Today we were going to profile the Sorcerer Gold team, but in deference to the passing last night of the former head coach, Phil Mumma, we’re going to bypass a team profile and cover some recruiting and event news.  We first look at how there will be a lot of Snow in Washington in the future, add some recruiting news, put on our calendar some top events from the Team NJ program and show the softball spirit as yesterday’s prize winner wants to “pay it forward”…

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RECRUITING: WASHINGTON GETS TWICE THE SNOW

Maybe with such an easy last name like “Snow,” Craig and Trista Snow figured they’d make it tough on journalists doing stories on their three softball playing daughters.

First, there was Talee, then came Tannon and finally Taylon.

When we spoke to Craig last night, to his credit, he didn’t mess up his daughter’s name once.  This writer, on the hand, was tripping all over my “t’s,” “n’s” and “a’s.”

Washington Husky softball fans better practice the names, too, because the youngest girls will eventually be wearing the Purple and Gold

Even Talee, who’s finishing up at UCLA after an injury ended her accomplished softball career, could end up at the Seattle university eventually to get an MBA.

The two-for-one Washington commitments happened this week after a roller-coaster of a summer.

Tannon, a 2015 third baseman who attends Chino Hills (Calif.) High School, had committed to Arizona State during her softball year but everything got thrown for a loop when Clint Myers left to go to Auburn in July.

Tannon, like many recruits, loved Myers and his staff but waited to see what the fallout would be. When four other players decommitted from ASU, including some she was looking to play for, the middle sister decided to re-open her college recruiting.

What led to her commitment to Washington was a visit she and her younger sister took recently.  Both sisters visited Oregon and Washington and fell in love with the Seattle area and with the Husky coaches.

“The key factor was the girls wanted to play together and decided they wanted to stay closer to home,” their father said Monday night.  “Tannon decommitted a week ago and committed to Washington last night as did Taylon. Tannon had sat on it a good week and really liked Washington and everything the coaches had to offer.”

What made it equally tough was telling Coach Myers that Auburn wasn’t in play anymore either.

“Our family became close with Coach Myers,” Craig Snow explained. “That made it really tough.  It was just a case of it being too far away for the girls.  It was a tough night tonight telling him.”

It’s easy to understand why major programs wanted Tannon as well as her baby sister.  Tannon was a CalHi Sports All-State Underclass pick this year and the last two years at the club level she’s won national championships, albeit with two different teams.

In 2012, she was part of Mike Stith’s OC Batbusters 16U team that became Team Mizuno-Stith and won the PGF 16U title.  This past summer, she was a member of the So Cal A’s team that won its fourth consecutive 18U Premier crown.

Having played for the OC Batbusters at the 12U, 14U and 16U levels, Tannon decided to return to be with him when the Batbusters merged with the Mizuno teams.  Their father explains having both Stith and Gary Haning together was beneficial in many ways.

“Mike is one of the top defensive coaches around and he’s been good to ourS family for a long time.  He and Gary both do phenomenal things as does Bruce (Richardson, Head Coach of the So Cal A’s), but a key was that Taylon has taken hitting lessons from Gary since she was five years old and has always wanted to be coached by him.”

Just as Tannon had national interest before she committed to Arizona State—Cal, Missouri, LSU and Tennessee were also in the hunt—so too did Taylon, who had interested from programs like Arizona, UCLA, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia and others.

The trip to the Northwest, though, has finalized the sisters’ plans.

“We’re excited they’ll be together not just in high school for two years,” Craig Snow concludes, “but also in college after Taylon graduates.  How blessed are we that all three of our daughters get to play the sport they love and do it at Pac-12 schools?”

 

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RECRUIT PROFILE:  Q&A WITH SYDNEY SMITH

Sydney Smith is a 2015 pitcher committed to LSU who’s from Maple Grove, Minn. As a sophomore last season, she led the state in wins (20-2), strikeouts and ERA (0.38) for large schools.  She also hit .545 and was third in Minnesota for doubles and RBI for all levels to earn 1^st team All-State honors.

