2022-23 Softball Offseason/Preseason Discussion

[SubGod22]

Go Shockers - Wichita State Adds Six Student-Athletes on Signing Day

Chloe Barber | Lino Lakes, Minn. | 5'11" | Pitcher

Bredbenner on Chloe Barber: "Chloe was a late addition to our 2023 class but one that we are very excited about. She is a power pitcher with a nice offspeed pitch, and understands how to spot the ball with natural movement on her pitches. If Chloe can command her pitches and get stronger throughout her time here, I think she will be part of a very solid pitching staff at Wichita State."

Avery Barnard | Beatrice, Neb. | 5'6" | Utility

Bredbenner on Avery Barnard: "Avery Barnard will provide much-needed speed to the lineup. She's not quite as powerful with the bat as her sister Addie, but she more than makes up for that with her speed. Avery is very athletic and will wreak havoc on the bases and cover substantial ground in the outfield."

Sophie Johnson | Odessa, Fla. | 5'6" | Catcher

Bredbenner on Sophie Johnson: "Sophie Johnson will be a strong presence behind the plate with her arm strength and ability to make her pitchers look good with her glove. A great catcher can make a huge difference for her battery mate. We think that Sophie will be an impact player as a freshman."

Erica Schertz | Miami, Okla. | 5'10" | Pitcher

Bredbenner on Erica Schertz: "Erica Schertz is a pitcher with natural movement and great speed. She spins the ball very well and has competed against some top-level travel ball teams. The best thing about Erica is her potential. There are a lot of things that Erica does right, but getting her in the weight room and with Coach (Presley) Bell will allow her to use her great frame and elevate that potential."

Mila Seaton | Tonganoxie, Kan. | 5'10" | Utility

Bredbenner on Mila Seaton: "Mila Seaton is one of the most athletic student-athletes we have brought into our program. Mila could have played Division I volleyball, but softball is her true passion. She's a true utility that has a high ceiling."

Sydney Zenon | Haslet, Texas | 5'9" | Infielder

Bredbenner on Sydney Zenon: "Sydney Zenon has the potential to be a monster hitter in our lineup. She hits the ball hard and still has a lot of her body to get into the pitch. If we can develop a full body swing, she will be a great replacement for Lauren Mills in our lineup. Her 5'9" frame makes her a likely candidate for reps at first base."

The article also has some background info on each as well as some stats. It sounds like a pretty good group with some high upside. A couple of top level athletes with speed, some promising pitching and a couple of bats as well as a high level prospect behind the plate. Sophie is an Extra Inning Softball Top 50 recruit.

[SubGod22]

AOL - Why Avery Barnard wanted to follow All-American sister on Wichita State softball team

Another Barnard is joining the Wichita State softball team.

Avery Barnard, the younger sister of current Shocker and All-American slugger Addison Barnard, was one of six high school seniors who signed their National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.

After the sisters played one year of high school together at Beatrice (Neb.), Avery Barnard said the motivation to play one more season together with Addison played a significant role in her decision.

“I definitely took our time in high school for granted,” said Avery Barnard, who will join WSU for the 2024 spring season when Addison is a senior. “It went by way too fast, so I’m so excited to go play with her one last time.”

Avery Barnard has become a star in her own right, having just completed a standout, four-year career with a .597 batting average, 1.500 OPS and 17 steals as a senior. She is a three-time first team all-state selection in Nebraska and helped lead Beatrice to back-to-back conference championships.

This is a really nice article from Taylor on the sisters. Really excited to see what Avery can do at WSU and happy that they'll get one more year together on the field.

[1972Shocker]

I like the signing of the two taller (5-10 and 5-11) pitchers although that doesn't guarantee anything. But currently only Kenzie Schopfer at 5-10 is comparable in height from the currently roster of Shocker pitchers. The other 4 pitchers on the Shocker roster are 5-4. 5-5. 5-5 and 5-7. It also sounds like these two pitchers might be the two best hitters in this recruiting class.

Sounds like Avery Barnard will be a different type of player from her sister Addison but it also sounds like she has the potential to provide excitement for the fans in her own way.

HCKB bringing in 6 recruits but I think we only have 3 seniors on this year's roster none of whom are pitchers. I would be a bit surprised that we will carry 7 pitchers on the roster so I am somewhat expecting we will see a bit of turnover at that position.

[SubGod22]

Two absolute badasses.

[SubGod22]

Go Shockers - RH: "There's Immense Film on Me and Everybody My Age"

Sydney McKinney's senior softball season starts with adjusting a batting tee and placing a ball at a height and location she doesn't like to hit.

