Kansas softball opens season at Kajikawa Classic
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas softball starts their 2019 campaign at the Kajikawa Classic, facing two ranked opponents in its first week of competition.
The Jayhawks start opening day against No. 25 Oregon on Friday, February 8 at 12:30 p.m. and follow it with a clash against another Pac-12 opponent in Stanford at 3 p.m. On Saturday, KU plays tournament host No. 12 Arizona State at 3:30 p.m. and follows competition with the Sun Devils against Utah to conclude play against the Pac-12. All four games against Pac-12 opponents are available on Pac-12 Now and select Pac-12 networks.
In the weekend finale, the Jayhawks clash with local foe Missouri at 11 a.m. and the game will be streamed by FloSoftball.
BROADCAST/STREAM INFORMATION
Friday, Feb. 8 at 12:30 p.m. (CT) | vs. No. 25 Oregon
Video: Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area, Pac-12 Arizona, Pac-12 Now
Radio: Jayhawk IMG Radio Network
Friday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. (CT) | vs. Stanford
Video: Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area, Pac-12 Arizona, Pac-12 Now
Radio: Jayhawk IMG Radio Network
Saturday, Feb. 9 at 3:30 p.m. (CT) | at No. 12 Arizona State
Video: Pac-12 Arizona & Pac-12 Now
Radio: Jayhawk IMG Radio Network
Saturday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. (CT) | vs. Utah
Video: Pac-12 Mountain & Pac-12 Now
Radio: Jayhawk IMG Radio Network
Sunday, Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. (CT) | vs. Missouri
Video: FloSoftball live stream
Radio: Jayhawk IMG Radio Network
QUICK HITS
• Kansas finished the 2018 season 27-25, 2-16 in Big 12 play and wrapped up last season on May 6 with a victory at Iowa State (4-1).
• The Jayhawks tallied a 17-3 record through their first 20 games of 2018.
• Kansas holds a 58-95 overall record against the five teams – Oregon, Stanford, Arizona State, Utah and Missouri – that it is slated to face in the Kajikawa Tournament in Tempe, Arizona.
• Sam Dellinger enters the 2019 season with a three-game hitting streak after recording a single hit in each game of the three-game series against Iowa State to close out the 2018 season.
• Becki Monaghan has the most active game starts in a Kansas uniform, tallying 85 games started in 90 games played.
• Dellinger has the highest returning batting average for the Jayhawks, finishing the 2018 campaign with a .283 average. The Nebraska native also is the only Jayhawk returning to have logged 10 or more doubles last season.
• Tarin Travieso was named a 2018 All-Big 12 Freshman Team selection and joins Dellinger (2017 All-Big East First Team | Creighton) as the only other current Jayhawk to have received a postseason honor.
• Brittany Jackson tallied a team-high 12 steals in 2018 and no other returning Jayhawk registered more than one (Emily Bermel, 1 | Sam Dellinger, 1) .
NEW YEAR, NEW SEASON, NEW COACH
• On August 20, 2018 Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long announced the hiring of Jennifer McFalls as the ninth head coach in softball program history.
• McFalls was previously an assistant coach at Texas and helped the Longhorns reach the NCAA Tournament in all eight (2011-18) years she was there.
• Prior to coaching, she was a four-year starter at shortsop for Texas A&M and earned first-team All-America honors in 1993.
• McFalls also played on the USA’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2000 Olympics, scoring the game-winning run in the USA’s victory over Japan.
STIFF COMPETITION
• In the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, Kansas is scheduled to play seven teams (No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 16 Texas, No. 22 Oklahoma State, No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 25 Oregon) in 2019. Two other KU opponents (Missouri and Tulsa) are receiving votes in the poll.
• In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Preseason Poll, KU’s 2019 schedule holds six ranked foes (No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 8 Tennessee, T-No. 12 Arizona State, No. 16 Texas, No. 19 Baylor and No. 21 Oklahoma State), and five receiving votes (Mississippi State (25), Louisville (16), Oregon (16), Tulsa (8) and Nebraska (1)).
REPLACING PRODUCTION
• Kansas will be forced to replace its top-three hitters from 2018 – Jessie Roane, Erin McGinley and Harli Ridling. The senior trio each started all 52 games for the Jayhawks and accounted for 41.3 percent (158 of 382) of the team’s hits and 41.4 percent (87 of 210) of the team’s RBI.
• KU will also be forced to replace its top-two pitching arms from 2018. Andie Formby and Sarah Miller combined for 46 games started inside the circle for the Jayhawks.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Kansas’ 19-player roster is compiled of 10 underclassmen (five sophomores, five freshman) and only three seniors (Emily Bermel, Jennifer Marwitz and Brynn Minor).
TRANSFERS
• KU’s roster is compiled of six transfers, including 2019 newcomers Shelby Hughston, Kirsten Pruett and Hannah Todd. The trio join Dellinger (Creighton, 2017), Miranda Rodriguez (Cosumnes River College, 2017) and Brynn Minor (Butler Country CC, 2016-17).
• Dellinger (48) and Hughston (113) have started a combined 159 games prior to their time in a Jayhawk uniform.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
• The Jayhawks were voted seventh in the Big 12 Preseason Poll with Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Iowa State descending in that order in front of Kansas.
SYDNEE RAMSEY RETURNS
• Sydnee Ramsey started the first 10 games of her Kansas career in 2018, but her promising freshman campaign was cut short with a knee injury. Ramsey started three games as the designated player and seven at shortstop.
MINOR PERFORMANCE
• Senior Brynn Minor was named the 2017 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) D1 Player of the Year and 2017 NJCAA Betty Jo Graber Student Female Athlete of the Year after helping lead Butler County Community College to the 2017 NJCAA National Championship.
• Minor finished her sophomore campaign at Bulter CC with a 13-0 record and a 1.07 earned run average, while setting a single-season record with a .497 batting average and 30 home runs.
MONAGHAN MISSION
• Junior Becki Monaghan is the only Jayhawk to have started more than 60 games in a Kansas uniform. The Alberta native has registered 85 starts and with a career .241 batting average. The next closest career-games started is by sophomore Brittany Jackson, who started all 52 games of her freshman campaign in 2018.
200-PLUS
• Dellinger, Hughston and Monaghan are the only three to have amassed 200 or more at bats at the NCAA D1 level. Dellinger boasts a team-high 292 at bats between her time at Creighton and Kansas.
UP NEXT
• After facing a challenging field at the Kajikawa Classic, Kansas heads to Kissimmee, Florida, to play in the Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Tournament. KU is scheduled to face UMASS, Iowa, Providence, Bethune-Cookman and Missouri.
FOLLOW
@KUSoftball
/KansasSoftball
@KUSoftball
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
