The 2012 season gets underway today with a plethora of tournaments around the country. The leading tourney is, of course, the annual Kajikawa Classic at Arizona State (master schedule). The host Sun Devils, who won last year's NCAA championship, are ranked No. 1 in both major national polls (see links section to the right). All of the Pac 12's softball schools are participating in the Kajikawa except UCLA (which hosts its own tournament featuring up-and-coming Kentucky). Cal (3/4) joins ASU as a preseason top 5 team. Top teams in the Kajikawa from outside the Pac 12 include Tennessee (9/14), Texas A&M (15/17), Nebraska (20 tie/21), and Georgia Tech (23/unranked).
Stanford pitching ace NiJaree Canady has reportedly entered the transfer portal ( link ), having completed two seasons in the circle for the Cardinal. Stanford has made the WCWS in both of Canady's seasons on the team. Another school hit hard by the transfer portal is the University of Washington, with an exodus of eight Huskies . This list of the top ten players in the portal includes four from UW. Today is the final day of the 30-day window for players to enter the portal.