Transfers

Forum to discuss the best softball team in the country
TropicalSooner
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Transfers

Post by TropicalSooner »

Senior RHP Alex Storako hit the transfer portal tonight.
Do we want to think about this one for a minute?
aka Crimson47
OUBeliever56A
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

When a pitcher with the talent that Storako has enters the portal, the radar must identify her. Her best full season was her Junior year in 2021. When she put up a 1.05 ERA in 146 innings with very good support numbers. Here are her career numbers.

Alex Storako Pitching Statistics
Career Pitching Statistics
Season ERA . W . L APP GS CG SHO SV IP ..... H .. R . ER . BB SO. 2B. 3B HR BAVG WP HBP BK SFA SHA
Total .. 1.71 69 20 121 86 38 .. 20 . 4 563.2 321 160 138 192 901 39 . 5 . 54 .162 24 . 43 . 0 . 6 .. 29

The overall pitching picture for OU for next year looks very good as is. There will Bahl (assuming everything is fine with her forearm) who will be as good as the Sooners have had since Ricketts IMO. May will be there as a strong pitcher and may be tough to surpass as the #2 pitcher on the staff. Then there are the two incoming freshman in Deal and Geurin. It would be a bit unfair to think that either will be a good as Bahl but perhaps Deal could fit in between Bahl and May primarily because she is a lefty but she could be very good also. Geurin will be right there also as a lefty option with May probably. Where McAdoo and Guthrie fit in that picture will be tough to predict.

What I know is this. It is very tough to keep 3 pitchers active and pitching regularly on any team. For the Sooners with run-rule games in the 30's the last couple years, it is even tougher to keep three fresh and sharp. Keeping four fresh and ready will be even tougher. That is what affected Rains in 2021 with Juarez, Saile, May as the top three pitchers. I think the offense will understandably be down a bit in 2023 with the loss of Alo, Johns, Elam and Snow but it will still be very good. With great pitching the run-rule games will still occur but maybe not as many. Let's say low 20's maybe. I just wonder where the innings will be.

Without any surprises, in two years the Sooners will add the talented Ella Parker, another lefty with #1 talent to the team for the 2024 season. So there will be five pitchers with great talent at that time. If the Sooners are in the SEC that year, they will need every talented arm they can recruit.

Storako looks tempting especially if she would accept a Lowary role for the Sooners. The 'Rollie Fingers' role for the Sooners. A strikeout rate of 11.19 for her career is more than impressive. As a one-year "free agent" it might work, but as is often said about the transfers for the Sooners, they have to fit in the 'mold' for the Sooners. They have to buy in to the program, to the championship mindset and the culture that has been created. Hope Trautwein certainly did this year. She might have even improved the culture with her simple good natured personality.

I would say if the Sooners add a transfer or two, it might be better used on position players instead of a pitcher. Pitchers are tough to find and they can be tougher to keep with the potential opportunities via the transfer portal these days. Feeding pitchers innings is part of the formula. The Sooners do not play that many mid-week games and that could add some innings for pitchers. But that also increases costs a bit. But with a few new starters in 2023, the extra games could help the development of them as well.

I can certainly see Storako going to a team with national championship goals though in 2022-23. She would help any of those teams that find themselves in that group of teams.
Brisket
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Post by Brisket »

Boy, Bama is hemorrhaging players. They've got 6 players in the portal right now. Kilfoyl, their #2 pitcher behind Fouts, pitched 80 innings w/ a 2.36 ERA. She got hurt back in April I believe, and didn't play at all in their Regional. She'll have 2 years of eligibility remaining.

The 2 that I could see OU being interested in are:
Dallis Goodnight, true freshman OF, was 3rd on the team w/ a .302 batting average, & lead the team w/ 18 stolen bases. 3 yrs of eligibility.

Jenna Lord, true freshman, played mostly 2B & some OF, .289 BA. 3 years of eligibility.
The Far Journey
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Post by The Far Journey »

This is kind of stupid, but as a person who loves history and the Old West, I've seen the name Dallis Goodnight before. Never seen her play, but I'v always wanted to use the name in a book sometime, maybe on the Chisholm Trail or the Goodnight/Loving Trail.
AustinTXSooner
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Post by AustinTXSooner »

If she is a cultural fit, then we have to seriously consider her. My first thought was something that Believer mentioned, if she took on a role similar to Paige Lowary, we could make it work.

We lose Trautwein, and yes, we have two highly rated pitchers coming in. But freshmen pitchers coming in ready are not common. For every Jordy Bahl, there are several Brooke Vestals, Brittany Finneys, etc. (good pitchers, but not ready as freshmen). Will Deal and/or Geurin pitch at a championship level out of the gate? Maybe. I'm not advocating looking around the transfer portal for a pitcher, but when one the caliber of Storako shows up, you have to consider it.

