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Who is your "Under the Radar" player for the 2023 Season???
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 4:30 pm
by TropicalSooner
Over the past few days we have seen a number of publications' "All Star" lists, or "Top #" lists, etc, that we have enjoyed seeing a number of our Sooners named on.
But lets take a look at something a little different that may in the end wind up being just as important, or even more important as the upcoming season unfolds and rolls on to completion:
Who do you think is that "Under the Radar" player, that person we are not thinking about yet, that will surprise everyone and become that "Under the Radar" player of the year???
It could be an incoming transfer---although all of those players are probably squarely on all of our opposing teams radar---so probably not one of them......
Could be an incoming freshman---someone that we haven't seen a great deal of but when given the chance will surprise all of us......
or......
Could be one of last year's bench players, that had a really good summer last year and a great off season and a great preseason, and will explode onto the scene when given the opportunity.......
Who do you think will be that player(s) or combination of players that will have that unexpected impact on our team and will help drive the season to success???
Re: Who is your "Under the Radar" player for the 2023 Season???
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:50 am
by 1KCSoonerFan
Tropical! You keep bringin' it, brother!
Do I have to pick just one?! These are all "under the radar by OU standards" okay? I got chopped on another board when my picks for 'breakout players' were dubbed as, "Breakout?! Everyone knows she is great already!"
So here's my You Already Know These Ladies Are Great List:
Nugent: I have always liked her for some reason, partly because she was the #3 ranked catcher in her class, partly 'cause she's from Seal Beach, California, and I am whimsical about seals on a California beach. But lately its because, in a Twitter video, it was asked of the team, "Who is bringing it in practice?" Nugent was mentioned the most by far. That's saying something! So this makes me think she is working her tail off. This bodes well.
Erickson: Lefty power bat and an unrivaled/historic high school and summer league career. I think of her as a keg of dynamite that is just sitting quietly in the back of the shed....waiting to lift the roof off and scare all the outdoor cats in the neighborhood.
Brito: Not under the radar as such, but might just move up the AA list a team or two after this year. She had to pry third base out of Torres' grasp for starters (no small feat). My nickname for her is "Baby Bull" because she is so tenacious, tough, and determined. Power with a Ponytail.
I better stop now or I will just ramble on about Lilio, Boone, and is it too late for Green? Never!
Re: Who is your "Under the Radar" player for the 2023 Season???
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:28 am
by The Far Journey
1KCSoonerFan wrote: ↑Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:50 am
Tropical! You keep bringin' it, brother!
Do I have to pick just one?! These are all "under the radar by OU standards" okay? I got chopped on another board when my picks for 'breakout players' were dubbed as, "Breakout?! Everyone knows she is great already!"
So here's my You Already Know These Ladies Are Great List:
Nugent: I have always liked her for some reason, partly because she was the #3 ranked catcher in her class, partly 'cause she's from Seal Beach, California, and I am whimsical about seals on a California beach. But lately its because, in a Twitter video, it was asked of the team, "Who is bringing it in practice?" Nugent was mentioned the most by far. That's saying something! So this makes me think she is working her tail off. This bodes well.
Erickson: Lefty power bat and an unrivaled/historic high school and summer league career. I think of her as a keg of dynamite that is just sitting quietly in the back of the shed....waiting to lift the roof off and scare all the outdoor cats in the neighborhood.
Brito: Not under the radar as such, but might just move up the AA list a team or two after this year. She had to pry third base out of Torres' grasp for starters (no small feat). My nickname for her is "Baby Bull" because she is so tenacious, tough, and determined. Power with a Ponytail.
I better stop now or I will just ramble on about Lilio, Boone, and is it too late for Green? Never!
It's an interesting question. I was going to post my thoughts but saw yours and, well, that's pretty much what I was going to say. So quoted them above. Nugent and Erickson are my sleepers and the other mentions were spot on.
Re: Who is your "Under the Radar" player for the 2023 Season???
