She has shown some great senior savvy in stepping into the infield and will be competing with and pushing Mia.

Whoever is performing and getting it done will be in the starting lineup, and those who are not in the starting lineup will be ready to pick it up when someone is not getting it done. I think we are as deep as we have ever been in every position.

It's always fun to watch Natalie play on defense because you never know when she will make that great play or make a throw that no one expected. Offensively we've seen a lot of growth in her this last year, expanding her game to include the short game, using her speed to be able to slap as well as drag bunt to get herself on base.

Bree really exceeded the expectations of a lot of people, I think even including her self. I think it will be a good challenge for her to keep progressing and moving forward while everyone is gunning for her.

We've got Oklahoma, Fresno, Santa Barbara, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and LSU and they've been on the waiting list to come in. They've tried to get in and some were going to Georgia (site of another multi-team tournament). Adding Fresno and Oklahoma is huge because of the history and both have won national titles.

Vanessa returns after playing a number of years at the first base position. She is very intelligent and plays and thinks the game very well.