We took Giselle Juarez when we already had Mariah Lopez, Parker Conrad, and Shannon Saile with Brooke Vestal coming in as the #1 recruit in her class.

Storako isn't going to some mid-major school. She's going to transfer to a national title contender. That could be Texas or Oklahoma State or Alabama. Whoever it is, we stand an excellent chance of facing her.
OUBeliever56A
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

Brisket wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 8:50 am Boy, Bama is hemorrhaging players. They've got 6 players in the portal right now. Kilfoyl, their #2 pitcher behind Fouts, pitched 80 innings w/ a 2.36 ERA. She got hurt back in April I believe, and didn't play at all in their Regional. She'll have 2 years of eligibility remaining.

The 2 that I could see OU being interested in are:
Dallis Goodnight, true freshman OF, was 3rd on the team w/ a .302 batting average, & lead the team w/ 18 stolen bases. 3 yrs of eligibility.

Jenna Lord, true freshman, played mostly 2B & some OF, .289 BA. 3 years of eligibility.
Here are the Alabama Players in the portal as of this morning 5/25:

MEGAN BLOODWORTH 05/24/2022 I University of Alabama
FR - Infield
KAITLYN WOODARD 05/24/2022 I University of Alabama
JR - Utility
ALEXIS KILFOYL 05/24/2022 I University of Alabama
JR - RHP
DALLIS GOODNIGHT 05/24/2022 I University of Alabama
FR - Outfield
ABBY DOERR 05/23/2022 I University of Alabama
JR - C
JENNA LORD 05/23/2022 I University of Alabama
FR - Infield

Due to graduation they lose:

Kaylee Tow Infield Gr. Sr.

What I have logged as incoming freshman:

10 EIS Rank Marlie Giles, C/UT, Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier
14 EIS Rank Larissa Preuitt, OF, Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier
41 EIS Rank Abby Duchscherer, IF/OF, Minnesota Renegades

Alabama had 20 players on their roster in 2022.
They lose at least 7 due to graduation and transfers.
They have three players recruited from the 2022 Class of recruits.

that leaves Alabama with 16 players at this time..

Position - Classification for 2023 (X denotes Primary Player)
X - C - Shipman - Gr. Sr.
..... C - Giles - Fr.

X - Infield - Dowling - Jr.
X - Infield - Prange - Gr. Sr.
..... Infield - Helvin - Soph.

X - Outfield - Grill - Jr.
X - Outfield - Johnson - Sr.
..... Outfield - Gidley - Jr.
..... Outfield - Stephens - Soph.
..... Outfield - Preuitt - Fr.

..... INF/C - Barnhardt - Soph.
..... INF/OF - Duchscherer - Fr.
..... Utility - Haney - Jr.

X - RHP - Fouts - Gr. Sr.
X - RHP - Torrence - Jr.
X - RHP - Salter - Red- Soph.

It looks like there is a great amount of work to do by Murphy before next season. The transfer portal will be very important.
OUBeliever56A
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

Brisket wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 8:50 am Boy, Bama is hemorrhaging players. They've got 6 players in the portal right now. Kilfoyl, their #2 pitcher behind Fouts, pitched 80 innings w/ a 2.36 ERA. She got hurt back in April I believe, and didn't play at all in their Regional. She'll have 2 years of eligibility remaining.

The 2 that I could see OU being interested in are:
Dallis Goodnight, true freshman OF, was 3rd on the team w/ a .302 batting average, & lead the team w/ 18 stolen bases. 3 yrs of eligibility.

Jenna Lord, true freshman, played mostly 2B & some OF, .289 BA. 3 years of eligibility.
I do want to disparage the Bama program, but the Sooners have better players that are not playing this year at OU who are Freshman than Goodnight or Lord. T Coleman and Lilio will outshine those two when they play regularly. At least IMO.

I am not interested in Kilfoyl either. She has a history of injuries.
TropicalSooner
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Post by TropicalSooner »

Brisket wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 8:50 am Boy, Bama is hemorrhaging players. They've got 6 players in the portal right now. Kilfoyl, their #2 pitcher behind Fouts, pitched 80 innings w/ a 2.36 ERA. She got hurt back in April I believe, and didn't play at all in their Regional. She'll have 2 years of eligibility remaining.

The 2 that I could see OU being interested in are:
Dallis Goodnight, true freshman OF, was 3rd on the team w/ a .302 batting average, & lead the team w/ 18 stolen bases. 3 yrs of eligibility.

