January 11, 2006
The Texas A&M softball team had a magical season in 2005, winning the school's first-ever conference title and advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals. The 2006 Aggies return seven starters from the '05 squad, which led the nation in hitting, and all five pitchers.
The Aggies open the year on February 10 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. before returning back to College Station to open the home season on Feb. 15.
Two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year Jo Evans sat down with AggieAthletics.com before the start of practice and talked about last year, this year and the state of the A&M softball program.
You have been coaching for just over 20 years...have you ever been more excited about the start of a season?
"Probably not. I think the expectations are, of course, very high for our team, and that's okay with me. That means we accomplished some great things last season and we really want to build from there. There's a lot of anticipation and excitement going into the season and it's going to be a whole lot of fun."
That excitement and anticipation is not coming just from the team, it seems to be coming from everywhere. That's got to bring with it some pressure but isn't it exciting?
"Yeah. I think we woke a lot of people up last year, including ourselves, to what we're capable of doing. I can't even tell you how many people are still talking about our game against Texas that they watched on ESPN. I went home at Christmas and I met a lot of people that said 'Oh, we watched you play.' So I think there's a lot of excitement about our program, and we've got some great young players--people get excited to watch players like that."
The fan support last year was unbelievable. Talk about how much it meant to the team and how important it will be again this year...
IN-DEPTH: AGGIE SOFTBALL '06PRACTICE BEGINS: Tuesday, Jan. 17 SEASON OPENER: Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Fresno State - 3 p.m., Tempe Sports Complex, Tempe, Arizona HOME OPENER: Wednesday, Feb. 15 vs. Texas-San Antonio - 3 p.m. doubleheader, Aggie Softball Complex HOME SCHEDULE: 23 games, 18 dates. SEASON TICKETS: Call 1-888-99-AGGIE for details. HEAD COACH: Jo Evans (10th season at A&M) GONE (5): Laura Durham, Adrian Gregory, Morgan Hebert, Jana James, Nicole Robinson. BACK: 7 starters, 5 pitchers; 11 letterwinners, 1 redshirt
NEWCOMERS (4): Holly Ridley, Ronda Smith, Kristine Test, Patti Wunderlich. |
"The support was phenomenal. Our student body showed up. They are what Texas A&M is all about. People always says that, but sometimes you think maybe that applies to just football or baseball. But to have our students, this community, the maroon club--all those people--show up at our stadium, it made all the difference. It took us from being a 'good' team to a 'great' team. That level of excitement and enthusiasm in our stadium...I don't know any other program that has that kind of atmosphere. To me, it snowballed into something that was an event. It wasn't just a game, it was a whole event. I think people loved it. Our kids loved it. I also believe our team really played hard for those people. They play hard. They love to play the game. But they honestly played harder for those people in the stands. The fans really acknowledged that.
"I just look back to the last game in our stadium, in the super regional against Alabama, and (after the game) those fans would not leave. Our kids were upset, and they wanted to go in the locker room and break down, and those fans would not leave. We brought our kids back out on the field...I'll never forget that. That's one of the greatest memories of my coaching career. That's all about those fans, that just fell in love with our team and we fell in love with them. It was a mutual feeling of pride, I think, and being a part of something bigger than yourself.
"I know that our fans are going to be there again for us this year, and we're going to need them. We lose some key players. We do have a target on our backs. We need people to come back and follow us. But I have no doubt that will happen--all the emails, and the calls, and the feedback that we've gotten has been terrific. People are really catching on to our program."
When you think back on 2005...outside of the Big 12 championship, was there a particular moment or game or anything that will stick with you for the rest of your career?
"I think game-wise, the win against Cal was huge. I don't know that I've coached a team that's beaten the No. 1 team in the nation, and did it the way we did it. That's a fond memory for me. Then, to go over to Baylor and open up the Big 12 season (with a victory)... we had struggled at Baylor in the past. That's something that I think really set the tone for us to have a chance to win the Big 12 championship. Those two games stand out in my mind in terms of just winning them and what that meant to our team and to our program. Those two wins really pushed us forward to do what we were able to do.
"But the overall feel I have from last season is just how enjoyable it was--how much I loved coaching that team, and the camaraderie between the players and coaches. It just was a magical season. I'm sorry it had to end with a couple of injuries that I think kept us from getting to the World Series, but it's definitely a season that's going to be hard to top in terms of how I feel about that team."
Has it been hard for you to put last year behind you and get the team to begin completely focusing on 2006?
