The Aftermath of Temple's Decision to Cut Softball: Recruits

Temple recruits are put in a terrible situation as well particularly the recruits who had signed their letters of intent just days earlier. Now Shelby Stracher, Isabel Hansbury, Jessica Hallett, Michele Sykora, and Devon Steiner are forced to reopen their recruiting process very late in the game, when the vast majority of scholarship money has been spoken for already. Each of these players deserves a shot from another school if Temple is not able to salvage its program. In a perfect world, the program would be saved, but the Temple administration seems to have made up its mind.

Shelby Stracher was the first commit in this class for Joe DiPietro and she hails from Massachusetts. Stracher plays travel ball for the East Coast Firecrackers, which are one of the top, up-and-coming travel teams in the country. Stracher swings a powerful bat and is a great catcher behind the plate. For her high school last year, Stracher hit .508 with 5 HR and 32 RBI. She showed off her power on the big stage by hitting a homerun at the Premier Nationals.

Isabel Hansbury was a real steal for Coach DiPietro. Hansbury is a talented third baseman and shortstop from Tuff-N-Tuffer Gold, known as TNT. Hansbury's athleticism will make her a real asset to any team at any of the infield spots. Hansbury picked Temple over Wagner and Haverford originally, hopefully she will get wonderful options again this time around.

Devon Steiner

Devon Steiner is a talented third baseman and shortstop from Delaware who swings a powerful bat. Steiner plays for the Delco Chaos, which is one of the top travel programs in the Mid-Atlantic Region. For her high school, Steiner put up gaudy numbers in 2012, hitting .484 with 4 HR and 35 RBI. Needless to say, she would have been a natural fit for Temple's high octane offense.

Jessica Hallett was a Temple signee from Arizona, who comes from the storied Lil Saints travel ball team in Arizona. Hallett is another very powerful infielder who would have fit in nicely with Temple's powerful offense. She hit .363 with 33 hits, 6 HR, and 29 RBI for her high school team. In travel ball she really shined, hitting 15 HR this past season for the Lil Saints. Temple was counting on Hallett for power and defense at the hot corner.

Michele Sykora is a legacy at Temple with her sister Christina, having played for four years under Joe DiPietro from 2009-2012. Christina Sykora also went on to become Temple's first ever player in the National Pro Fastpitch League this summer. Sykora is a second baseman and outfielder from the Jersey Fusion. Sykora's tenacity and athleticism were tailor made for the Owls.

The Owls also had a verbal commitment from Amanda Kulp, a 2015 recruit. Kulp will have a little more time to recover, but she must also deal with the fact that a lot of the recruiting money is off the table. Kulp is a speedy, left handed hitting second baseman and outfielder who figures to be a solid top of the order hitter at the next level.

A10 Players Getting it Done Outside of the Field and the Classroom

While sometimes it seems as though there is no time for softball players other than school and softball, two Atlantic 10 players have been productive in that remaining free time.

Jocelyn Mattison

Rhode Island senior Jocelyn Mattison coordinated a community service project for URI softball with Operation Santa. Read more about Mattison and URI softball's involvement with the project here.

Kayla Lombardo (Photo by Tom Wasiczko)

Fordham junior Kayla Lombardo is not only a force on the field, where she hit .289 with 50 hits, 7 HR, and 39 RBI, while holding down the fort at the hot corner for the Rams. Lombardo is also an excellent sports writer and has written a number of pieces this fall for Laker Nation. In addition, she wrote an excellent piece in December on how the success over Fordham female athletes has been overshadowed recently. Lombardo has a bright future in sports journalism and hopefully soon she will be writing for ESPN or Sports Illustrated and who knows, perhaps even the Atlantic 10 Softball Blog.

