Welcome to Episode 1 of Up the Coast with Alex & Britt!

Opening weekend is here! Butterflies are in full effect for athletes, coaches and fans across the country! We open this episode with our thoughts and experiences of opening weekend as former players.

Florida State #1:

Younger pitching staff, Kat Sandercock graduated

McKenna Reid- Lefty sophomore for the Noles was very impressive in her freshman campaign

Lonni Alameda coaching style- pitching by committee

FSU’s offensive leaders- Michaela Edenfield, Dev Flaherty, Kaley Mudge, Jahni Kerr, Kalei Harding

Clemson #2:

Valerie Cagle- the ACC Star 2023 National Player of the Year award recipient

Surrounded by returners- Alia Logoleo and Mackenzie Clark

Clemson fanbase seems electric!

Duke #2:

Marissa Young as the Head Coach- has done a phenomenal job building the Blue Devil program

Runner up at the ACC Tournament in 2023

Top 8 National Seed in 2023 (#8)

Winning in the “big” games will be crucial for Duke this season

Virgina Tech #3:

They have historically had great pitching

They had 100+ homeruns in 2023- great bats!

Didn’t execute and win the important games, which proved to be the difference makers throughout their season

Emma Lemley in the circle- illegal pitches, NCAA pitching rule changes

Pitching- Step/ Stride Rule Chage:

RULE: “To allow pitchers to disengage from the playing surface during the delivery. The pitcher’s pivot foot could become airborne with one push from the pitcher’s plate. However, pitchers would not be allowed to replant their pivot foot resulting in pushing off from a second point and the pitcher being farther away from the pitcher’s plate.

Britt’s thoughts on the rule change

Alex’s thoughts on the rule change

Notre Dame #4:

Interesting pre-season ranking given how their season played out last year

Hosted ACC Champs, lost the opening round game

Leadership has been a theme for the team heading into the season

Karina Gaskins- 2022 ACC POY

Repeating success is HARD

Louisville #5:

Transfer portal: lost Korbe Otis, Sarah Gordon

Graduated in ‘23: Taylor Roby- Louisville career leader in HR’s

Filling the shoes of last year’s players- dealing with change and finding their identity

Buying into that identity will be crucial for the Cardinals

Having a sense of self- finding a team identity and the importance of it!

University of North Carolina (UNC) #6:

New coaching staff- Donna J. Papa retires

New Head Coach- Megan Smith Lyons- UNC Alum

Autumn Owen- transfer to UNC from Marshall

UNC style of play- competitive, gritty

Georgia Tech #7:

Another interesting ranking, finished ‘23 10th in the ACC

New coaching staff- anxious to see how the team adapts to change

Strength of schedule is solid- opening weekend plays Alabama twice and then heads to Clearwater for the Clearwater Invitational- such a huge tournament and opportunity for GT to get better and see what they’re made of

Virginia #8:

New assistant coaches- Joanna Hardin bringing in new assistants and has had to do this a few times, has done a great job adapting to the changes and keeping the program’s culture at the forefront of her mission

Associate Head Coach- thoughts on the elevation of the position and how it’s relevance is spreading across the country

Retention focus to avoid coaches leaving programs

Syracuse #9:

Alumni as assistant coaches- Sydney O’Hara- was an All- American for the Orange, 2- way player and now able to give back to her program, having experienced it first hand

Syracuse has a great strength of in conference schedule this season- playing VT, Duke, Clemson and Florida State

North Carolina (NC) State #10:

2023 was a DOOZY

Coaching staff was let-go mid season

Director of Ops became the interim head coach, Grad Assistant became the Assistant coach

Respect the Wolfpack’s resiliency

New coaching staff- Lindsay Leftwich named as Head Coach

Boston College #11:

Important to take ownership of their identity to be in the driver’s seat of their wins and successes

Interesting hire of Cody Damon- player development coach and bringing more intelligence to the coaching perspective, not necessarily a softball specific background

Pittsburgh #12:

New coaching staff- Jenny Allard

Previous HC at Harvard, 28 years there- Ivy League’s longest tenured and most winningest coach

Importance of hiring solid assistants

Transferred out: Dani Drogemuller

Interview with Donna Papa and JoAnne Graf- two LEGENDS of the coaching world (a combined 2,805 wins between the two coaches)

History of the ACC and UNC & FSU’s involvement in the conference

Growth of the conference

Additions of teams

Additions of coverage- ACC Network, ESPN broadcasted games

Additions of facilities and amenities added for athletes and fans

The evolution of the student athlete and the sport

Softball being shown on TV

NIL and its impact

Transfer portal and its impact

ACC scope compared nationally amongst other conferences

Cal & Stanford joining the ACC

Changes within the conference

Thank you and closing remarks