2026 Softball Offseason

[JMV Just My View]

Didn't UL have a baseball player coaching softball pitching at the time?

They still have a baseball player coaching softball pitching. The last real UL pitching coach was Mike Robert's an actual men's fastpitch pitcher. A baseball coach that is coaching fastpitch pitching has nothing to do with Sam Roe not living up to the high school hype.

[JMV Just My View]

Look at her numbers vs 2 SBC schools she pitched against this year. I’ll take that, granted small sample size. But the girl was only a freshman in the sec and still had a sub 4 era. Not saying she will be a superstar but just looking at this year and saying she isn’t a good pickup is not being fair. Do I think she is a great pickup, no. Is it a promising one, yes.

Where did I say she wasn't a good pickup? I said her stats coming in doesn't get the fan base excited. I spoke to a guy who said she was legit from 12U to 16U as he coached against her and his daughter faced her. After 16U batters started catching up to her. A reset maybe just what she needs. The Cajuns need her to be good. They can't afford any more portal misses or being left out of post season. Like my first post of this threads say. 2027 is a make or break season for the future of this program. Everything matters this season and the build up to opening day.

[JMV Just My View]

For me it's not the background it's the training ground.

Brady had success in two previous stints.

I think he got his feet wet at UConn then Toledo before UL.

The Glasco experience made a softball pitching coach out of a baseball player for the first time.

Louisiana should never allow itself to be the training ground.

The percentages of success in that scenario drop through the floor.

UL doesn't have time for on the job training. Brady hasn't enjoyed success anywhere that he has coached. He is a job hopper, never stayed in one place long and never advanced his career. All moves have been at best lateral or worse.

[JMV Just My View]

Picture has her with a bat, is she a two way player?

No.

[JMV Just My View]

Look at her numbers vs 2 SBC schools she pitched against this year. I’ll take that, granted small sample size. But the girl was only a freshman in the sec and still had a sub 4 era. Not saying she will be a superstar but just looking at this year and saying she isn’t a good pickup is not being fair. Do I think she is a great pickup, no. Is it a promising one, yes.

She didn't have a sub 4 era and in the SEC games she pitched in it wasn't good. Like I said hopefully she can be coached up and a change of scenery could be what she needs. Being back around Hart should also help her get comfortable with Lafayette and the team.

[SlickRick]

Anyone know her velocity?

Found this on Grok: She is a highly regarded right-handed pitcher (RHP) for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks (freshman in 2026). She's described in articles as having a "strong" or "fiery fastball" along with effective off-speed pitches, based on her dominant high school career at Orange Beach High School in Alabama (multiple state titles, low ERA, high strikeouts, and top national recruiting rankings). Nothing in her bio about her velocity.

[Roarman]

I would like to know who wrote an article in which she was deemed a highly regarded pitcher for South Carolina. She only threw 17 innings. How could she possibly be highly regarded if she didn't get more time in me circle?

[Turbine]

I would like to know who wrote an article in which she was deemed a highly regarded pitcher for South Carolina. She only threw 17 innings. How could she possibly be highly regarded if she didn't get more time in me circle?

Undisclosed injury maybe?

Don't know

[SlickRick]

I would like to know who wrote an article in which she was deemed a highly regarded pitcher for South Carolina. She only threw 17 innings. How could she possibly be highly regarded if she didn't get more time in me circle?

Grok probably referring to her HS stats, but just a guess.

[RaginDave]

She did not end the season with a sub 4.0 era. Her era was 4.12.

Here's an interesting stat. In the history of Ragin' Cajun softball, there are only six pitchers who threw 50 innings or more and ended the season with an era higher than 3.5.

Those pitchers are... 2026, Lexie Delbrey 4.03, Sage Hoover 3.98, Julianne Tipton 3.78.

2025...Bethany Noble 5.07, Tyra Clary 4.05, Mallory Wheeler 3.48.

For 43 years, a lot of the Cajuns' success had to do with how good the pitching was. Many years the Cajuns ended the year with a team era below 1.5.

