Deifel Adds Yolanda McRae and Boo Gillette to Coaching Staff Ladyback Softball

[kevinagee]

http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/deifel-adds-yolanda-mcrae-to-coaching-staff/

http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/deifel-adds-boo-gillette-de-oliveira-to-coaching-staff/

[nwahogfan1]

Good deal.  Both have great track records of competing at the highest level.  Boo has been in charge of recruiting at several places  and has connections in the many places including the west coast.  We need to recruit California hard.

Yolanda seems like she is will be the hitting specialist coach while Boo will be pitching.

I know this years recruiting should be completed but wonder if there will be a few transfers coming in to help this year?

[kevinagee]

Yep agree..

The transfers both in and out of the past season is still the biggest question out there it seems after any coaching change. Still no word on a current roster. Not sure we will hear anything soon as the season is months away from starting again. Maybe in Fall ball we will be able to get an idea as they usually play a few exhibition games it seems

[jackflash]

I like what I read about the two new hires. Gillette with recruiting the west coast my help getting California players to come to Arkansas, lets hope.

[softballdad2118]

You better recruit Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma first...yes, cali has great players however its been a while since a Cali team has won a wcws...How many players does Bama and Florida have from Cali?

[ricepig]

You better recruit Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma first...yes, cali has great players however its been a while since a Cali team has won a wcws...How many players does Bama and Florida have from Cali?

Bama only has two, but one of their top pitchers, Florida has 5 and 1 from Arizona.  Florida's top two pitchers 44-4, are in this group.

[softballdad2118]

I had a college coach tell me once that you can find great position players in a lot of places but cali is where the great pitchers are.

[nwahogfan1]

I had a college coach tell me once that you can find great position players in a lot of places but cali is where the great pitchers are.

We will have to do like Coach B does in Football with Florida Recruiting.  We need to use our California connections to cherry pick for the best 1-3 players from the West Coast a year.

[coltseaver]

I had a college coach tell me once that you can find great position players in a lot of places but cali is where the great pitchers are.

It all depends on how you look at it. Tenacious recruiting can find pitching anywhere. California has much more experienced coaching at the amateur level. This makes for better hitters as well as pitchers. Great pitchers slip through the cracks less often in California than anywhere else, mainly because the families are better educated in terms of recruiting. Here's some interesting stats:

2015 Top 5 ERA (0%)
Shelby Turnier (Florida)
Mackenzie Audas (Florida)
Emma Johnson (Ohio)
Megan Good (Virginia)
Lauren Haeger (Arizona)

2015 Top 5 Strikeouts (0%)
Miranda Kramer (Iowa)
Krista Menke (Nebraska)
Sara Groenewegen (Canada)
Megan Betsa (Georgia)
Emily Weiman (Maryland)

2015 WCWS Aces (42%)
Lauren Haeger (Arizona)
Rainey Gaffin (Colorado) / Erin Gabriel (Ohio)
Carley Hoover (South Carolina) / Allie Walljasper (California)
Lexi Davis (North Carolina) / Rachael Walters (Virginia)
Megan Betsa (Georgia) / Haylie Wagner (California)
Alexis Osorio (California)
Ally Carda (California)
Cheridan Hawkins (California)

Past WCWS Champions (33%)
Lauren Haeger (Arizona)
Keilani Ricketts (California)
Jackie Traina (Florida)
Dallas Escobedo (Arizona)
Aleah Macon (California)
Danielle Lawrie (Canada)

[coltseaver]

We will have to do like Coach B does in Football with Florida Recruiting.  We need to use our California connections to cherry pick for the best 1-3 players from the West Coast a year.

It's not likely that Arkansas will be able to add any of the top 3 kids in California on a yearly basis. Not anytime soon anyway. Here is a breakdown of the top high school players in the country:

Seniors
1 - Oklahoma
2 - Oregon
3 - Alabama

Juniors
1 - Notre Dame
2 - Washington
3 - UCLA

Sophomores
1 - Oklahoma
2 - Uncommitted
3 - Oklahoma
4 - Tennessee

Getting 1 top 25 player a year would be a huge step forward. Most schools don't get multiple top 10 kids. From a financial perspective, it's almost an impossibility to land 3 a year, especially if Long insists on the big rosters in softball to fulfill Title IX requirements.

[flippinhogmana]

Where ever Cat Osterman came from, I think we should recruit from there...

[jackflash]

I would like to have Cat Osterman involved with the woman program in some way

[nwahogfan1]

It's not likely that Arkansas will be able to add any of the top 3 kids in California on a yearly basis. Not anytime soon anyway. Here is a breakdown of the top high school players in the country:

Seniors
1 - Oklahoma
2 - Oregon
3 - Alabama

Juniors
1 - Notre Dame
2 - Washington
3 - UCLA

Sophomores
1 - Oklahoma
2 - Uncommitted
3 - Oklahoma
4 - Tennessee

Getting 1 top 25 player a year would be a huge step forward. Most schools don't get multiple top 10 kids. From a financial perspective, it's almost an impossibility to land 3 a year, especially if Long insists on the big rosters in softball to fulfill Title IX requirements.

I wrote that down wrong.  I mean the best 1-3 players from California we can sign.  Particularly a strong Pitcher.

[softballdad2118]

It all depends on how you look at it. Tenacious recruiting can find pitching anywhere. California has much more experienced coaching at the amateur level. This makes for better hitters as well as pitchers. Great pitchers slip through the cracks less often in California than anywhere else, mainly because the families are better educated in terms of recruiting. Here's some interesting stats:

2015 Top 5 ERA (0%)
Shelby Turnier (Florida)
Mackenzie Audas (Florida)
Emma Johnson (Ohio)
Megan Good (Virginia)
Lauren Haeger (Arizona)

2015 Top 5 Strikeouts (0%)
Miranda Kramer (Iowa)
Krista Menke (Nebraska)
Sara Groenewegen (Canada)
Megan Betsa (Georgia)
Emily Weiman (Maryland)

2015 WCWS Aces (42%)
Lauren Haeger (Arizona)
Rainey Gaffin (Colorado) / Erin Gabriel (Ohio)
Carley Hoover (South Carolina) / Allie Walljasper (California)
Lexi Davis (North Carolina) / Rachael Walters (Virginia)
Megan Betsa (Georgia) / Haylie Wagner (California)
Alexis Osorio (California)
Ally Carda (California)
Cheridan Hawkins (California)

Past WCWS Champions (33%)
Lauren Haeger (Arizona)
Keilani Ricketts (California)
Jackie Traina (Florida)
Dallas Escobedo (Arizona)
Aleah Macon (California)
Danielle Lawrie (Canada)

Interesting stats, wonder what it would look like if you went top 25 in every category?