"There's immense film on me and everybody my age," she said. "One of my struggles has always been a certain pitch. Coach (Kristi Bredbenner) has talked to me about it over and over and I work on it as much as I can."

McKinney doesn't want to divulge specifics about the type of pitch that frustrates her for obvious reasons. Understand that at this point in her career, she is working on a small target area and a certain type of pitch that not every pitcher is able to execute.

The willingness to devote time to that weakness is part of what makes McKinney, a shortstop from Norborne, Mo., great. She led the nation in batting average (.522) and hits (97) last season on her way to earning second-team All-American honors. She is hitting .430 for her career at Wichita State, which started in 2019.

The Shockers started practice on Monday with hitting in the morning and workouts at Wilkins Stadium in the afternoon. McKinney handled pitches in that problem area and showed again why she is an example that coaches never tire of using when they talk to the team about work ethic and perseverance.

"She really honed in on some of things she struggled with," Bredbenner said. "And 'struggle' is a pretty loose term there, because she never struggles much. You could tell. She might do two hours on a tee and work on an area that maybe she feels she struggles with and then she gets in that first day of practice and gets some balls in that area and is crushing it."

Nobody in the nation hit the ball more often than McKinney in 2022, when her batting average continued its climb from .329 in 2019 to .439 in 2021. Even that kind of hitter can find satisfaction in the tee and fixing a small hole in her offense.

"That was my first drill (Monday), was live on the field off that pitch and I felt really good about it and Coach B felt really good about it," McKinney said. "It was nice to hear that from her and know that hard work is paying off."

[1972Shocker]

Wichita State, UCF Expected to Fight for Conference Championship

https://goshockers.com/news/2023/1/1...mpionship.aspx

2023 American Athletic Conference Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll

Team (First-Place Votes)	Pts.
1. UCF (4)	34
2. Wichita State (3)	33
3. South Florida	24
4. Houston	23
5. Tulsa	14
6. East Carolina	12
7. Memphis	7

It will probably boil down to whichever team can deliver some decent pitching.

[ShockerDropOut]

I am excited about the upcoming season. I plan to be out there to watch several games.

[WuDrWu]

Wichita State, UCF Expected to Fight for Conference Championship

https://goshockers.com/news/2023/1/1...mpionship.aspx

2023 American Athletic Conference Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll

Team (First-Place Votes)	Pts.
1. UCF (4)	34
2. Wichita State (3)	33
3. South Florida	24
4. Houston	23
5. Tulsa	14
6. East Carolina	12
7. Memphis	7

It will probably boil down to whichever team can deliver some decent pitching.

Both teams return a lot in the field. To me, it seems to come down to which team is more likely to replace their pitching staff. It's not that I think WSU will have a better pitching staff....I think UCF will have a better staff. But I think it will be easier for WSU to replace or improve off last season's staff. UCF's top 2, Mancha & Woodall were tough and experienced. That being said, they appear to have added quite a bit through the portal. Transfers from Washington, Oregon and Minnesota all appear very capable.

[SubGod22]

Can't listen at work, but this could be a good one.

Go Shockers - RH: Podcast with Zoe Jones, Sydney McKinney on Shocker Softball

Listen to the podcast

Shocker softball seniors Zoe Jones and Sydney McKinney are on the mic to discuss their first impressions of each other, how Jones keeps the mood light in the locker room with her chatter and how she is trying to improve her ability to read the room.

We talk about bamboo pillows, bus-trip candy, books and the team's "culture of weirdos." They reveal their most anticipated non-conference opponents, break down the rivalry with UCF and why they think Caroline Tallent is ready for a breakout season.


Zoe Jones is a senior from Mustang, Okla. She earned All-Central Region third team and all-conference second team honors in 2022 after hitting .324 with 15 home runs and 12 doubles. She also was on the conference All-Academic team.

McKinney is a senior from Norborne, Mo. She earned second-team All-American honors and all-conference honors after leading the nation with a .522 batting average and 97 hits. She is also conference All-Academic team.

