Inside the Diamond is a weekly feature during the off-season of NCAA Softball. Each week Fastpitch News (FPN) will look at a 2016 USA Today/NFCA (final poll), top 25 teams. FPN will look at the season that was and what 2017 may have to offer. Next up: Tennessee Softball.
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It has been a long time since the Tennessee Volunteers, under the guidance of Ralph and Karen Weekly, have finished outside the national polls. Matter of fact they have been ranked at the end of the year for 13 straight seasons. Tennessee finished 43-16 overall and 16-7 in the SEC. They played 22 games in 2016 against ranked opponents and came away with an 8-14 record. In April they went on an impressive run posting a 7-1 record against No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 7 Georgia and No. 2 Auburn.
The Vols also hauled in some post season awards. Rainey Gaffin earned NFCA Third-Team All-America honors, her second straight year that she garnered All-American status. Three freshmen were named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in Matty Moss, Brooke Vines and Aubrey Leach. Finally, Meghan Gregg was named first team All-SEC.
Last season Tennessee finished in the top four of the SEC in batting (.325) and pitching (2.25). The negative news is that they were among the bottom four in fielding (.959). This is an area they could and should improve in.
Tennessee returns four of their top five hitters from 2016 in Gregg (.383) Megan Geer (.368), Vines (.360) and Leach (.348). From an offensive production standpoint, the Vols are in good shape. Both Gregg and Geer had 11 home runs last season and combined for 116 RBI. They do lose Gaffin and her .380 average as well as Lexi Overstreet (.344) who hit 13 home runs in 2016. The other issue, on paper at least, is they only return one pitcher in Moss. They lose two to graduation and Bria Bush transferred to North Georgia. They will look to their incoming class to bolster the depth in the circle. The biggest loss in the circle is Erin Gabriel (21-7) who posted a 2.36 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 145.1 innings. Moss (12-5) had a great freshman season posting a 1.68 ERA with 97 strikeouts over 112 innings.
Who they lose
- Infielder/Pitcher – Gretchen Aucoin
- Catcher/Infielder – Lexi Overstreet
- Pitcher – Erin Gabriel
- Pitcher/Utility – Rainey Gaffin
- Infielder – Logyn Lilley
- Pitcher – Bria Bush (Transferred to North Georgia)
Who they get
- Pitcher – Caylan Arnold (Maryville, TN)
- Outfielder – Jenna Holcomb (Los Alamitos, CA)
- Infielder/Pitcher – Kaitlyn Martin (Medina, TN)
- Pitcher/Utility – Chelsea Seggern (Thrall, TX)
- Outfielder – Tianna Batts (Taylorsville, NC)
- Infielder/Outfielder – Cailin Hannon (Franklin, TN)
- Outfielder – Shelby Robinson (Douglasville, GA)
- Pitcher – Alex Blake (Labette Community College – Parsons, KS)
Ralph and Karen Weekly have a large class coming in which is good news as they only had 14 on the roster after removing the seniors and transfers. Since 2012 the Vols have had a large attrition rate when it comes to their recruiting classes. Matter of fact in a recent analysis by FPN, 52.94% of Tennessee’s recruits have left the program since 2012.
They address several areas with this class. The first is pitching. Arnold is a blue-chip recruit known for her velocity and strikeout ability. Blake is the two-time NJCAA DII pitcher of the year and Seggern is another top prospect that is an exceptional all-around athlete that should see time in the circle and in the field. Overall it is a well-balanced class that also brings speed to the outfield and the plate.
There are two major question marks with Tennessee. The first is pitching. Which of the newcomers can step in sooner than later to compliment Moss? The second issue they face is bolstering their defense. With what is expected to be a young staff, the defense has to be stronger if the Vols are to compete for a SEC title and beyond. From the plate, they look to be in good shape. They have speed and power coming in and several of the new faces should see significant playing time. If they can step up their defense and one of the young pitchers can step up, they should be right in the mix as they usually are.