"Yeah it has been a little bit. It's hard not to get attached to those players that were on your team last year. To not have those seniors out there playing will be a challenge. I'm finding it a little hard to let go, but yet I absolutely love the freshmen we added to our program and know they are going to be very successful as well. The other thing is, to break through like we did last year and win the Big 12 championship, it's hard to let go of that. It's hard to go 'Okay, that was last year. This is now.' I want to enjoy that up until we play our first game in February to hang on to that great feeling. It's easy to jump into this year, though, when you know you still have that same kind of talent on the team."
Do you feel this team has a real hunger to get going this year?
"Absolutely. I think our kids are so fired up. They worked so hard in the fall. This isn't a deal where, 'Oh, we won a championship, so we can cruise.' I think our team worked harder now than we ever have. That's exciting as a coach that kids are going to come out and work hard every single day.
"The other great thing--and at the time it was a pain in the neck--but to not to be on our field (in the fall) and sent somewhere else to play...we're going to show up on that first day of practice feeling like we're playing in a brand-new stadium. We've got all the upgrades in our stadium. Our kids haven't played on that field yet in the state that it's in, and I think that's going to be exciting. We're all looking forward to being back home. We feel like we've been deprived, been without...and now to have that I think is going to add just a little bit of extra excitement."
As great as last season was, the team was disappointed at the end and felt that it should have gone further. That has to be a good feeling for you, that they were not satisfied with all they accomplished...
"Absolutely. It's nice because, even though we say it was a magical season, we still understand that we have more to accomplish. For our staff and players, our expectation is to play in the College World Series. And you can always talk about that, and you're supposed to make that as your goal, but having gone through the year we went through last year and coming so close--and having some injuries that maybe kept us from getting there--we know we have the ability to get there. We need to stay healthy. We need to just not have any 'bad luck.' The expectation is certainly that we want to play in the World Series. We want to start competing for a national championship. We couldn't say that a year ago. We were trying to compete to be one of the top teams in the Big 12. But to have done what we did last year? Now, there's no turning back. We must have our sights on a national championship."
Last year's team literally "showed up" to play virtually every game. Is that coachable? How does that happen?
"You know, I just think it's contagious. I think that the confidence that our upperclassmen had was contagious, and the freshmen felt that. Then, that fun and that passion (came out). They just inspire each other in the way they play and the way they feel about each other. You don't coach that. By the end of the season, I just kept feeling like I wanted to make sure to stay out of their way. I didn't want to get in their way, but I wanted to make sure I kept a structure in place and some sense of organization, but then really let them take over--and they did. I talk to my kids every year (and tell them), 'You know, this isn't really my team. This is your team. How are you going to run your team?' Of course, I'm going to push the buttons that I think need to be pushed. But these kids take ownership of their team and they have a lot of pride in it."
You've won championships before, but this is your first here. Do you coach a team any differently when it will have a target on its back all season long as the Big 12 champions?
"You know, it's a lot easier to be the underdog. Last year, we sort of just slipped through and people sort of caught on to us after a while. That's clearly not the case this year. Just look at these pre-season tournaments and how they've scheduled us--now we're playing all the great teams. So we're not going to surprise anybody. We're going to get everybody's number one (pitcher). We're going to have to be able to handle that. The thing that's great about that is that prepares us down the stretch. You're certainly going to see everybody's number one in regionals and super regionals to get to the World Series. To me, that's going to be great preparation.
"I don't want our kids to focus too much on 'this championship' or 'that championship.' I really want them to focus on the process that served us so well (last year)...playing the game with passion, and playing the game fundamentally sound. (Being) defensively really solid. Doing the little things well. Those are the things that will get us to where we want to be. We cannot go in and say, 'We have to win the Big 12 again.' Or, 'We have to do this or that.' If our kids can stay as silly and passionate about what they do, but serious-minded in their preparation, then I firmly believe everything will take care of itself. If we start getting nervous, and tense, and think, 'We have to do this or that,' then we're going to be in trouble."
In looking at your roster...not only is it a young roster but it's a good one...
"Right. In the fall while doing some testing in the weight room, we'd split up our team by freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors-and boy, that freshman/sophomore class...you look over there and you think 'Wow, those are some very athletic kids.' We certainly are talented in that freshman/sophomore class, as well as the upperclassmen too."
Is this year's team better than last year's, or is it too early to tell?
