Alex Storako transfers to Oklahoma
https://extrainningsoftball.com/alex-storako-transferring-to-oklahoma/
A lot of the mid-majors in football and basketball were unhappy with how the transfer portal was turning their schools into little more than audition hubs for larger programs, well it looks like something similar is happening in softball. Former B1G pitcher of the year and one of UM's best in recent memory is transferring to the Sooners.
I don't know quite how they did it, but OU softball has established itself as the top NCAA team in any sport in recent history. I'm not sure what they lose, but after nearly going undefeated this year they have to be heavy favorites for a third-straight national title and a good shot at undefeated next season.
Damn bagwomen at it again
Is there a Title IX in the bag-world as well?
Rumor is she had 60K offers from both FSU and OK.
the rich get richer
Oklahoma will dominate again but they won't go undefeated. They will have a similar record as this year. Stick and ball sports are too random and weird to go undefeated through 60 games of them
A round ball and a round bat, but you have to hit it square.
What is crazy is that as good as she is, she statistically will make their pitching staff worse. She had an suburb 1.71 ERA this year, while Oklahoma as a team was at a ridiculous 1.04.
Oklahoma's top 3 pitchers (99.997% of all innings pitched this year) all had better ERA numbers than Storako.
Kevin Durant gives his approval
I'm in full support of allowing student/athletes to have full freedom to decide where they would like to go to school.
From a fan perspective, a move like this sucks. A team like Michigan losing top talent so a team like Oklahoma can maintain their dominance just isn't fun, or good, for the sport.
It's interesting to dissect how a team achieves this level of dominance, and then how they stay there.
I remember when the mid-2010s UM softball team came thisclose to a national title and Sierra Romero was breaking all kinds of records, I was shocked to see her younger sister Sydney commit to Oklahoma when she could have been the missing piece that got UM back over the hump. Sydney went onto an equally dominant career at OU and won two national titles there...what could have been...
She wasn't going to win 2 national titles here. So the move made sense.
She definitely would have had a shot. The year before her freshman year, we made game 3 of the WCWS finals. In her 4 years in college, UM won three B1G championships and made another WCWS. Take her off of Oklahoma and onto UM, we might be looking at a very different set of results.
My daughter and I actually met Sydney in Canton, OH when she was a member of the 2015 Junior USA Team. The team was playing exhibition games and my daughter was getting some attention at the time. As a Michigan alum, I asked if she was following her sister to UM and she let us know that she was headed to Oklahoma. We asked why and it seemed apparent that she understandably didn't want to be in Sierra's shadow.
Having Sydney and Sierra on the same team easily could have put us over the hump as we were runner up the year before Sydney played college ball and then Sydney won as a freshman and we lost to that Oklahoma team in the 2nd round of the CWS by a score of 7-5 with Sydney getting 2 hits and 2 runs.
Interesting observation I have seen over the years is that younger brothers have more of an interest in following their older brothers, even into the teen years than the same situation with a younger and older sister. Again, just my observation. Anyone else see this or is just lil ol me?
This does suck from a fan perspective. Imagine if Hassan Haskins goes and grad transfers to Georgia.
The difference with most women's sports is there really isn't anywhere to go after school. If you blow up in football, there is a reasonable chance that you will get drafted or hook on a practice squad and make some money. Basketball has fewer slots in the US, but there is a viable route to go overseas and make money to keep playing. Softball and women's hockey are trying to build pro leagues, but there isn't a ton of money there. So you're more likely to see players transfer to try to win a title and maybe get some NIL money in the process.
Also, the transfer portal change wouldn't have stopped this transfer anyway. Storako got her degree so she can go anywhere for grad school. Just to throw another point out there.
Darn.
I wish her well.
Isn't she a grad-student?
Yep, one year remaining.
Surprising. They are losing Trautwein, who transferred in for her COVID year this year and led them to the title. But they are absolutely loaded on the mound, with this year's freshman of the year (Bahl), another top pitcher (May), and the top pitcher in the 2023 high school recruiting class (Deal).
I doubt she'll do anything more than add bullpen depth there. I figured she'd go to the SEC or the Big 12, but just about any other competitive program. But they say that great players seek out top competition, so maybe Coach Gasso sees something there that she can correct.
Widra also transferred to Auburn yesterday.
https://extrainningsoftball.com/annabelle-widra-transferring-to-auburn/
OTOH, Widra is from Birmingham, AL which is only 2 hours from Auburn.
And Storako just graduated, so makes sense that she'd take advantage of the portal as a grad transfer.
double post? Nah, clearly a glitch in the matrix
Probably just homesick.
