Barber and Aguilar, if consistent, could be a very good compliment to each other. I still think Schertz has a legit arm and chance to step in. Nihart seems like a good find.

Not sure about Cooper. I had hopes she would return but that would be six pitchers on the roster, which seems a bit high.

I do hope Barber gets more ABs this year. She can crush the ball.

[1972Shocker]

Barber and Aguilar, if consistent, could be a very good compliment to each other. I still think Schertz has a legit arm and chance to step in. Nihart seems like a good find.

Not sure about Cooper. I had hopes she would return but that would be six pitchers on the roster, which seems a bit high.

I do hope Barber gets more ABs this year. She can crush the ball.

I agree that the addition of Nihart makes the return of Cooper pretty unlikely unless HCKB would like to redshirt both Nihart and Sliger. No idea why Alison decided to move on but have wondered (maybe more hoped) that she saw the progress Schertz was making in her redshirt year and perhaps that would diminish her role. More than likely wishful thinking. Alison doesn't seem like the type to run away from a little competition.

Here are some video highlight of Ryley Nihart: https://www.ncsasports.org/softball-...l/ryley-nihart

[SubGod22]

Some interesting portal stats. Need to find something similar on the men's side.

[ShockTalk]

Here's one for football: Numbers show transfer portal is (very) risky for college football players - College Football HQ (si.com)

[ShockTalk]

Also, found this quote: The portal hasn’t been a consistently good thing for the players, either. According to a study performed by The Athletic, over 60% of players who transferred to a “Power-6” program saw their minutes decline with their new team and even more saw their scoring drop. A concerningly high number of players who enter the portal never play again, as well. About 43% of transfer portal entrants after the 2021-2022 season did not make it onto a roster for the 2022-2023 season.

If you have a subscription, you could read The Athletic article (I don't).

[1972Shocker]

Some interesting portal stats. Need to find something similar on the men's side.

Here you go. Pick your sport.

Transfer Portal Data: Division I Student-Athlete Transfer Trends

Looks like the average across all sports is 35% in 2023 with 57% transferring to another NCAA member school (D-I, D-II, or D-III) and 8% withdrawing from the portal and presumed to return to their current school.

[SubGod22]

Cooper has landed at Ole Miss per her IG

[flyingMoose]

Cooper has landed at Ole Miss per her IG

Wow!! The SEC! Good for her!

[shoxlax]

That is excellent. Hope she does well.

[1972Shocker]

Only 1 of the 6 pitchers on the Ole Miss roster this past season is returning in 2025. One of those not on the 2025 was a 5-3 freshman who did not pitch last year. 2 of the top 3 arms were a Sophomore and a Junior who have apparently hit the portal and the other 2 were seniors. The lone returner is Brianna Lopez, a senior-to-be who was their leader in innings pitched but only started 6 games of her 33 appearances.

So their is certainly a good opportunity for innings at Ole Miss. As far as I can tell they have added 2 pitchers from the portal. Alison Cooper and a transfer from D-II Tampa. Their 2024 signing class included 3 high school pitchers.

[flyingMoose]

Only 1 of the 6 pitchers on the Ole Miss roster this past season is returning in 2025. One of those not on the 2025 was a 5-3 freshman who did not pitch last year. 2 of the top 3 arms were a Sophomore and a Junior who have apparently hit the portal and the other 2 were seniors. The lone returner is Brianna Lopez, a senior-to-be who was their leader in innings pitched but only started 6 games of her 33 appearances.

So their is certainly a good opportunity for innings at Ole Miss. As far as I can tell they have added 2 pitchers from the portal. Alison Cooper and a transfer from D-II Tampa. Their 2024 signing class included 3 high school pitchers.

Lots of turnover on the staff at Ole Miss with three new faces. Nancy Evans, a two-time All-American at the University of Arizona in the Mike Candrea days, is the new pitching coach. This will be the fifth year for the head coach. Hope it all works out for Alison.