If the last two years prove anything, it's this. Sometimes it all comes down to pitching. And, unfortunately, the Cajuns did not have the pitching to to win a conference title, to win a conference tournament or to make it into the field of 64.

Unless, the pitching coach is able to coach up the four pitchers he currently has, expect the same result as the last two years.

Wow I wonder how they figured her out. She went 22 and one with a .77 ERA her senior year in high school and let her team to a high school national championship as the starting ace pitcher. Look I’m not saying she’s the second coming of Brooke Mitchell or any of the other All-American pictures we’ve had. I’m just saying it was a good pick up

[Roarman]

The success of the 2027 Ragin Cajun softball team is going to rely heavily on pitching coach, Kyle Brady. He is faced with a daunting task. Here's the main reason why. There simply is not enough practice time for him to coach up five pitchers. Here's what he's faced with.

Sage Hoover. Last year she was a middle of the road SBC pitcher. Against SBC competition, her era was 3.82 (3.98 overall) and she finished with a 6-8 SBC record (11-12 overall). In order for her to be a top-level SBC pitcher, her era will have to be cut in half.

Bailey Mackles. I think she has potential. However, as a freshman she had control issues that she was not able to correct. Brady is going to have to coach her up to throw more strikes.

KG Favors. Obviously she was really good in high school and travel ball. Unfortunately, that meant nothing once she stepped onto a collegiate field. Her freshman year she only threw 17 innings and finished with a 4.12 era. There was a reason she only got 17 innings. Let's hope she wasn't injured. Also, there's a reason she transferred. Either, she wasn't asked back or she knew she wasn't going to get much time in the circle. Whatever the reason, another pitcher Brady is going to have to coach up to be successful in the SBC.

Then there are the two incoming freshmen. Freshmen are freshmen. Very few are highly successful their freshman year. So, that's two more he's going to have to coach up in order for them to compete at the collegiate level.

One thing that still might happen that will give Brady some relief, is for the Cajuns to pick up a reliable, proven, above-average pitcher in the portal.
Without that happening, at best, Brady can maybe coach up three pitchers. And to be honest, that is a stretch. Coaching up five pitchers will be almost impossible. So, maybe he needs to pick three pitchers to work with and maybe red shirt the other two.

I would not want to be in his shoes. I do wish him the best of luck.

[JMV Just My View]

Wow I wonder how they figured her out. She went 22 and one with a .77 ERA her senior year in high school and let her team to a high school national championship as the starting ace pitcher. Look I’m not saying she’s the second coming of Brooke Mitchell or any of the other All-American pictures we’ve had. I’m just saying it was a good pick up

She didn't lead her team to an national high school championship. There is no such thing. It is a voting system who they think is the #1 team. You and I both have been a Cajun fan for a long time. If we had a nickle for every athlete regardless of the sport who came to UL with great high school stats and didn't do much we would be rich. We need Favors to be really good and we need more good players.

[SlickRick]

Wow I wonder how they figured her out. She went 22 and one with a .77 ERA her senior year in high school and let her team to a high school national championship as the starting ace pitcher. Look I’m not saying she’s the second coming of Brooke Mitchell or any of the other All-American pictures we’ve had. I’m just saying it was a good pick up

I'm in agreement with Roarman about her showing her freshman year at SC. However, if we had signed her out of HS we would have been jacked up. Here's hoping she finds Lafayette to her liking and is able to find her mojo at Lamson.

[Roarman]

I'm in agreement with Roarman about her showing her freshman year at SC. However, if we had signed her out of HS we would have been jacked up. Here's hoping she finds Lafayette to her liking and is able to find her mojo at Lamson.

Finding her mojo is going to have a lot to do with how Kyle Brady coaches her up.

[RaginDave]

She didn't lead her team to as national high school championship. There is no such thing. It is a voting system who they think is the #1 team. You and I both have been a Cajun fan for a long time. If we had a nickle for every athlete regardless of the sport who came to UL with great high school stats and didn't do much we would be rich. We need Favors to be really good and we need more good players.

But you didn’t answer the question about the fact that she went 21 and one with a .77 ERA even though you said after you 16 she wasn’t as good