The Shockers open the season on Feb 10 in the Bobcat Classic in San Marcos, Texas

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[RoyalShock]

I'm surprised with how close the AAC pre-season voting was, that WSU isn't ranked in the pre-season poll, where UCF is #15. But I guess with the question mark at pitching, it's not that surprising.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/softball/article/2023-01-17/2023-college-softball-rankings-preseason-top-25-d1-softball

Other WSU opponents in the rankings:

#1 OU
#3 OSU
#8 Arkansas
#11 Stanford
#24 North Texas

[1972Shocker]

I'm surprised with how close the AAC pre-season voting was, that WSU isn't ranked in the pre-season poll, where UCF is #15. But I guess with the question mark at pitching, it's not that surprising.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/softball/article/2023-01-17/2023-college-softball-rankings-preseason-top-25-d1-softball

Other WSU opponents in the rankings:

#1 OU
#3 OSU
#8 Arkansas
#11 Stanford
#24 North Texas

As Doc mentioned UCF had to very good pitchers last year in Mancha & Woodall and even though they are gone what teams did last year seems to have a big impact on pre and early season rankings. UCF did bring in transfers from Washington, Oregon and Minnesota.

The Washington transfer Sarah Willis, a 5-7 RHP, only pitched 16 innings for the Huskies last year with a 4.81 ERA. However, the competition she faced was generally good and Washington is a top-tier softball program. Wilis also can play in the outfiled. The Oregon and Minnesota transfers are position players.

UCF's top returning pitchers are So. Kaitlyn Felton, a 5-8 RHP, who had an ERA of 3.36 in 50 innings last year, Jr. Grace Jewell, a 6-1, RHP who had an ERA of 4.86 over 31.2 innings last year and Jr. Angelina Devoe, a 5-0 LHP, who had an ERA of 2.39 over 14.2 innings last year. In addition, they have added 3 RH freshman pitchers.

But Mancha & Woodall pitched 77% of he innings for UCF next year.

Caitlyn Bingham and Erin McDonald 68% of the Shockers innings last year with ERA's of 4.15 and 4.36 respectively with 5-4 freshman lefty Allison Cooper leading the Shocks with a 3.72 ERA over 64 innings. Allison was somewhat inconsistent last year although that's not surprising but she will most likely by a key contributor this year.

I suppose the big key for the Shockers is how effective Lauren Howell, the 5-7 RHP transfer from Arkansas, will be. Last year she only pitched in 5 innings over 5 games for the Razorbacks.

Beyond that the Shockers have 5-10 So. RHP Kenzie Schopfer (4.42 ERA over 25.1 innings as a freshman) and 5-5 Fr. RHP Alex Aquilar and 5-5 Fr. LHP Sarah Proberts.

So both teams have question marks in the circle. Perhaps the bar is a little higher for UCF to replace the combined 1.89 ERA of Mancha and Woodall than for the Shockers to replace the combined 4.25 ERA of Bingham and McDonald.

Beyond that it will be WSU's smash and bash approach (.667 slugging percentage with 47 stolen bases in 57 attempts) vs UCF's small ball/speed approach (.437 slugging percentage with 93 stolen bases in 110 attempts).

[WuDrWu]

Can't listen at work, but this could be a good one.

Go Shockers - RH: Podcast with Zoe Jones, Sydney McKinney on Shocker Softball

Pretty much a must listen if you have any interest at all. It's a reminder that they are just kids after all. But really impressive kids.

When asked, both Zoe and Syd mentioned Caroline Tallent and Taylor Sedlacek as players that could very well impact the season this spring. Both have impressed with their competitiveness and work ethic.

[SubGod22]

Go Shockers - Barnard, McKinney Named to USA Softball Top 50 Watch List

WICHITA, Kan. - USA Softball unveiled its Top 50 Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List Wednesday morning, and it comes as no surprise to see Wichita State's two returning All-Americans on the list.

Addison Barnard and Sydney McKinney make Wichita State one of 14 schools with multiple selections. McKinney is on the prestigious watch list for the second straight season after becoming a Top 10 finalist a season ago.

Barnard is fresh off a sophomore campaign that saw her rank first nationally in home runs per game and RBI per game; second in home runs and slugging percentage; and third in RBI and total bases. The Beatrice, Neb., native set an NCAA single season record with her 0.63 home runs per game. She hit 33 in only 52 games. Barnard finished her record-breaking season hitting .391 with 33 home runs, 84 RBI and slugging 1.018.

McKinney became a two-time All-American after her own record-breaking 2022 season. She led the nation in hits (97) and batting average (.522), while also hitting a career-high 13 home runs and driving in 38 runs. McKinney already owns multiple single season and career records at Wichita State. She enters her senior season needing only 25 hits to become the first Shocker ever with 300 career hits.

[SubGod22]

Softball America also released their preseason Top 100 a few days ago and the dynamic duo came in at #18 (Syd) and #21 (Addie).

[SubGod22]

Softball Season Tickets are on sale.

$100 for an adult. $90 for anyone 65 and over or 12 and under.

I'm tempted to get them, even though I know I won't go to all or even most of the games for things currently not fully under my own control.