Atlantic 10 Verbal Commitments

Dayton
2015 Aspyn Novak OF Beverly Bandits

Fordham
2015 Jessica Hughes IF NJ Gators
2016 Skylar Johnston 1B/3B Virginia Legends

George Mason
2015 Marina Vitalich RHP Firecrackers-Clarke
2015 Victoria Webster 1B/UT So Cal Breakers

George Washington
2015 Riley Tejcek 3B Indiana Magic
2015 Chloe Braun RHP Gold Coast Hurricanes
2015 Ashley Schnarrs UT Vienna Stars

La Salle
2015 Marlo Roadcap LHP Rock 18 Gold
2015 Emma Schweigert  OF East Coast Elite

UMass
2015 Erin Stacevicz OF Delco Chaos

Rhode Island

St. Bonaventure

St. Joseph's
2015 Taryn Grober 3B Rock 18 Gold
2015 Stacey Mayer 2B/SS East Coast Firecrackers
2015 Abby Stroud P/IF NJ Cheetahs

St. Louis
2015 Mackenzie Lawson 2B St. Louis Espirit

2014 Roster Analysis

2014 Atlantic 10
207 Players
20.7 Average
43 Pitchers
4.3 Average
168 Right handed hitters
39 Left handed hitters
199 Right handed throwers
8 Left handed throwers
61 Freshmen
59 Sophomores
47 Juniors
40 Seniors
23 States: Arizona (2), California (15), Connecticut (3), Delaware (1), Florida (4), Georgia (1), Illinois (12), Indiana (4), Kansas (2), Kentucky (1), Maine (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (17), Missouri (8), New Hampshire (3), New Jersey (32), New York (34), Ohio (8), Pennsylvania (27), Rhode Island (2), Texas (8), Virginia (18), Washington (2)
8 Teams have a player from New York.
8 Teams have a player from New Jersey.
8 Teams have a player from Pennsylvania.
7 Teams have a player from California.
5 Teams have a player from Texas.
4 Teams have a player from Massachusetts.
4 Teams have a player from Illinois.
3 Teams have a player from Florida.
3 Teams have a player from Connecticut.
3 Teams have a player from New Hampshire.
2 Teams have a player from Virginia.
2 Teams have a player from Ohio.
2 Teams have a player from Arizona.
George Mason has the largest roster with 24 players.
St. Louis has the smallest roster with 16 players.
La Salle has the most pitchers on the roster with 6.
George Washington and St. Louis have the fewest pitchers with 3.
La Salle has the most freshmen with 9.
Fordham and St. Bonaventure have the fewest freshmen with 4 each.
George Washington has players from 11 different states.
St. Louis has players from 3 different states.

Dayton
22 Players
5 Pitchers
17 Right handed hitters
5 Left handed hitters
21 Right handed throwers
1 Left handed thrower
5 Freshmen
7 Sophomores
5 Juniors
5 Seniors
8 States: California (1), Georgia (1), Illinois(3), Indiana (4), Kentucky (1), New York (1), Ohio (7), Texas (4)

Fordham
19 Players
4 Pitchers
14 Right handed hitters
4 Left handed hitters
1 Switch hitter
18 Right handed throwers
1 Left handed thrower
4 Freshmen
4 Sophomores
7 Juniors
4 Seniors
9 States: California (1), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Maryland (1), New Jersey (6), New York (6), Pennsylvania (1), Rhode Island (1), Texas (1)

George Mason
24 Players
4 Pitchers
20 Right handed hitters
4 Left handed hitters
24 Right handed throwers
0 Left handed throwers
6 Freshmen
9 Sophomores
6 Juniors
3 Seniors
6 States: California (2), Florida (1), Illinois (1), New Jersey (2), Pennsylvania (1), Virginia (17)

George Washington
18 Players
3 Pitchers
12 Right handed hitters
6 Left handed hitters
15 Right handed throwers
3 Left handed throwers
8 Freshmen
4 Sophomores
3 Juniors
3 Seniors
11 States: Arizona (1), California (4), Connecticut (1), Florida (2), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), New Jersey (3), New York (1), Pennsylvania (1), Texas (1), Washington (1)

La Salle
23 Players
6 Pitchers
19 Right handed hitters
4 Left handed hitters
23 Right handed throwers
0 Left handed throwers
9 Freshmen
5 Sophomores
5 Juniors
4 Seniors
6 States: California (1), New Jersey (6), New York (2), Pennsylvania (12), Texas (1), Washington (1)

UMass
20 Players
5 Pitchers
16 Right handed hitters
4 Left handed hitters
20 Right handed throwers
0 Left handed throwers
6 Freshmen
5 Sophomores
4 Juniors
5 Seniors
9 States: Arizona (1), California (3), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (8), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (1), New York (2), Pennsylvania (2), Virginia (1)

