Oregon Ducks
Overall Rank: #9
Conference Rank: #2 Pac-12
Oregon followed up its back-t-back Women's College World Series appearances with a run to the super regional last season, where it fell to conference rival UCLA in games 2 and 3, each by a score of 2-1. The team only has six upperclassmen, three seniors and three juniors each, so the squad will look for its younger members to lead it back to the WCWS.
2016: 48-10, 20-4
2016 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Mike White
Key Departed Players:
Koral Costa, OF, .412 BA, 63 H, 13 2B, 10 HR, 46 RBI
Alyssa Gillespie, OF, .394, 70 H, 10 2B
Geri Ann Glasco, UTL, .371 BA, 12 2B, 13 HR, 44 RBI
Janelle Lindvall, C, .326 BA, 10 2B, 15 HR, 54 RBI
Cheridan Hawkins, P, 24-4, 1.77 ERA, 174.1 IP, 257 K
Key Returning Players:
Megan Kleist, P, 17-6, 2.36 ERA, 127.2 IP, 93 K
Nikki Udria, INF, .405 BA, 70 H, 56 R, 17 HR, 55 RBI
Lauren Lindvall, UTL, .393 BA, 48 H
Gwen Svekis, UT, .336 BA, 50 H, 9 2B, 12 HR, 39 RBI
Jenna Lilley, INF, .326 BA, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 14 2B
Projection:
The Ducks will be an interesting squad this season, having lost a number of key contributors, but also bringing back a number as well. Replacing Cheridan Hawkins will start with Megan Kleist, who had a nice freshman season in the circle. Kleist will be aided by the additions of Miranda Elish, a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana and Maggie Balint, a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania who holds the second-highest career strikeout total in Pennsylvania history with 1,322. Mia Camuso comes to Oregon after setting five CIF Northern Section career records with 42 homers, 239 hits, 162 RBI, 190 runs and 56 doubles. Those three, as well as Shannon Rhodes were each ranked in the top 18 recruits in the country by FloSoftball, with Elish being No. 1, Balint No. 4 and Rhodes No. 6. The softball world shouldn't feel bad for the Ducks, because they're just reloading. Oregon plays its normal tough schedule, going to the Kajikawa Classic, Mary Nutter Classic and Rainbow Wahine Classic. The Ducks will also play in the Missouri tournament, helping the Tigers christen their new $17 million softball stadium on March 3rd. The Ducks also host Florida State in early May.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Softball Tournament
Madness 2017 Draft Rankings:
#10 Nikki Udria
