Host Erin Foley welcomes softball icon Michele Smith! This episode was originally recorded in 2019 and it was an instant classic! Michele is a legendary softball pitcher and trailblazing broadcaster. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, she helped lead Team USA to victories in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), dominating with a combined 0.51 ERA and 60 strikeouts across 41.2 innings. Smith also captured three ISF World Championships and two Pan American Games golds.

At Oklahoma State University from 1986 to 1989, she compiled an 82–20 record, earned two NFCA First-Team All-American honors, and set numerous school and conference records—all after overcoming a devastating arm injury in 1986.

Since 1998, Smith has been ESPN’s lead college softball analyst, and in 2012, she broke new ground as the first woman to commentate a nationally televised MLB game. She was inducted into the USA Softball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Foley and Smith discuss her fight to get the sport back in the Olympics, her playing days in Japan, career highs and lows, commentating for ESPN and how nobody should ever swing at a rise ball. Enjoy! 

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Athletes Unlimited Softball League: https://theausl.com/

Host Erin Foley welcomes Jane McManus, a distinguished sports journalist, author, and educator. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport. McManus spent nearly a decade at ESPN, covering the NFL and as a columnist for espnW. She also hosted two ESPN Radio shows and was a frequent analyst for SportsCenter.

Her work has appeared in Newsday, The New York Times, USA Today and recently authored The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women’s Sports, a book that explores the economic growth and cultural impact of women's athletics.

And most importantly, she skated with Suburbia Roller Derby under the pseudonym Leslie E. Visserate for 7 years, retiring in 2014.

Foley & McManus discuss the scope of her book, her writing process, the investment and media coverage surrounding women’s sports, and of course, her Roller derby days.

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Jane McManus on IG: @janesports

Host Erin Foley welcomes Shea Ralph, the head coach of Vanderbilt women’s basketball and former UConn star. A standout multi-sport athlete in high school, she set 17 state basketball records and was named USA Today’s National High School Player of the Year in 1996. At UConn, she led the Huskies to a national title in 2000 and earned NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors, despite a career marked by multiple ACL injuries. After assistant coaching stints at Pitt and UConn, Ralph took over at Vanderbilt in 2021, quickly revitalizing the program and leading the Commodores to their first NCAA Tournament in a decade. 

Foley and Ralph talk about her basketball lineage, ACL injuries, playing and coaching at UCONN, building the Vandy program, navigating NIL challenges and more. Enjoy! 

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Follow Shea Ralph: https://www.instagram.com/coachshearalph/

Host Erin Foley welcomes Madison Packer, a six-time NWHL/PHF All-Star and the all-time leading scorer for the Metropolitan Riveters. She helped lead the Riveters to an Isobel Cup championship in 2018 and finished her career ranked second in league history with 129 points. She won the 2011 NCAA National Championship at University of Wisconsin and took home two gold medals at the IIHF U18 Women's World Championships. Off the ice, Madison co-hosts the podcast "These Packs Puck" with her wife, Anya Packer.

Foley and Packer talk PWHL hockey playoffs, the highs and lows of league changes, parenting, retirement and hosting a podcast with her wife. Enjoy!

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Madison Packer: https://www.instagram.com/mpacker14/

Host Erin Foley welcomes Shea Holbrook, champion race car driver and the owner and team principal of BSI Racing, a professional motorsports team based in Daytona Beach. Shea is featured in the Amazon Prime Docu-series, First to the Finish — a six-part docuseries that delves into the high-stakes world of professional motorsports through the eyes of three pioneering women.

Shea is a seven-time Pirelli World Challenge winner and became the first female to win a major touring car race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. In 2017-2018 she raced full-time in the IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series. The following year she earned one of the most prestigious opportunities in her career—becoming one of only two Americans to qualify for the W Series, a ground-breaking all-female Formula 3 championship. 

Foley & Holbrook discuss her experience making the docuseries, the state of women in motorsports, balancing her life on and off the track, mentorship and the challenges of competing in the Mazda MX5 Cup Series. Enjoy! 

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Shea Holbrook: https://shearacing.com/

First to the Finish: https://www.amazon.com/First-Finish-Season-1/dp/B0DR5JCBRD

Mazda MX5 Cup Series: https://www.mx-5cup.com/

Molly McCage and Khat Bell, League One Volleyball stars, join host Erin Foley onstage at 1972 women's sports pub in Austin, Texas. McCage and Bell are teammates on LOVB Austin, recently winning the championship in the league's inaugural season. This power duo also won the NCAA Volleyball championships at UT Austin in 2012, both receiving All-American honors. 

Foley, McCage and Bell discuss LOVB's first season, playing overseas, hype music, trash talking, the popularity of women's volleyball and what lights them up on the court. 

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LOVB: https://www.lovb.com/

Molly McCage: IG @mollymccage

Khat Bell: IG @_khatbell

1972 Women's Sports Pub: https://1972pub.com/ 

Host Erin Foley welcomes Jean Fruth, the director and producer of See Her Be Her, a documentary exploring the global landscape of women’s baseball. The film follows seven amazing players from the US, Japan, Cuba, Canada, South Korea, Uganda and Puerto Rico as they battle for the World Cup Championship. The doc spotlights the incredible talent and resilience of the players, along with their fight for gender equality for all female athletes. 

Foley & Fruth discuss the making of the film, how the players were selected, the twelve-city theater tour, the current state of women's baseball and more. Enjoy! 

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Jean Fruth: https://www.jeanfruthimages.com/

Grassroots Baseball: https://www.grassrootsbaseball.org/

Host Erin Foley welcomes Penny Toler, a former WNBA basketball player, coach, and executive. As a player, she made history by scoring the first basket in WNBA history in 1997 while playing for the Los Angeles Sparks. After retiring, she transitioned into a front-office role and became the Sparks’ general manager, a position she held for two decades. Under her leadership, the Sparks won multiple WNBA championships.

Beyond basketball, Toler has continued her leadership career in the entertainment industry and is currently the General Manager of the historic Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena.

Foley and Toler discuss the formation of the WNBA, Toler's first bucket, playing overseas, her incredible run as the GM of the Sparks, music, comedy — this episode has it all. Enjoy! 

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Host Erin Foley welcomes Sabreena Merchant, a fantastic women's basketball staff writer for The Athletic. She previously covered the WNBA and NBA for SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, High Post Hoops, and Dime Magazine. She’s an alum of Duke University, where she wrote for the independent student newspaper, The Chronicle. 

Foley and Merchant take a deep dive into women's college basketball. Duke's back-to-back upset victories, UCLA's revenge and the continued success of South Carolina and Uconn. Plus, Juju's dominance, bracket busters and a sneak peak at the upcoming WNBA season. Enjoy! 

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

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Sabreena Merchant: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/sabreena-merchant/

Host Erin Foley welcomes Sue Wicks, WNBA legend and Hall of Famer. This episode was originally recorded in 2019 and quickly became a fan-favorite. Wicks was a member of the WNBA's first draft class and help build the league. She dominated on every court - from Rutgers University to European Leagues to the New York Liberty. She's a Hall of Famer, a gay icon and now an oyster farmer in Long Island. Her stories are truly epic. Enjoy! 

Follow Erin on Social!  Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social Email the show: [email protected]