This summer, she was part of the Beverly Bandits 16U team that won the PGF 16U National Championship, but will play with the Wichita Mustangs moving forward.

So why is she changing teams? Sometimes, there are factors behind the scenes that make total sense when explained—Sydney’s father Mike tells us a main reason for the switch:

“ My Dad passed away in February,” he begins.  “They live in Wichita (Kan.) and Sydney’s grandparents tried to get to many of her games as they could, but only if we were playing close. This did not happen too often.”

“For Sydney, to be able to play softball and spend time with her Grandma Smith is something that is too good of fit to consider not doing. She is gone most weekends, she did that last year, too, but now she gets to spend time with her Grandma and play softball.  That’s priceless.

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StudentSportsSoftball.com: How did LSU first find you and what was it about you that led to an offer?

Sydney Smith I was playing at 2012 ASA nationals and Coach (Lindsay) Leftwich watched me play a few games. I guess she liked what she saw and contacted my coach. We played very well and finished fourth, the highest finish ever for a Minnesota team at ASA. The comments I heard were they like my pitching and hitting and my poise in difficult situations.

 

SSS.com: How and when did you commit?
SS: When they first saw me I was playing for Minnesota Renegades. Earlier in the year I was offered a spot playing for Bill Conroy and the Beverly Bandits once the season finished. Bill put together a workout for a few schools to watch and they also watched one of my games in Chicago that fall. Coach (Beth) Torina invited me for a visit to campus the fall of my sophomore year. After a tour and meeting everyone she made me the offer in person. I have to say it was the best moment of my career so far. After spending time on campus and meeting Coach Torina I knew it was prefect. We had been on a few other visits so I did have something to compare to and LSU exceeded what I was looking for.

 

SSS.com: What was the excitement you felt when you realized it was final… you were going to an SEC program!
SS: When I committed it felt like there was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, but I realized that now I have to work even harder than before. Being able to have the chance to play at such a high level such as the SEC is crazy. Being able to be coached by one of the best coaches in the country, Coach Torina and the awesome staff at LSU, is even more of a dream come true. I am truly blessed.

 

SSS.com: You’ve had to travel long distance to play club… tell us what the sacrifices have been like and what you would say to others considering doing what you’ve done?
SS: Some sacrifices I have made are for the past two years are I have been gone every weekend and I’m never home in the summer. Honestly I wouldn’t want it any other way! I chose to play at the highest level and with the best, making that decision and living in Minnesota I knew some sacrifices would have to be made, but I was fine with that. My advice to others thinking about playing for an out of state team is, if you are seriously committed to softball and you find a program that fits you then go for it. These are your dreams, not someone else’s, so live in the moment.

 
SSS.com: What is it about the Mustangs that you liked enough to join their program?
SS: The Mustangs are one of the top 10 ranked competitive teams in the nation. I had met Coach Griggs one time at a LSU camp and liked how he did things. Everything I’ve heard and understand about how they travel, I think will help me be more successful my freshman year of college.

What do I mean by that?

We are going to be spending the entire summer together. Being away from home, spending all my time with people I barely know is only going to prepare me for my first year of college. That makes my freshman year less stressful because I am use to being away from home, I’ve roomed with people before and I’ve learned to become a better teammate. The only thing left to worry about then is getting better at softball and doing well in school. The Mustangs will also give me a chance to play with three other girls that will be at LSU while I am there. Building these friendships and getting to know them will only make me a better teammate in two years. Coach Griggs’s and the staff’s commitment to making me a better player in college was a huge driver; he is so committed to making us as good as we possibly can be. Also being able to rack up frequent flier miles every week I can’t pass it up!

There is another side of the story as well, one that is not just driven by softball. My Dad grew up just south of Wichita and all of his family still lives there. We have never lived close to either side of my family so having people attend our events is not very common. My grandfather passed away in February and it was a very sad time for me, I was close to him. He and Grandma traveled to watch me play in many different states and was always there with a hug. When my dad talked to me about the Mustangs and once the softball side was good, this whole thing became like the best dream. I get to play for a great team with great people and I get to stay at my grandmother’s house every weekend I am in town. This just makes the whole experience even better.

