Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
I think there is alot of player talent in the SEC area. Problem is the coaching has not caught up to the west yet. Just in my DD's playing time I have seen colleges of all sizes recruiting more locally ( region and state wise ). I'll use maxpreps to see the up and coming stars and stat leaders. Look at how many SEC state "HS players" are in the top #20 in the nation.
National Softball ERA Leaders - MaxPreps
National Softball Strikeouts Leaders - MaxPreps
National Softball Stolen Base Leaders - MaxPreps
National Softball Fielding Leaders - MaxPreps
In no way am I trying to discredit any of the leaders, but in general I trust the Max Prep statistics as far as I can throw the paper they're printed on. My opinion is based the understanding that 1) the stats are coach entered and there's no control over the uniformity and consistency of scorekeeping 2) many of the top teams in my area (CT) don't update the stats so their out of conference opponents don't have a scouting report, and 3) reviewing the Maxprep stat for teams in my area and observing numerous inconsistencies i.e., many teams have more stolen bases than stolen base attempts; high BAs and OBAs w/ 0 ROEs and the same team typically has an ERA with >50% of runs against being unearned. In other words, garbage in, garbage out. This may be the case only in my area, which isn't necessarily a top D1 training ground, but.... My bottom line, I don't need stats to recognize a good player when I see one.