I’ve just finished watching our Gamecock Softball team obliterate the #8 Duke Blue Devils 14-7, spurned by an 8 run 7th inning. This brings the Gamecocks to an astounding 17-0, their best start to a season EVER. At this point last year we were 15-2, which is great, but that includes two bad losses to UNC Charlotte and Stetson, and no ranked wins. That UNC Charlotte loss is especially significant because two current key assets of this Gamecocks team participated, but for the 49ers. The first being Arianna Rodi, who currently leads the Gamecocks with 20 RBIs and 6 HRs. The other, and possibly the most important asset, is coach Ashley Chastain Woodard.
A former Gamecock softball player from 2009-2011, and a grad assistant in 2012, Woodard comes back to the Gamecocks as a seasoned NCAA softball coach, and currently the hottest coach in the NCAA. Dating back to 2020, the start of her head coaching career, Ashley Chastain Woodard is an astounding 171-96, which is good enough for a .639 win percentage, along with two NCAA Regional appearances in the past two years. She’s also won 2 conference regular season championships and a conference tournament, which was the first ever conference tournament for the Charlotte 49ers. She changed the entire outlook of that program around, and now she is here to revitalize our Gamecocks.
Amazing coaching is wonderful, however you need to have great performance as well. Last year, out of players who played at least 80% of the games, we had 0 players with an OPS of over 1.000, 0 players with a slugging percentage over .500, and 0 players with a batting average above .300. This year, amongst players that have played in at least 80% of the games so far, we have 7 players with an OPS over 1.000, 7 players with a slugging percentage over .500, and 8 players with a batting average above .300. Only two of the eight players forming the categories above played in at least 80% of the games last year (Brooke Blankenship and Karley Shelton), with the rest either being younger players who now get to step up in the team (Natalie Heath), or impactful transfers that have really given a spark to this program (Quincee Lilio, Arianna Rodi, Abigail Knight, Ella Chancey, and Lexi Winters). It’s funny because I mentioned earlier that we only got two large assets from UNC Charlotte, however it wasn’t just Rodi that Chastain Woodard brought over. Knight, Chancey, and Winters all came with and are all playing a HUGE role in the Gamecocks success this season. And where did Quincee Lilio come from you might ask? Well the absolute softball powerhouse that is known as Oklahoma. This combination of mid-major superstars and championship mentality has made this become the greatest transfer class this program has ever seen. All of this because of one Ashley Chastain Woodard. The future is bright for our Gamecocks, and I am beyond excited to see where this team takes us.
Hey y’all! My name is Nate and I’m a statistics major with a sport and entertainment management minor. I am one half of the show “On the Bench” at WUSC. If you love sports, especially Gamecock athletics, you should give it a listen!