2026 NUSB Thread
- Thread starter CoralSpringsCat
- Start date
Only 3 strikeouts? Seems like an odd way to get a no-hitter in softball. Congrats Marina!
The only solution to non-revenue B1G sports are regional pods to reduce travel costs and relieve academic pressure.
POD 1- UCLA. USC. OU UW. 4
POD 2- UNL IOWA MINN WISC (ILL) 4 or 5
POD 3- NU. ILL PURDUE IND OSU(MICH MSU) 5
POD 4- MICH MSU PSU RU UMD(OSU) 5 or 4
Home and away series then regional games with other schools to fill out the schedules. Season ending tournaments to determine conference champions. This format would reduce travel expenses and academic time stress on athletes.
POD 1- UCLA. USC. OU UW. 4
POD 2- UNL IOWA MINN WISC (ILL) 4 or 5
POD 3- NU. ILL PURDUE IND OSU(MICH MSU) 5
POD 4- MICH MSU PSU RU UMD(OSU) 5 or 4
Home and away series then regional games with other schools to fill out the schedules. Season ending tournaments to determine conference champions. This format would reduce travel expenses and academic time stress on athletes.
This sounds good on principle, but there are a few issues. One, USC (Southern Cal) doesn't have a softball team, so you would still only have 3 teams in Pod1. Plus, with 3 perennial top 25 programs in POD1, they might have issue with not having some patsies to beat up on as pretty much a team like UCLA is playing for postseason seeding from day 1, and a couple of extra losses in their Pod might keep them from hosting a regional or super regional.
Epic Cats' collapse today giving up a 9-0 lead after 2 innings (and with Mason going) and losing 11-9, surrendering the go-ahead 3 runs to Michigan in the top of the 7th. Cats' bats largely went into "Cubs mode" after jumping to the run-rule type of lead and barely could muster a hit for the remainder of the game. Mason, staked to the huge lead, couldn't hold it (victimized by the long ball), although, once again, the Cats' poor team defense really hurt.
This team is starting (and will be presumably losing) 4 seniors so this isn't supposed to be a rebuilding year, but barring an improbable finish to the year, this will be the first Cats team to miss the post season since 2017. More alarmingly, since the end of the Danielle Williams era, this team has been trending downward. Ashley Miller and Lauren Boyd largely staunched the bleeding in 2024 and 2025, but it is almost unfair to expect Mason as a true freshman (talented as she is) to carry the team on her own.
There is a true, national-type talent that is signed for next year's class, and she is listed as a P/Util, so maybe she can be plus doing both. Next year's
team will certainly need both. But the troubles of recent teams stem more from recruiting and coaching, and I'm not sure a 20 million dollar stadium is going to solve those problems.
Hopefully Drohan, who had a lengthy down period in the mid 2010's (between the exit of Tammie Williams and the arrival of Danielle Williams) isn't in another one.
This team is starting (and will be presumably losing) 4 seniors so this isn't supposed to be a rebuilding year, but barring an improbable finish to the year, this will be the first Cats team to miss the post season since 2017. More alarmingly, since the end of the Danielle Williams era, this team has been trending downward. Ashley Miller and Lauren Boyd largely staunched the bleeding in 2024 and 2025, but it is almost unfair to expect Mason as a true freshman (talented as she is) to carry the team on her own.
There is a true, national-type talent that is signed for next year's class, and she is listed as a P/Util, so maybe she can be plus doing both. Next year's
team will certainly need both. But the troubles of recent teams stem more from recruiting and coaching, and I'm not sure a 20 million dollar stadium is going to solve those problems.
Hopefully Drohan, who had a lengthy down period in the mid 2010's (between the exit of Tammie Williams and the arrival of Danielle Williams) isn't in another one.