The USA Softball Junior Olympic Cup begins Monday and will run through Saturday, August 1 when a champion is crowned from the field of 29 teams coming from all over the nation.

The tournament will take place at the Big League Dreams complex in Chino Hills, Calif.

Following on the heels of the ASA/USA 18 and 16 GOLD championships which finished Saturday in Oregon, the JO Cup is the final big club event of the year for ASA/USA Softball and in its first year of existence has drawn a lot of attention from the softball community.

Here are five reasons we think the event will be compelling to watch and pay attention to…

• CLICK HERE to sign-up/log in to see all the JO Cup games starting Monday, July 26!
• CLICK HERE to check out our JO Cup Event Preview including roster of teams

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1. ASA/USA SOFTBALL PRODUCED
   

If this was any other organization or event producer running a national championship during the same week as the Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) 18U Nationals held about 45 minutes away, it wouldn’t have registered a blip on the radar.

However, because its ASA/USA Softball—the governing body of fastpitch softball which includes over one million participating fastpitch athletes of all ages feeding up to the U.S. Women’s and Jr. National teams—it certainly is getting its share of attention.

Prior to 2010, before PGF and Triple Crown Sports began launching their highly successful national championship tournaments, the ASA GOLD championships were the only games in town and had all the best teams involved because it was THE source of the national championships.

Now, ASA/USA Softball has created the JO Cup with the intent of putting together a Nationals competitive with the other big organizations and many are watching to see how the event unfolds and develops not just this year, but beyond which leads to the…

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   CURIOSITY FACTOR
   

Yes, it’s ASA/USA Softball which has been in the “National Championship Business” for many decades so when it launches a big, high-attention event such as the JO Cup, especially when it’s going head-to-head with the PGF Nationals, it will draw a lot of attention and discussion… even controversy.

Generally, the softball community wants to see how the event plays out and how it will impact the fastpitch club landscape.

One of the big selling points from the ASA/USA Softball organization has been that the JO Cup will be used as a “feeder system” for the National Teams down the road, including the hoped-for future Olympic teams that could start as early as 2020 in Japan (most think if softball does get in it will be an exhibition sport only at first).

Reportedly, the National Team coaches will be watching the JO Cup in person to evaluate talent. How this will work out remains to be seen—for example, must a player need to have the JO Cup on her resume to be considered? If not, does playing in the JO Cup give a big advantage, even if it’s only to be seen in person?

Many questions will arise and answers will be determined during, and after ,this week’s championship wraps up including how it will impact the sport overall and compete (or not) with the other National Championships in terms of scheduling and drawing top teams and players.

Generally, any new event will get attention because of the novelty of being new, so how the first year plays out will be key to the ongoing success of the JO Cup and the resources ASA/USA Softball puts into it down the road.

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   AWARD MONEY
   

One of the most novel concepts of the JO Cup is that the top 12 teams will be awarded a “cash donation award” back to those who finish in the top dozen.

When first announced, the idea drew its fair share of criticism but many coaches from participating teams looked at it as a way to recoup costs while others continued to maintain that introducing money into a club sport could or would lead to potential problems.

The furor seems to have mostly subsided and some coaches from teams involved have said that the award money is not as big of a factor as some would say it is. A few told FloSoftball off the record that they appreciate the opportunity to have a chance to pay off costs for the program as travel and other expenses continue to escalate. Others have said they would donate any winnings to worthy causes.

With 29 teams in the JO Cup, that means 41 percent of them will at least pay off the entry fee. But what about those who don’t, will the experience be worth it even if they don’t get anything? In advance of the tournament, all coaches surveyed said they think it will be whether they walk away with anything or not.

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   THE TALENT
   

The JO Cup, in its first year and only at the 18U level right now, is not close to PGF in the number of teams and the breadth of talent (just because of the sheer numbers), but there still are many outstanding players at the Cup worth watching.

There are dozens of Hot 100 and All-American players who’ll suit up at the JO Cup including the No. 1 player in the 2018 class, Brooke Vestal (Oklahoma commit) who, due to an injury, missed the TC/Nationals last week where her Texas Bombers team made it to the finals.

Brooke will be on the field in Chino Hills (and next week pitch at the PGF 16U/14U Nationals) along with 1^st Team All-American pitcher Samantha Show (Texas A&M) who led her Texas team to a state title.

Another Texan to watch is All-American Aubrey Leach (Tennessee) who will play for Sudden Impact Gold, which has two standout pitchers going to Baylor Abby Langkamp (2015) and Shelby McGlaun (2016). The Impact won the Colorado Fireworks/Sparkler tournament earlier this month and Leach was a catalyst on offense.

One favored team is the Wichita Mustangs which have a strong blend of experience including 2015 pitcher Sydney Smith, the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year, down to 2019 catcher Julia Cottrill, one of the top players in her class. The Mustangs could have won the TC/USA Nationals and made the final four, but had to pull out because of travel conflicts.

Other 1^st Team FloSoftball All-Americans of note include Alex Sobczak of Finessee, a 2015 infielder staying in-state to play at Michigan and the recipient of “Miss Softball” state honors, pitcher Jenna Goodrich (2015, Georgia Tech) who led her Florida high school to the 5A title game and plays for Gold Coast Hurricanes, Lily Mann, a speedy 2015 slapper also for the Hurricanes who hit .652 and signed with Florida, 2015 Hurricanes infielder Toni Polk, the 2015 New York Gatorade Player of the Year signed with Penn State and 2015 outfielder Brittany Edmondson, a four time All-State pick from Tennessee who will play at the Univ. of Tennessee.

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   THE VENUE
   

While the TC/USA Nationals had the beautiful mountains and lakes of Reno and Tahoe, Nevada and PGF has all that Southern California has to offer including the beach just a few miles away, the USA Softball JO Cup provides the unique environment of being on replica fields that have resemble historic MLB parks.

The Chino Hills facility will have four games going on at any given time and they will be on fields that are built to the backdrop of Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Boston’s Fenway Park, Detroit’s Tiger Stadium and the old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn where the Dodgers played prior to moving to Los Angeles.

One thing will be instantly noticeable on the FloSoftball streamed games: home runs hit on these fields will clear fences in front of backgrounds comparable to no others!