 

SSS.com: What’s been the highlight of your softball career so far (club or high school)?
SS: I’ve had many highlights throughout my softball career. Being chosen for the high school All-State Tournament Team as the only freshman and finishing 2^nd place. Winning the PGF 16U National Championship. But committing to LSU was by far the greatest highlight of my career so far.

 

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RECRUITING NEWS

*** Thanks go out to Jim Goranson, the head of the Illinois Bash organization and Head Coach of Oakton (Ill.) Community College who wrote to us:

“I would like to inform you of another player from the Illinois Bash Gold team who has made a verbal commitment.    Her name is Maddie Minneci from Lake Zurich High School who committed last fall to Bucknell University.

“Her commitment bring us to 28 players since 2009 who have gone on to play softball from our program.”

 

*** Also, appreciate Jill Kane letting us know that…

“A team that has not been included on your softball website for 16U is California Cruisers-Ashley Evans (with these verbals):

— P/IF Amanda Gjertsen (2016, Loyola Marymount)
— P/IF Johniann Wahl (2015, Loyola Marymount)
— P/1B Lauren Kane (2015, San Diego)

 

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EVENT NEWS: TEAM NJ ANNOUNCES TOURNEYS/PGF NATIONAL QUALIFIER

*** Here are the dates for the 2014 Team New Jersey tournaments and PGF National Qualifier for the Summer & Fall (also note the New 12U/14U tournament June 14, 15, 2014):

 

—Team New Jersey Summer Classic
(June 25-28, 2014)
Edison & Bridgewater NJ
Six Game Guarantee – five pool games to single elimination
2013 Winner: Team Mizuno (Mike Stith)
2013 Runner Up: NC Lady Lightning Team Miken Gold (John Corn)

 

— Team New Jersey & Georgia Impact Futures Elite Showcase
(June 20022, 2013) / 12U & 14U
Edison & Bridgewater NJ
Three pool to single elimination to Single Elimination

Note: Will Tomasello from the GA Impact and Jim Barsalon from Team NJ will team up for this tournament.

Barsalona says, “Will’s ‘Atlanta Legacy’ tournament has become a must-attend event every summer and together we will bring in many of the Top 14U and 12U teams on the East Coast and beyond. Teams have committed from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Alabama, Maryland and Tennessee.”

“Many other states will also be represented. We will post attending teams as they come in. This event will have a National Tournament atmosphere and we anticipate a lot of college coach attendance for the 14U division.  Additional information will be posted on both tournament web sites in the next month. This tournament will be by Invitation Only.”

 

— 17th Annual Team NJ Fall College Showcase
(October 10-12, 2014)
Edison & Bridgewater NJ
Five game guarantee, entry form will be posted in December

 

— PGF National Qualifier 16U/18U
(June 20-22, 2014)
Location TBD
June 20, 21, 22 (Fri-Sun)
location TBD

Teams must register on the PGF website
Note: other PGF National Qualifiers will be located in Virginia Beach & Atlanta Georgia – early June)

 

 

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PRIZE WINNER: PAY IT FORWARD

Finally, pay attention: this is important!

Yesterday, we choose randomly the winner to the Friday content asking which seven states play high school softball in the fall (answer: Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi (slowpitch), Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota)

The winner was Jeff Filali, who would have won a pair of Nike shoes.  However, being very generous, Jeff wrote us to say:

Wow, I’m honored to have won something.  I’d rather pay them forward though.  So, instead of sending me another pair of shoes, would you please donate a pair to a local softball player there who’s family may be going through some financial difficulties and that you know could use them more then me?  Thanks.

So here’s what we’re going to do:

Nominate a male figure of note (we have men’s shoes only right now, sorry), be it a parent, coach, or some other influential figure and say why he’s special to you.  We’ll take all nominations and pick a winner to get the shoes! E-mail to: brentt@studentsports.com

 

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If you’d like to submit information, forward to brentt@studentsports.com.  Also, follow us on twitter at @SS_Softball.