"Well, we're replacing a really talented shortstop in Adrian Gregory, that's a tough hole to fill. And then we lose a great hitter like Jana James. It's always interesting to see who's going to come in and fill those spots and how those kids will do. But boy, I'm so encouraged by what I saw in the fall. I feel like we're going to be just fine. I feel like we're not going to miss a beat. Now we've got those young kids who got a lot of experience last year and accomplished a lot. The thing about last year is that it wasn't just (Megan) Gibson and (Amanda) Scarborough that had a great year. Obviously, they were fantastic. But look at the kind of year that Lindsay Park and Rocky Spencer had--those kinds of kids that we didn't expect to be hitting in the middle .300s. Those are the reasons why we had the success we had."
The fall was a strange one for you. You were playing on the local high school field because of construction on campus, and you had players unavailable and out of position due to injuries. As a coach, what do you look for out of a fall season?
"There are two big things I look for. First is leadership, because I know we just rolled over a senior class. So we have to figure out who will be our leaders and what kind of team dynamic we have within that. That's a huge thing, to see how that's all going to play out, and who's going to step in and fill roles. Second is huge for me--to evaluate freshmen. You evaluate the new kids in the program and say, 'Okay, did we do our job recruiting? Did I pick the right kids?' Ultimately it comes down to me making those final choices. I think our staff did a great job recruiting. Those are the two biggest things I want to see in the fall-the group dynamic and who'll show leadership, and then what the freshmen are going to do."
What did you get out of this fall season then?
"I was pleased with what I saw. I thought our freshmen came in and did a great job. Leadership wise, we're not going to be a team that just has one leader. We're going to have a team that has several leaders and people that fill different roles. I think that's fine, as long as we collectively as a group are on the same page. If that's the case, then it doesn't matter to me if it's one person leading...or two, or three, or four."
You bring in three freshmen this spring. Kind of "introduce" them to the fans if you would...
"Holly Ridley [SS, Sugar Land, Texas] is a hard-nosed player. She really did a nice job offensively in the fall. She can hit for power. I see her maybe in the 5- or 6-hole and getting a chance to be an RBI leader. (She) really (has) a great attitude. (She's) very coachable. (She) loves to play the game. (She) loves to get after it. (She's) not afraid to get dirty. Defensively, we just have to make sure she plays within herself, doesn't get ahead of herself, doesn't try to be anybody other than Holly Ridley. (She's) very athletic. I'm excited about her.
"Ronda Smith [OF, Baytown, Texas] had a phenomenal fall. She hit lights-out for us. I teased Megan (Gibson) and Amanda (Scarborough) one day and told them that Ronda made them look human. She was just on fire. She's a person that's really fun to watch. She's a great outfielder. (She) gets a great jump and good angles on the ball. In fact, I think she might get the best read of any of our outfielders. (She's) absolutely fun to be around. She's loose. She's funny. (She has a) great sense of humor. (She) keeps us loose for sure. (She's) versatile. She can play any of the outfield positions.
"Patti Wunderlich [C, Vancouver, Wash.] has a great attitude. (She has) good leadership skills on the field. Defensively, she is willing to take charge as a freshman, be vocal and be a presence on the field. That's what we really need behind the plate. (She has a) good arm. Offensively, she struggled a bit in the fall. Defensively (at catcher), we want somebody to come in and be aggressive, try to pick runners off and take charge on the field. She did a good job with that."
This sophomore class seems to be a group that expects great things. When you bring a class in and they have tremendous success quickly, does that kind of set for them a minimum expectation level?
"What they did was they came in and, because they love to play the game and they are so talented, they had great success. Now, to me? There's no going back. No one had to teach them how to win. Sometimes in programs, you have to develop that 'winning' attitude and get kids to understand how to win close games. These kids just knew how to do it. I think that has a lot to do with the leadership on that team, but I think it also has to do with the confidence and the passion for the game that the (now sophomore) class has. They go out and have a great time. They're silly, but they're serious in the way they play the game. I think that translates into wins for us. And this whole 'expectation' thing? I hope they don't feel any differently than they did a year ago. I hope the fact that they go out and play the game hard, and have a great time with each other, just turns into winning ballgames."
What are some of the things individually that fans of last year's team might notice that are different about this year's squad?
"Well, one thing is Joy Davis is (hitting) from the left side. She's brand new at it. She hasn't had a lot of work at it, but I think potentially she could be a great threat. People don't realize that she's only maybe a half-step slower than Sharonda (McDonald), which is unbelievable. I think because she was on the right side, she was at a disadvantage. She's going to work on the left side and I think she'll be exciting to watch. She's a great base-stealer. She hasn't had the on base percentage to show what she can really do.