Rhode Island
22 Players
4 Pitchers
20 Right handed hitters
2 Left handed hitters
22 Right handed throwers
0 Left handed throwers
5 Freshmen
6 Sophomores
4 Juniors
7 Seniors
9 States: Connecticut (1), Maine (1), Massachusetts (7), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (3), New York (5), Pennsylvania (1), Rhode Island (1), Texas (1)

St. Bonaventure
21 Players
4 Pitchers
16 Right handed hitters
5 Left handed hitters
20 Right handed throwers
1 Left handed thrower
4 Freshmen
6 Sophomores
7 Juniors
4 Seniors
4 States: New York (15), New Jersey (2), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (3)

St. Joseph's
22 Players
5 Pitchers
21 Right handed hitters
1 Left handed hitters
21 Right handed throwers
1 Left handed thrower
8 Freshmen
8 Sophomores
4 Juniors
2 Seniors
7 States: California (2), Florida (1), Massachusetts (1), New Hampshire (1), New York (2), New Jersey (9), Pennsylvania (6)

St. Louis
16 Players
3 Pitchers
12 Right handed hitters
4 Left handed hitters
15 Right handed throwers
1 Left handed thrower
6 Freshmen
5 Sophomores
2 Juniors
3 Seniors
3 States: Illinois (6), Kansas (2), Missouri (8)

Class of 2014 Signees

If you know of anymore please email atlantic10softball@gmail.com

Dayton
Kailee Budicin IF/C New Lenox Lightning
Manda Cash P Ohio Nightmare
Kayla Haberstich SS New Lenox Lightning
Jaclyn Kweder OF Indiana Shockwaves

Fordham
Madison Shaw IF/C RI Thunder
Morgan Figueroa OF WA Ladyhawks

George Mason
Jade Fleming IF Dallas Tigers
Katie Holehouse 1B/3B Vienna Stars
Lizzie Seymour IF Beverly Bandits
Brooke Sullivan 2B/C Tri-State Thunder

George Washington
Sarah Costlow P So Cal Athletics-Sota
Alana Anderson OF Arizona Storm
Aiyana Leal-Robles C So Cal Athletics-Sota
Rochelle Draper 2B Jets Gold
Morgan Rinehart OF Vienna Stars

La Salle
Valerie Pineiro 3B NJ Gators
Taylor Rohrbaugh P Krunch Gold
Angelina Refice OF Lower South Liberty
McKenzie Peace P Georgia Knockouts

UMass
Meg Colleran P East Coast Firecrackers
Gianna Hathaway SS RI Thunder
Emily Neal OF Pennsbury Gems

URI
Jessica Proia IF Concord Raiders
Madison Housel C NJ Pride

St. Bonaventure
Hailey Blencoe 2B TC Tremors
Josie Borysevicz P East Coast Firecrackers
Morgan Phillips C Battery Lightning
Courtney Rogers UT East Coast Firecrackers

St. Joseph's
Shannon Puthe 2B NJ Gators
Nikki Alden 2B/P Newtown Rock
Erica Nugent SS NJ Cheetahs
Madison Clarke P Alberta, Canada

St. Louis
Maddie Baalman P/IF
Miranda Cotton IF St. Louis Academy Gold
Josie Knesel OF St. Louis Chaos
Allie Macfarlane IF Mac N Seitz

Travel teams with more than one signee
East Coast Firecrackers 3
RI Thunder 2
Vienna Stars 2
NJ Gators 2
So Cal Athletics-Sota 2
New Lenox Lightning 2

Coaching News: UMass hired Staci Ramsey

A long overdue posting.

Staci Ramsey

UMass hired former Alabama All-American Staci Ramsey as an assistant coach. Ramsey won three SEC titles and played in three WCWS for the Crimson Tide. She was a mainstay at the hot corner for Alabama and she was a feared hitter in the lineup. In 2006, Ramsey hit .304 with 11 HR and 57 RBI and was named an All-American. She is going to work primarily with the UMass offense and infield, which should be much improved in 2014.

Ramsey joins Kristi Stefanoni and Danielle Henderson on the UMass staff.