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College Softball: What Could Have Been

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – JUNE 4: The UCLA Bruins celebrate after a home run by Aaliyah Jordan #23 against the Oklahoma Sooners during the Division I Women’s Softball Championship held at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium-OGE Energy Field on June 4, 2019 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The abrupt cancellation of college softball put a premature end to what looked to be an epic season. To celebrate (and lament) those players and teams whose seasons were cut short, here’s a recap of the five biggest stories we weren’t ready to have end:

 

1. The farewell tours of two shortstop greats

The 2020 season was supposed to provide us one last look at two of the best dual threat shortstops in recent memory: Sis Bates and Jessie Harper (neither of whom have given any indication that they plan to pursue a fifth year next season).

Bates, my number one player to watch this year, was the rare player whose fielding abilities made her must-watch entertainment. The reigning two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and two-time first team All-American, Bates’ spectacular defensive plays made her both a Washington legend and a national treasure. I know I speak for countless fans across the country when I say that I already miss seeing her make the plays that only she could make:

The abrupt cancellation of college softball put a premature end to what looked to be an epic season. To celebrate (and lament) those players and teams whose seasons were cut short, here’s a recap of the five biggest stories we weren’t ready to have end: 1. The farewell tours of two shortstop greats

Harper, the number two player on my pre-season watch list, was another two-time All-American who led the NCAA in home runs last year. Even with the shortened season, she led the Pac-12 in home runs with 10. This means that every year of her college career, Harper was either first or second for home runs in the conference. Talk about leaving a legacy. Her 76 career home runs are just 19 shy of the NCAA record. Against Team USA, Harper lit up arguably one of the best pitchers in the world, hitting two home runs against Cat Osterman. Though the Wildcats lost, there’s no doubt Harper caught the eye of Team USA’s coaches. Could Tokyo 2021 be next on her agenda?

2. UCLA looked ready to repeat

The Bruins began and ended 2020 ranked No. 1, racking up a decisive 25-1 record along the way. Before conference play and just before the season was cut short, the Bruins were coming off a dominant double-header, with freshman Lexi Sosa pitching UCLA’s first perfect game since 2008, followed by a 4-0 shutout win over No. 18 Minnesota. Such performances made it seem almost certain, even this early in the season, that UCLA was bound for the WCWS. Would they have repeated as champs? I think they would have.

It’s also worth noting that Rachel Garcia, UCLA’s all-world dual threat pitcher and hitter (and the 2019 WCWS MVP) took this college season off to train with Team USA for the Olympics. Now that the Olympics are postponed, it seems unlikely that Garcia will return to UCLA next season as she will now need to train for Tokyo 2021.

 

3. Conference play was just around the corner

This may be the most depressing face of the shortened season: teams were only just beginning to enter conference play. While the early season tournaments were fun to watch, they are traditionally such a steep learning curve that it’s difficult to know how exactly a team will do just based on their opening slate of games. We saw a lot of early upsets this year, including more than a few ranked teams losing to unranked opponents (UNC took down then No. 2 Alabama and Loyola Marymount upset then No. 4 LSU, among others). While these were exciting to watch, they didn’t give us a clear picture of how the rest of the year would have gone. Odds are that both the Pac-12 and the SEC would have gone down to the wire, with No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Washington, and No. 4 Arizona fighting out west while No. 5 LSU, No. 7 Florida, and No. 10 Alabma duked it out down south. Fans of the sport will spend a long time lamenting the fact that we never got to see those conference tilts.

 

4. Miranda Elish was making things happen in the circle. 

The NCAA is losing a lot (and I mean, a lot) of great pitchers this season. One of the most notable is Miranda Elish, who transferred to Texas from Oregon in 2019 after going 37-2 during her time with the Ducks. At the time, Elish was touted as the missing piece that Texas needed in order to be competitive again. The last memorable pitcher to don the burnt orange was 4-time All-American and 2-time Olympic medalist Cat Osterman, who graduated in 2006. After taking a nasty accidental throw to the face from her own catcher in last year’s postseason, Elish made a complete recovery and was back this season with a vengeance. In 84 innings, she recorded 96 strikeouts, with 11 of those coming in a season high performance against Fresno State. Her most notable game, however, was a 7-0 win over New Mexico, when Elish tossed her third career no-hitter and second perfect game.

5. Speaking of Texas…

The Longhorns were having one of the best seasons in program history under new coach Mike White. White brought along four Oregon transfers with him when he moved south in 2019, including Elish. In the short 2020 season the team finished No. 3 in the country with a 24-3 record. And with Elish pitching as well as she was, the Longhorns appeared on track to not only win the Big 12, but potentially return to the WCWS for the first time since 2013. They were the only team to beat No. 1 UCLA this year, on the same weekend that they also took down No. 2 Washington. Those kinds of wins will have Longhorns fans wondering for years to come about what could have been in 2020.

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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