The USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association pre-season top 25 poll was released yesterday (see link to this poll on the right-hand side of this page). A few weeks ago (a few entries down), I suggested that: Based on returning talent, I'm looking for Arizona, Northwestern, and Tennessee (not necessarily in that order) to be the teams to beat in '07. The USA Today/NFCA poll largely matches my prediction, except for the insertion of UCLA into the No. 3 spot ahead of Northwestern: 1. Arizona (23 first-place votes) 2. Tennessee (7) 3. UCLA 4. Northwestern 5. Arizona State At the conclusion of last season, I listed several leading teams' players for whom 2006 was their senior year. Based on this list , I thought UCLA would fall somewhat from its customary national-title contention. Also, the transfer of the Bruin coaching reins from Sue Enquist to Kelly Inouye-Perez throws another wild-card into the mix. Still, though, UCLA returns some key players, including shorts...

The University of Arizona's official athletic website has just come out with a season outlook piece for the defending NCAA champion Wildcats.

Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to the second year of my college softball blog. If you're a regular from last year, welcome back, and if you've come across this page for the first time, glad to have you. In looking over the team pages for the nation's top collegiate softball programs (see links along the right-hand side), Friday, February 9 appears to be the opening day of the 2007 season for many schools. Non-conference play in softball tends to center around tournaments in warm-weather climates. As they get closer, I will preview these tournaments. Shortly after last season ended, I listed the outgoing seniors for what I considered the nation's top programs (click here for the June 2006 archive, then scroll down to June 13). Based on returning talent, I'm looking for Arizona, Northwestern, and Tennessee (not necessarily in that order) to be the teams to beat in '07.

Three collegiate coaches -- Michigan's Carol Hutchins, UCLA's newly retired Sue Enquist, and Eastern Connecticut State's former leader Clyde Washburn -- were inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame last weekend during the organization's convention in Tucson, Arizona. The NFCA issued a press release on the inductions, with a photo of the three honorees appearing (at the moment) on the NFCA's homepage . Michigan's athletics website has a nice release on Coach "Hutch," but I could not find anything comparable on UCLA's site. Washburn's accomplishments, at the Division III level, are summarized at the bottom of this document .

There's an interesting discussion thread going on over at Ultimate College Softball. One participant posted predictions for the upcoming Pac 10 season, and others are offering their opinions. Take a look! Update (December 11): Discussion threads focusing on several other conferences are also available at Ultimate College Softball's main college softball discussion board .

In what this article described a "light-hearted" event, the current (2007) UCLA varsity team took on a squad of Bruin alumni earlier today. The alumni roster featured a number of illustrious names, including Natasha Watley, Lisa Fernandez, and Tairia Mims Flowers. The game was tied after the designated number of innings, so a Home Run Derby was instituted to decide the game. Jodie Legaspi, who will be a senior for the current Bruin team this upcoming season, belted 10 homers in the long-ball competition to give her side a 12-11 win. Now why couldn't the 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which had to be ended with a tie score after 11 innings because both teams had depleted their available pitchers, have been decided that way? The UCLA article also noted that: UCLA Softball opens its first season under head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez on February 9, 2007, against Texas as the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. In case you hadn't heard, longtime Bruin coach Sue...

A couple of brief items: Northwestern left-fielder Katie Logan is maintaining an online journal on the Wildcats' fall preparations for this upcoming season. The University of Michigan has posted its 2007 schedule . With the Wolverines' 2005 national championship and Northwestern's 2006 national runner-up finish, the Big 10 is clearly one of the top conferences in the nation. I will continue to link to leading teams' 2007 schedules as they become available.