Some off-season developments...

The search for a new LSU softball coach has taken on some drama. As I learned over at Ultimate College Softball, Alabama coach Patrick Murphy had accepted the position, but then pulled back. LSU's Athletic Director seems none too pleased. Movement of coaches within the same conference always has the potential to be awkward, as the departed coach must compete against his or her old team with greater frequency than when the move is out of conference. The abandoned school may also feel that it helped nurture and develop the coach, only to have him or her jump to a major rival. For reasons along these lines, many schools put language into contracts to forbid a coach from moving directly to another school in the same conference. Having failed at an attempted intra-conference shift, LSU appears to be back to square one.

[UPDATE: LSU has hired Florida International coach Beth Torina.]

ESPN.com's "Rise" section on up-and-coming high school prospects ranks the Top 10 college-softball recruiting classes (via Ultimate College Softball). No surprises, really. All 10 of the listed schools either were in this year's Women's College World Series or have been in recent years.