The UNT softball team is practically unmatched this year. Head Coach, Rodney DeLong, is in his second year coaching the Mean Green, and has reinvented the program. He is the fifth coach in program history and wasted no time when it came to reinventing the culture of UNT softball. His laid back personality and approach to practice has allowed his team to be comfortable with him, the coaching staff, as well as create a bond with each other. This change in culture led the team to their first ever conference title in the 2019 season. DeLong wasn't the only new face to the team either, both assistant coaches began their tenure at UNT last year as well. It appears to have worked out in UNT's favor, after three consecutive losing seasons, and a low reputation since joining Conference USA. For the first time ever, they were also ranked as number one in the C-USA's coaches preseason poll, and they're living up to that hype right now sitting at 12-2 on the season.
But it's not just the coaching that has allowed the team to look so stellar. The Mean Green's ace, Hope Trautwein, currently leads pitchers in strikeouts with 67 to her name, and just recently hitting her 400th career strikeout while playing at the Islander Invitational against Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi over this past weekend. I think that if the team's goal right now is to make it to the NCAA softball tournament, they will spend a very large chunk of the season riding on the extreme success of Trautwein before really needing to move into a more powerful second gear. However, their secondary pitcher also boasts an ERA below one. Sophomore, Bailey Tindell, has made a name for herself as a walk on that was added to the pitching staff. Tindell has a tendency to pitch more to contact and relies on her fielders to play defense, unlike Trautwein, who can and will do this on her own.
Beyond that, they have strong bond, the team is a fair share of veterans and rookies which allows for an interesting dynamic. The team carries seven freshmen, and three new transfers, with four of these ten seeing starts in the lineup fairly regularly. DeLong doesn't just play his vets, or the girls he played last year. He truly makes the game competitive and doesn't shy away from making each starter earn their playing time, and if they look like they're struggling he will come in and pull her out.
I've watched the way DeLong has managed his team. Growing up and playing select softball I, too frequently, watched girls get undeserved playing time and undeserved showcase appearances because her parents were more involved on the board, or because her sister played there and she was a star. DeLong doesn't do that. He won't allow the team to be built and managed on prior successes. It's almost as though he doesn't like by "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and instead decides to question "well, if that works, what if we do this and it ends up working better." I think this mindset is what led him to the first ever C-USA championship title, as well as breaking the wins record his first season here.
I'm excited to be able to work alongside this team as their Color Commentator this semester and look forward to seeing the successes they have as a team, as well as the milestones individuals reach along the way.
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