This one hurts more. She'd probably be our starting pitcher for the next 3 years.
Those who transfer will be champions.
VERY Disappointing..I hate this
It’s a weird choice in the sense that Oklahoma has a better pitcher than her who was a freshman. It’s not a surprising choice in that she is on a team that is likely to win a national championship now.
Also she’s a grad transfer using a Covid year. This has nothing to do with the new transfer portal.
Fire Bakich!
we still have water polo
Until they all transfer to UCLA, USC, or Stanford
Good luck to her, Oklahoma right now is a powerhouse. Good chance to win a title.
Appreciate her time at Michigan -- I have no problem with grad transfers and hopefully she gets enough of a scholarship + NIL money (if any exists in softball) to make it financially worth it. Plus whatever additional degree she may have in mind.
That's crazy. Isn't the Michigan program pretty elite? This seems like a star football player transferring from Clemson to Alabama. Nevermind that someone as good as her would never transfer if there was a decently paying pro option, which is such a different feature of women's athletes. My brain can't comprehend a move like this.
She is pursuing a master's degree. It's not that unusual to get your master's at a different university than your bachelor's.
The extra COVID year means a lot of athletes who ordinarily would be out of eligibility at this point have a full year available, so why not use that eligibility while starting your master's program?
The only odd thing about it, aside from going to the one program that probably doesn't even need her, is that I doubt Gasso can give her much, if anything, by way of an athletic scholarship. However, academic scholarships for graduate students are quite common and she was out-of-state at Michigan anyway.
The Widra transfer is far more unusual. But... there was that long period mid-season when she wasn't playing and we don't know if she was injured. And she is going back home after a winter in a cold, cold place where you can't even practice outdoors until mid-March. Hutch can do a lot of things, but she can't control the climate.
I hope the team is OK after losing the two top pitchers on the roster at the end of the season. Somehow, though, Hutch always seems to have pitching covered.
For starters, players have transferred between OSU/Bama/Georgia/LSU etc. before because its a better fit and opportunity.
Michigan isn't really an elite softball program at this point, its probably more in the 8-15 range and Oklahoma is a clear #1 right now.
How often does the star of one of those teams transfer amongst them, though?
Yes, players transfer like Jameson Williams who wasn't starting at OSU because of their absurd stable of WRs. But Storako had no limitation in opportunity/playing time.
And fine, Michigan softball is now in the second tier...right where Michigan football is. But even then, how often has the star of Oregon or Michigan or Notre Dame transferred to Alabama? Just saying, it's pretty crazy.
She’s taking her talents to Norman?
I'm wondering, why transfer? Could she have stayed at Michigan? Is this purely for the opportunity to play on a championship contending team? Oklahoma is fine academically but why walk away from a Michigan degree? Lots of questions.
Well she already has a Michigan degree
Undergrad degree, but she's working on a master's, correct?
As to whether "Oklahoma is fine academically," it's not in the AAU. The Times education report ranks Michigan 24th in the world, while Oklahoma sits somewhere vaguely in the 401 to 500 range.
Can we stop with the rankings fart sniffery? There are a ton of good schools in the nation. Pretending like we have a monopoly / oligopoly on educational opportunities is just sad. And I say this as a guy who has two Michigan degrees and a PhD from another school who still volunteers his time to guest lecture at UM undergrad. I will hire anyone from any school if they as individuals are talented. Hell the best two hires I've had in the last 5 years were an Ohio State grad and a New Mexico State grad. Both outperformed other hires by colleagues from more prestigious schools.
This may have been noted in other threads about Storako, but the (pretty credible, coming from within the program) rumor is that she was not accepted to her UM graduate program. If that's true, a transfer makes all the obvious sense in the world. If not, then I join the head scratchers.
"but the (pretty credible, coming from within the program) rumor is that she was not accepted to her UM graduate program."
So, not only does U-M make it very difficult for undergraduate athletes to transfer to Michigan from other schools, it also makes it difficult for its own graduate athletes to enter U-M graduate programs.
The Michigan Difference!
Contracts could stop all this. Here's your NIL deal, you can't transfer only leave to go pro or graduate.
bitcoin also solves this
lulz
I'm pro-cryptocurrency but the Bitcoin maxis are hilariously delusional.
Nuclear World War 3? Bitcoin fixes this.
Balding? Bitcoin fixes this.
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Zombie Apocalypse? Bitcoin fixes this.
Toothache? Bitcoin fixes this.
After reviewing some of the things Bitcoin can do I am buying some at the machine in the liquor store next time I am in.
Go Blue!!!!
It always helps if you sample the other store wares first.