Stanford. Softball. Mess

[NumeroUno]

What's going on with Stanford softball.

Players leaving
Finger pointing
Coach leaves
Hummm

[exD1dad]

http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci ... ford-after

[as the world turns]

Unfortunate.........

The PAC 12 is a mess

[fasterpitch92701]

Poor recruiting. They bet their pitching cookies on Teagan Gerhart for a couple years. That was a bust. They have some good players but the pitching was never there. A couple good hitters and middle infield And it's not GPA levels holding the recruiting down as you don't need a 4.0 to get recruited. Or a 3.6... or lower. Really. It's a third tier team with a first tier education and field. It's like watching 18G. And, yes, that's me in the stands, usually behind home on the right hand side. Nice venue, nice kids, good education, adequate... adequate softball. Lots of rumors two years ago that the trainers were running players into the ground causing injuries.

[PDad]

Poor recruiting. They bet their pitching cookies on Teagan Gerhart for a couple years. That was a bust. They have some good players but the pitching was never there. A couple good hitters and middle infield And it's not GPA levels holding the recruiting down as you don't need a 4.0 to get recruited. Or a 3.6... or lower. Really. It's a third tier team with a first tier education and field. It's like watching 18G. And, yes, that's me in the stands, usually behind home on the right hand side. Nice venue, nice kids, good education, adequate... adequate softball. Lots of rumors two years ago that the trainers were running players into the ground causing injuries.

How many tiers do you have? 4 top-25 and 2 top-10 finishes in the last 6 years doesn't sound like a 3rd tier team. They would have had another high finish this year if Stevens had stayed. Recruiting doesn't seem like it has been that much of an issue.

They haven't recruited the early verbals like most major programs and I figured academics was a factor. I believe a 2015 pitcher was the first to verbal as a sophomore and a 2016 pitcher verbal'd this year.

For someone that has advocated academics so much, I'm really surprised by your post.

[exD1dad]

I watched them play this year & was very surprised at their level of play, they lacked focus in the field, & appeared like they wee going through the motions, I chalked it up to a long season, mentally tired from travel & school & thought maybe it was an off night but after reading that article I posted something happened & nobodies talking

Hey fasterpitch "good education" compared to what else on the west coast?

I'd say GREAT Education considering the size of the school, the types of majors they offer (like you can make your own up provided it has merit) Until I looked into it after a HS teammate of my DD's was de-committed last Aug I'd always thought it was much bigger (not realizing it was the post Grad & doctorate levels that were so high) IMHO nothing stacks up to it out west

We've been there to watch my niece play Ultimate Frisbee in the Stanford Invitational during her Tarheel days & love the campus too

[fasterpitch92701]

I still advocate strong academics and will continue to do so. My comments regarding entry GPA's are based on players we know, have played for, have played against, that were either actively recruited or signed by Stanford over the past decade. GPA's are posted on travel team fliers, both the teams we played on and those we played against during travel ball. A lot of local kids strive for Stanford so secrets last 9 seconds (we are 5 miles away). There is a perception that you need to be at the absolute top of your academic game to get vaguely near Stanford. That was what I believed for quite awhile but that perception tilts a bit when athletics gets rolled in and I am not sure it's a good thing. No athletics and you better be a 4.7 GPA legacy with a history of brilliance, published and demonstrated. Demonstrated athletic recruiting suggests that exceptions can and have been made. And it's weird. I always found it an odd paradox at Stanford. They look a certain "fit", which is good, but I don't know what that "fit" is. Stanford, overall, is a stellar school. They have some real "smarties" on the team. Excellent academics. Their grade inflation issue from 8-9 years ago appears calmed. It's still an absolutely premier school, no doubt about it. Truckloads of cash are being dumped into the school from recent and not so recent graduates. However, their softball team has been lackluster over the past few years. They are on par softball wise with... Harvard, Yale and other exceptional educational schools. However, watching them play Washington or Oregon or Arizona is typically a case of stark contrasts and I don't this that shocks anyone. As was noted by another poster they just didn't seem to have their heart in it over the last couple of seasons. The departure of the coach must be a surprise to someone but I don't know who that would be. Regardless, in the end, great GPA's always substantially help and cannot hurt. A low GPA damns you. And softball is only a 4 year deal. A Stanford diploma lasts a lifetime.