Jenna Lord, true freshman, played mostly 2B & some OF, .289 BA. 3 years of eligibility.
Yeah....I saw that as well....and I really liked Storako better than Kilfoyl.
The only reason I brought up transfers.....was some short time ago...few days, few weeks-don't remember exactly, but we kicked around a very brief discussion about transfers and incoming freshmen and all the bodies we had leaving after this year. And, we recognized the super freshmen we did have coming in this fall, our two pitchers and Erickson and Hodge. We knew we would have enough bodies to have a competition for 1B and 3B, and probably the outfield, but it seems like I recall that we thought if we did use the portal, it would be for probably not more than one or two....maybe an outfielder or utility person that could play anywhere and was a good hitter, and maybe a pitcher if we saw one in the same mold as Trautwein, a fifth year senior that would be here only one year and could fit well with our culture.

Now, I don't really know a lot about either Kilfoyl or Storako other than their class and their stats, but it's hard for me to tell about Alabama girls, would they fit into our culture at all? I don't know Storako either, but she is a Senior (Kilfoyl is a Junior) and what seemed to me was Storako was tired of Michigan's lack of offense and inability to get past regionals, and for her last chance to play for a championship, it wasn't likely going to be at Michigan. And yes, her role would definitely be supportive. If she wants to be the face of the program, it won't be here. That belongs to Bahl.

Another thing that rolls around in my head, is where do Guthrie and McAdoo fit in on our team. At one time, we speculated that Guthrie may be coming along, and become a good pitcher, but it probably wouldn't be with OU next year. And we know Macy's history. I'm a big fan of hers, but if she does want to pitch more, that too won't likely be with us. That brings us down to 3 pitchers and with our injury situation currently, we all know we're going into the Supers with only 2 pitchers. Next year? We all think Deal will contribute immediately, but what if we bring Guerin along slowly like Guthrie, then we're back to possibly 3 regular pitchers, (Bahl, May, and Deal) and hoping we don't have another injury again. It turns out we were really fortunate to pick up Trautwein for this year, or we might not have gotten out of regionals this time.

I realize this is awfully wordy, but my thinking is that if we really do feel like we need one more transfer in a pitcher, I would just hate for Storako to wind up in Stillwater or in Austin.
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Post by TN Sooner »

If I’m Patty, the main “transfers” I’m focused on are Nicole May and anyone else on the roster that might think they need to look around. I think we have plenty of studs in Norman already and more on the way. We have seldom lost talent that would have contributed and have usually added talent that does contribute. I suspect Patty will do the same this year.

Just look at the thread on former Sooners - I’m as happy as anyone to see them further their careers and doing well, but how many of them would have been in our starting 12 (9 position and 3 pitchers)? How many would have been on the “first 3-4 off the bench” list? Maybe Puni could have been on that list, but that is about all.
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

TN Sooner wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 2:20 pm If I’m Patty, the main “transfers” I’m focused on are Nicole May and anyone else on the roster that might think they need to look around. I think we have plenty of studs in Norman already and more on the way. We have seldom lost talent that would have contributed and have usually added talent that does contribute. I suspect Patty will do the same this year.

Just look at the thread on former Sooners - I’m as happy as anyone to see them further their careers and doing well, but how many of them would have been in our starting 12 (9 position and 3 pitchers)? How many would have been on the “first 3-4 off the bench” list? Maybe Puni could have been on that list, but that is about all.
Your point is well made. Puni would have had the best shot of really playing.

I would say that Koeltzow was an unrealized gem for the Sooners. But she would probably never play over Elam, Hansen, Nugent and Erickson (new FR in 2023). She was smart to transfer and show D1 softball that she can play. I am really happy for her.

I agree about May. We need to keep her here. I would be very careful about pulling a pitcher from the portal without keeping May well informed and feeling very needed. Storako is tempting though. As a 1-year 'rental' as a premier closer, she could add something. But that requires the remaining staff of May, Bahl, Deal and Geurin (McAdoo and Guthrie) being handled very differently in 2023 than the typical usage for the Sooner pitchers.
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Post by JSULL60 »

:ou: I noticed the Michigan's catcher also entered the portal. Just wandering if the will try to tranfer to the same school. While I agree we could use her talents as has been already stated you can't always count on a freshman being ready to pitch at a championship level like Jordy Bahl no matter their highschool and travel ball success . The x factor would Patty take another catcher despite the graduation loss of Elam when we have Kinzie Hanse back, Sophia Nugent and a highly recruited freshman.
As has been mentioned on this thead, I would hate to see Sorako and her catcher wind up at OSU or Texas. The way OSU goes after portal pitchers, you got to think Kenny Gajewski is already planning his move.
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

Florida State may be going after both ex-Wolverines.
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Post by JSULL60 »

:ou: I dont think Patty normally takes a player she doesnt want just to get someone she does. In this case does anyone think she should. We should have room on the roster if we loose one or 2 ptchers to the portal. As far as position players go, if Hannah Coor can get her offensive game going she may already be one our better defensive players in the OF. She may challenge for starting spot next year.
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Post by AustinTXSooner »

Package deals don't work unless you want both players.
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Post by JSULL60 »

:ou: Maybe I should rephrase that, not necessarily that you don't but dont need.
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