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 8:43 am
by oufanforever
I like Lilio as an under the radar player. If Lyons need any rest and Jennings slide over to short stop, Lilio would have some chances to show what she can do at 2B. Also, she played very well in the FGCL during the summer, may be she will have a similar breakout year to what Boone had after Boone won the FGCL MVP
Re: Who is your "Under the Radar" player for the 2023 Season???
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 9:45 am
by OUBeliever56A
With the definition a 'under the radar' being, "someone who has not played much so far in her career", there are alot of players that qualify.
Like several has said, Nugent (I like this one), Erickson (she will be batting 2nd or 3rd someday), Lilio (we do not know how good she is) and Coor (great defense) are all potential 'under the radar' players. Maybe even Deal qualifies for that title.
I will surprise with my answer. It seems that Torres has dropped in her playing time an from her starting role since being a Sooner. A player who was going to start at 3B has become a part-time RF that may not like 'climbing the wall'. I will say that she is going to rebound. If you saw the Instagram posts from the Saturday scrimmage, that was Torres with her high front leg step. I think she is going to have a 'breakout' season for the Sooners as a new Sooner.
The new players in the first paragraph, will probably break out in 2023 to some extent. But with them playing a good amount, it will be Torres that re-emerges as the player that steps up to make a difference. It is just a hunch I have.
The other possibility for a non-traditional 'under the radar player' is Jordy Bahl. If she plays LF and hits close to .400 and hits 15 HRs out of the blue, we will say, who knew? Right.
The Sooners are just loaded. Like never before.
Boomer Sooner!
Re: Who is your "Under the Radar" player for the 2023 Season???
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 10:22 am
by TropicalSooner
OUBeliever56A wrote: ↑Tue Jan 31, 2023 9:45 am
With the definition a 'under the radar' being, "someone who has not played much so far in her career", there are alot of players that qualify.
Like several has said, Nugent (I like this one), Erickson (she will be batting 2nd or 3rd someday), Lilio (we do not know how good she is) and Coor (great defense) are all potential 'under the radar' players. Maybe even Deal qualifies for that title.
I will surprise with my answer. It seems that Torres has dropped in her playing time an from her starting role since being a Sooner. A player who was going to start at 3B has become a part-time RF that may not like 'climbing the wall'. I will say that she is going to rebound. If you saw the Instagram posts from the Saturday scrimmage, that was Torres with her high front leg step. I think she is going to have a 'breakout' season for the Sooners as a new Sooner.
The new players in the first paragraph, will probably break out in 2023 to some extent. But with them playing a good amount, it will be Torres that re-emerges as the player that steps up to make a difference. It is just a hunch I have.
The other possibility for a non-traditional 'under the radar player' is Jordy Bahl. If she plays LF and hits close to .400 and hits 15 HRs out of the blue, we will say, who knew? Right.
The Sooners are just loaded. Like never before.
Boomer Sooner!
LOL!.....ya know '56....I can always count you to come up with an out of the box approach to things....yeah.....all players and definitions are welcome to my question!
I'm going more traditional tho and cast my vote for Sophia Nugent. I just think of the bench players from last year, she will get an opportunity sooner to shine....and my guess is it may be in RF. I think she spells Boone, and also when Boone spells Coleman. It sounds like her bat is picking up nicely and I think she will surprise all of us.
If I pick someone from the new freshmen, I think that everyone expects Erickson to excel....so that's not an under the radar person for me....but I think Kierston Deal is. I think she is just going to surprise everyone in the circle. And I would not be surprised to see a no-hitter from her sometime this spring.
Nice touch with Torres and Bahl though. And you know someone else that just might show up in RF? How about Nicole May. She's tall and can cover a lot of ground....and she has more of a bat that people think. She has only been to the plate one time but she crunched one all the way to the wall in CF.
Re: Who is your "Under the Radar" player for the 2023 Season???
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:58 pm
by RahOKU
I'll go with Alyssa Brito. She got no love from Softball America, probably because folks outside of Norman mostly think she'll be in the OF again.
Brito closed strongly in 2022. From a shaky weekend in left field in Austin, Alyssa came on defensively and was raking at the plate at the end of the regular season and then into the post-season. (At least that's what I remember.) I think being in the infield will have her pretty juiced for an under-the-radar season.
