BYU softball reflects on its first 2 years in Big 12, looks ahead

BYU softball coach Gordon Eakin and stars Ilove'a Brittingham and Hailey Morrow took to Big 12 Media Days to highlight the upcoming season just a week before it begins.

“Oh, we’re coming to compete this year, like always,” Big 12 preseason team selection Brittingham said.

After being deemed the “first team out” of the NCAA Tournament for two seasons in a row, there’s a fire lit beneath BYU’s feet.

In just their second season in a Power Four conference, the Cougars finished fifth in the Big 12, landing in the middle of the conference.

“I don’t think we’ve really changed our M.O. from over the years, because we’ve always tried to compete at the highest level, but what has really changed is our ability to recruit great athletes,” Eakin said. “When we went into the Big 12, my phone started ringing with coaches from high-level travel ball teams that would have never called me when we were back in the WCC.”

Along with recruiting power comes transfer portal leverage, according to Eakin.

“The transfer portal is always open. We’re always looking to strengthen our team, but it has to be the right fit. It has to be for the right reason; somebody who can come into our culture at last, graduate from BYU, and make a great contribution to our university and our community,” Eakin said.

He continued, “So, even though the transfer portal is always open, we don’t just take anybody just to win. They have to be the right fits, and we’ve been very successful in finding the right fits over the last few years. It’s really kind of a culture thing for us in the transfer portal."

BYU only added two players to the roster from the portal this offseason, the most prolific being pitcher Hailey Shuler from Duke.

Pitching has been one of the Cougars’ pitfalls the last two years, making pitchers an important target this offseason. However, that’s not all Shuler brings to the table.

Eakin described her other talents, saying “[Shuler] is a player that is very unique. She can play any position on the field. She will not only get pitching time for us, but she’ll start defensively and [she] makes our hitting order better.

“When she pitches, she’s a matchup type of kid that won’t necessarily get a ton of starts through the year, but we’ll bring her in for certain parts of the game: matchups, middle relief, maybe to close now and then," he added. "She is a strike thrower, throws fairly hard, can hit her spots, and so it’s just nice to have her. It doesn’t take her very long to warm up, so she can play the outfield and be in the game five pitches later to help us in certain situations with matchups.”

However, BYU isn’t relying on transfers and NIL money to push it into the tournament bracket. More than anything, the Cougars are relying on their team culture.

When asked how BYU is developing their players and how they’re making their statistical jumps from season to season, Eakin said, “It’s hard work and getting them to believe in themselves. We have talent that can compete with anybody in the country, and we work on that all the time in our culture about believing in yourself and positive self-talk.”

Going into their third season in the Power Four, the Cougars have built their confidence through practice.

“Of course, having that experience of competing in the Big 12 game after game for the last two years, they see that they belong, they see that they can compete with anybody," Eakin said. "That belief, that positive self-talk, and believing we belong is all huge in our development.”

For some people, seeing is believing, and BYU has plenty of proof of their team culture.

Brittingham, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, led the Cougars in hitting percentage and RBIs last year. However, she never carried the team alone.

“[Brittingham] was the force for them. Not that she had a bad day, but there was plenty around her. It’s not like BYU went only because I’lovea was able to drive in runs or hit home runs, everyone else contributes,” said Cat Osterman, former Texas softball player and co-host of Big 12 Softball Media Days.

Osterman added: “She’s surrounded by other good hitters. So while you can focus on her and try not to not let her beat you, in front of her and behind her are quality hitters. You can’t really focus on her, which makes it hard for opposing defenses and pitching staffs to figure out what they’re going to do with her, because the next person could easily do the same damage.”

How is BYU’s offense so consistent? According to Morrow, it starts long before stepping on the field.

“I think it starts off with your work ethic. So, being willing to be the hardest worker in the room, that will help take care of your physical talent,” she said. “After that, it really comes down to the mental part. Like, having confidence when you step into the box, and having the mindset of ‘win the next pitch.’ When you step into the box, it’s yours, you own it. When you’re in there, no one can beat you.”

Nobody’s doubting BYU’s offensive abilities. The real question surrounding BYU’s success is their pitching.

“I don’t think anyone has a question about what BYU’s offense is capable of ... they have plenty of offense. What can that pitching staff do?” asked Spencer Linton, host of Big 12 Softball Media Days.

“You can score all the runs in the world, but if you don’t have a pitching staff that can hold that opposing offense, then yes, it’s going to be hard to win games," Osterman said. “If they can get through this schedule with that pitching staff, regardless of what the scores look like, a win’s a win. If you get through this schedule with that pitching staff, you’re going to be in a good seat come postseason.”

BYU’s pitching is unique, as they operate as a unit rather than individual stars.

"They’re a staff. They each bring something unique to the table,” Morrow said about their pitchers. “They complement each other super well, and so when we put them all together, they’re unstoppable. I can’t wait to see what they do this season.”

Despite the skill on the roster, BYU missed out in the postseason. An unfortunate few losses were the only thing standing between BYU and its tournament dreams last May.

“I think what happened was we lost a couple of midweek games that we shouldn’t have lost. For instance, we were 31 in RPI, then we lost a midweek game and we went all the way to 43,” Eakin said.

“We just couldn’t seem to recover from that, so I think it’s a matter of taking every game as if it’s a championship game and taking care of business. Not only in Big 12 play, but in our midweek contests.”

This season, BYU softball is doing everything in its power to make it into the field of 64.

“I mean, every game needs to be important to us. So, those midweek games that aren’t a top-25 team need to be prepared for the same way as a top-25 team so we don’t stumble and become the first team out again,” Eakin said.
"We prepare the same way. We have a really tough schedule — not only preconference schedule, but conference schedule — probably our most difficult ever. We’ve talked a lot about it. Our players believe that we belong there and that we should be playing it. We believe that if we’re going to be the best and compete with the best, we have to play the best.”

As Eakin mentioned, BYU is playing its toughest schedule yet. However, it could be to the Cougars' advantage.

“You heard him talking about being the first out last year, but I think the scheduling went into play there,” Osterman said. “‘If we were the first out, we’re going to schedule a little harder, we win some of these’ . . . now when you drop that midweek, it doesn’t affect you as much if you won some of these big games early in the season.”

That theory will be tested as early as the first game of the Cougars' season.

BYU softball steps onto the mound Feb. 5 against SEC giant Tennessee as part of the NFCA Leadoff Classic.