In The Circle

As the 2022 Division 1 season gets ever closer, we are full speed ahead and in this episode, we are running with the Bulls. The USF Bulls that is as Eric Lopez chats with USF Head Coach Ken Eriksen. The two talk about life now with Coach Eriksen's focus solely on the USF program after leading Team USA to Silver in Tokyo. Coach also shares his thoughts on his ball club for 2022, his recent induction into the Tampa Sports Hall of Fame and a wide array of subjects. 

We also will hear from one of Coach Eriken's opponents this weekend, Michigan's Carol Hutchins as she spoke with the media. 

IT'S GAME WEEK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! Start it off right with In The Circle as Eric Lopez has his annual chat with two of our favorites. First, ESPN's Amanda Scarborough joins us to breakdown the SEC, Big 12, Pac 12, Big 10, and ACC. How will the ACC shakeout and can they send multiple teams to Oklahoma City? Can the Big 12 get three teams to Oklahoma City? Where will the Big 10 be after Michigan and Northwestern? Those are some of the questions that will be asked with Amanda. 

Then, we bring in Justin McLeod from Extra Innings Softball to break down the rest of college softball heading into 2022. They take a look around the American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and other mid-major leagues in college softball. 

We're rolling along here at In The Circle with no signs of slowing down. On today's episode, we continue with our look at the Big 10 as we visit with Wisconsin Head Coach Yvette Healy as the Badgers prepare for the 2021 season and how they'll navigate the Big Ten. As a caveat, Coach Healy's interview took place prior to the news that former Big Ten Player of the Year Kayla Konwent would return to the Badgers for this season. 

Victor also shares his thoughts on the Northern Lights, Southern Nights tournament where Wisconsin will kick off their season and he'll be joining them. He'll explain in the show.    Victor will also prepare for the Division II season by chatting with Head Coach Michael Mook from the defending national champions West Texas A&M. Entering his third season, Coach Mook has his team primed for another run at Denver and shares how his team has looked en route to Gulf Shores this weekend. He also talks about the moment he felt his team would win it all in 2021.    We also preview some of the marquee tournaments taking place within Division II including the Gulf Shores Invitational, Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational, and Concordia Kick-Off Classic. 

February means college softball is upon us (THANK GOODNESS). We kick off the month in the Big Ten and our first stop is in Bloomington with Indiana Associate Head Coach Kendall Fearn. She chats with Eric about the Hoosiers' outlook for the upcoming season and being on Coach Shonda Stanton's staff going back to her time at Marshall. She also shares stories about her playing career at UNLV where she played for Lonni Alameda 

We then head over to Minneapolis and talking Golden Gophers with Minnesota Associate Head Coach Carly Wynn. After sharing her insight about the Gophers this season, Coach Wynn chats about being a part of Head Coach Piper Ritter's staff. She also talks about playing for both JoAnne Graf and Lonni Alameda at Florida State as well as her coaching journey.

We come back with some thoughts on the Pac-12 starting a conference tournament in 2023. Plus, we announce our guests for our upcoming show and a special announcement about a live show on our YouTube channel. 

We wrap up the biggest month in In The Circle history by chatting with Oklahoma State Head Coach Kenny Gajewski. The Cowgirls come into 2022 with high expectations and are primed for their third straight Women's College World Series appearance & a national championship. Coach G joins Eric Lopez to talk about the Cowgirls 2022 season outlook and how his team is preparing for the season. He also broke down that late-night/early morning tilt against Florida State last year in Oklahoma City which eventually became a catalyst for expanding the WCWS schedule. Coach Gajewski also discusses the changing landscape of college athletics including the Big 12 and more. We wrap up the show breaking down Oklahoma State's schedule including a challenging three-series stretch to end the regular season.

With the SEC/Big 12 challenge taking place this weekend on the hardwood, In The Circle is putting a softball spin to it on this episode. We first finish our tour in the SEC by traveling to Athens and chatting with new Georgia Head Coach Tony Baldwin. He speaks with Eric Lopez about his transition to Head Coach and assembling his coaching staff. Coach Baldwin also talks about his talent-rich team coming into 2022 and navigating the always rugged SEC.  Afterward, we travel to Lawrence, Kansas, where KU is looking to build off a promising 2021 season that saw some signature victories. Eric chats with Jayhawks Head Coach and former Team USA member Jennifer McFalls about the outlook of the Jayhawks in 2022. She also shares her coaching journey, including stops at Texas and Oklahoma. McFalls also reflects on her Olympic experience, from being an alternate in 1996 to scoring the game-winning run in the 2000 Gold Medal Game against Japan. We wrap up the softball, talking about the USA Softball Top 50 Watch List and some players who should have been on the list.

Our tour of the SEC continues on this edition of In The Circle. This time, we make our way to Rocky Top with our conversation with Tennessee Head Coach Karen Weekly. After last season ended earlier than expected, Coach Weekly chats about the outlook for the Lady Vols in 2022 and a different-looking dugout with Ralph Weekly retiring (He won't be too far away, as she shares). She also talks about the addition of Chris Malveaux to the staff and his impact on the offense. We also discuss the expanded WCWS schedule, adjusting to the "out of the box" rule, and much more. 

We hear from current Team USA member and Tennessee legend Monica Abbott from Team USA's media availability earlier this month about being on the team heading into the World Games this summer in Birmingham. Plus, has Victor's Wrestlemania challenge been answered? 

We kick off another week on the podcast by heading on up to Baton Rouge and our annual chat with LSU's Beth Torina. Coach Torina talks with Eric Lopez about the Tigers' 2022 outlook including another challenging non-conference schedule and the keys to get them to Oklahoma City for the fifth time under her leadership. She also reflects on the impact of two women in her life who recently got inducted to their respective hall of fames; LSU's Yvette Giraurd and Houston's Angel Shamblin.   The guys then chat about what players to look for with the Tigers and how they should be a Top 10 team in the preseason. Eric brings up a challenge laid down from a member of the Torina household involving Wrestlemania and Victor throws down a challenge of his own. The show wraps up with new content coming out soon on our YouTube page and an announcement about a future guest on the podcast. 

We wrap up Champions Week on In The Circle by welcoming back two-time National Champion Tim Walton to the podcast. His Gators are loaded and ready to return back to the Women's College World Series with tons of star power all over the diamond. Eric Lopez chats with Coach Walton about the upcoming season including hosting the SEC Softball Tournament for the first time since 2005. He also talks about the success former Gators have had professionally and internationally & the increasing use of advanced analytics in softball.

The guys then breakdown Charla Echols, Amanda Lorenz, and Michelle Moultrie playing on Team USA including sound from Lorenz & Moultrie from USA Softball's media availability last week. 

The show closes with some big news from Wisconsin and its potential impact on the Big Ten race in 2022. 

As we continue to get another day closer to the 2022 season, we continue to have the big names step In The Circle. Today, we are joined by Florida State Head Coach Lonni Alameda who has a team primed and ready to make another run to Oklahoma City where she's led the Noles four times in the last seven full seasons. Coach chats with Eric Lopez about last season and what fans can expect from FSU in 2022. She also chats about a busy off-season which included her winning bronze as a part of the Team Canada staff in the Summer Olympics. Alameda goes in-depth about an improving ACC and what is was like facing Mike Candrea in what was his last game as Arizona Head Coach. 

Victor joins the podcast to talk about some of the names to look for to help FSU and talks about the Top 15 pitchers that were released on NCAA.com & who he would add on the list.