"Jami Lobpries is another one that was a great part of that freshman class. She didn't play as much as the others, so a lot of people may not recognize the name. She had a great fall. She hit for power, she hit consistently. She played a great second base for us. (She's got) good range. She can also play outfield as well. She really stepped up and had a nice fall, so she's going to battle for a starting position.
"(Megan) Gibson worked really hard in the offseason on her pitching. I thought she was a bright spot on the mound for us this fall. Beverly Rowan is coming out of her redshirt year as a catcher. She hits the ball for power and did a nice job behind the plate. I get asked about (Amanda) Scarborough all the time. 'How's she doing?' She's doing great. (She) hasn't skipped a beat. (She's) pitching great, hitting great, has a tremendous attitude, and really is a team player. There's no question she's going come out and have a great year."
What about the team? How would you compare it? Is it a more power-oriented team? Faster? Or is it too early to tell?
"I think we'll be similar. We didn't add speed to our lineup, and we lost Jana James, who was a great base stealer. Speed-wise, we should be about the same though. Power-wise, we plug in Holly Ridley-she's got really good power--and Ronda Smith as well. If you take the spots vacated by Adrian Gregory and Jana James and plug those two in, I think we can help ourselves offensively with Adrian's spot. With Jana's spot, Ronda is going to have to learn a lot. She won't be as consistent in the spring as she was in the fall. But, I really think our team's going to be the same. We're going to have a great balance of power and speed. Defensively we don't change a lot in the infield, with the exception of shortstop...that's really our biggest question there."
You like to challenge your team early, and this year's schedule is going to be one of the toughest you've faced. Are you looking forward to the early-season schedule?
"Non-conference is going to be crazy. It's going to be a lot of fun. We may take some knocks, where last year we really had a phenomenal preseason. (Last year) we had great leadership and a senior class that was really savvy and handled pressure well...that made it easy on the younger kids. Now, this is going to be the challenge for this team. We're going to play Arizona three times. We're going to play UCLA. We're going to play the basically the whole Pac-10 Conference and everyone in between. Our challenge is...how are we going to handle that? How are we going to handle that pressure? Are we going to feel pressure, or are we going to go out and play like we play every day? I'm interested to see how our kids handle that situation."
It's easy to see teams like Arizona and UCLA and such sticking out on the schedule, but even the other games you play in the non-conference season don't give you any time to breathe, do they?
"No. We don't have any 'gimmes.' This year, we have a starting date (for the season) where we didn't before. We used to be able to play a couple of games and then go to this Arizona State tournament. Well, now we don't get to do that. So we open up (on Feb. 10) and 'boom,' there you go, we're playing the biggies. UNLV is a great team. Their coach is so good...she's done a wonderful job. We as a coaching staff know we are going to have a tough road. I'm not going to panic if we lose more games in the preseason than we did last year. I certainly don't think that'll be cause for alarm. The thing you recognize, having gone through last year with the new structure and format of super regionals, is that it's a long, long season. So we certainly won't panic in any way if we lose a couple early on...we don't plan to though. We really do have the big picture in mind and our kids do too."
As strong as the Big 12 was last year, by all accounts is it better this year? Is this the kind of year where you think any of maybe six or so teams could win it?
"Yes. I think Baylor, Texas, A&M... Missouri is another one that people better keep their eyes on. Oklahoma lost some kids, but they recruit great and they have some great players. Really, every one of those teams is going to be better. Texas Tech is going to get better and better because they have a great coach that has a good system in place. We will not have a weak team in the Big 12. There was a coaching change at Iowa State. That's a young, enthusiastic coach that'll bring some great energy into that program. I believe that we will have the best Big 12 conference that we've ever had. These 10 teams collectively will be better than any other Big 12 softball league before it. And that's a big deal, because we've had some good ones."
If you look at last year, there were what some would call "surprising" results in league play. Do you think your team can use last year and how the race played out to help them in what's going to be a tougher league?
"I think that's the key. Last year (before we clinched the title) we didn't lose any games to teams that were in the standings below us at the present time. We won those games that we 'on paper' were supposed to win. That's why we won the Big 12. It wasn't because we knocked off Texas. It was because we found a way to beat Iowa State, and Texas Tech, and some of those teams that upset some of the teams we were in the race with. That's certainly going to be a sticking point for us. That's going to be something those kids are going to here me say. Remember, this is the reason why we won the Big 12. It's very important for our players to be prepared every game."