Big East

[yellow ball]

Just curious about the buzz on the Big East. How will it shake out this year?

[AlwaysImprove]

Here is how they finished last year. I think this year starts out the same.

ND lost a lot of seniors. They have a great recruiting class coming in, so it will be up to the young players to step up. USF is looking strong this year. And DePaul and Syracus will be good again.

Notre Dame 19 - 1 .950 46 - 11 - 0 .807
DePaul 19 - 2 .905 41 - 15 - 0 .732
Syracuse 15 - 5 .750 45 - 13 - 0 .776
USF 13 - 5 .722 33 - 21 - 0 .611
Louisville 12 - 7 .632 38 - 20 - 0 .655
Pittsburgh 13 - 8 .619 34 - 17 - 0 .667
Rutgers 7 - 12 .368 19 - 30 - 0 .388
Providence 7 - 13 .350 23 - 30 - 0 .434
St. John's 6 - 12 .333 20 - 30 - 0 .400
Georgetown 6 - 12 .333 13 - 40 - 0 .245
Connecticut 6 - 15 .286 19 - 30 - 0 .388
Villanova 3 - 18 .143 16 - 32 - 1 .337
Seton Hall 3 - 19 .136 16 - 35 - 0 .314

[jonriv]

Top three should be the same

[hit4power]

Top three should be the same

And I think the bottom 5 will be the same as well. Will be curious to see how Pitt and Providence make out. Both added a good player or two from our area - don't know how much talent they graduated, though.

[17Cards]

Pitt is on the cusp. The Freshman class combined with the 2012 signing class will provide a whole lot of talent. A Great coaching staff is in place.

The pitching staff will be young. They lost two to graduation.

[Snakehandler]

Pitt,

I noticed Pitts roster shows only 1 Jr. and 1 So., what is the cause of this? Were there a good number of departures from the program over the last several years?

[17Cards]

Graduation mostly.
There have been a couple leave on their own accord.

[Snakehandler]

Makes since to me now, the last two or so years' classes must have been big enough that Pitt couldn't recruit in more than a few girls. Also I'm sure with that many upperclassmen, there were several that couldn't find playing time.

It is weird though, to see a roster with half seniors and half freshmen.

[Kirt]

Due to vested interest, I watched Big East softball fairly carefully last year. So here's some quick observations. I'm no expert and I'm only speaking to what I know, which is insignificant compared to what I don't know. I'll say what I know about the teams I see as sort of the top "third" (and don't read too much into the order within the top third or the fact that I rounded up to talk about five teams).

Top Third...
Syracuse: Always tough with Caira in the circle, and Kuwik is effective too. I'd say they are the odds-on favorite to win the conference, but I said that last year too. That noted I don't expect Caira to stumble coming out of the gate this time.

USF: I'm a big fan of Nevins (So, P), she's a serious top-shelf talent. Also gotta like the coaching staff. I think the Bulls suffer in league a bit as nobody except Nevins seemed to be relied upon in big games. In a league series, odds are you'll have back to back games and 14 innings gives the other side a lot of looks. Losses are big since the conference is awarded based on winning %.

DePaul: Kirsten Verdun (So, P/IF) was the BE Rookie of the Year and the Blue Demons should be tough as always.

Louisville: Only lost three seniors, but Bemis and Wherry are two big ones to lose. Still, on top of the returning talent, Louisville is one of those teams that always seems to find a way to reload.

Notre Dame: Lost 8 seniors from last year's team, but always seem to find a way to reload. Despite the losses they return four Big East honorees in Maldonado (Sr, OF), Miller (Sr, IF), O'Donnell (Jr, P) and Winter (So, P).

Some other thoughts...

Pitt: I left Pitt out of the top tier because pitching is a huge question for them, as well as losing a lot of bodies in general. On the bright side for Pitt, if you don't know incoming freshman Maggie Sevilla, she's a solid addition to the middle infield. I suspect she will be a regular conference (if not beyond) honoree before her career is over for the Panthers.

Rutgers: If there is a bench-clearing brawl, stay away from Sisco (Sr. P). She's a black belt.

Intrigue: Sadly, DePaul doesn't play USF in the regular season. The end to their series at DePaul last season was, well, interesting. We will have to hope for a matchup in the conference tournament.

Overall, I'd say the trend of steady overall Big East improvement will continue, which is sad since one of the relative cornerstones, Syracuse, and a promising program at Pitt, are on the way out.

[AlwaysImprove]

Kirk, thanks a ton for the notes. They seem very informed.

I agree USF Depaul meeting will be interesting. Glad you reminded me to keep an eye on that one.