Not that anyone was truly ready for a once-in-a-generation trial for humanity, but in a way, Missouri had been preparing for an obstacle like this for a couple years.
Larissa Anderson inherited a Mizzou program in turmoil in the summer of 2018 and the Tigers were hit with a one-year NCAA postseason ban before she ever coached a game.
At the helm of one of the winningest and most tradition rich programs in the country NFCA Hall of Famer Jo Evans looks to lead her Aggies back to OKC. The maroon and white saw success in 2017 going 47-13 and ending their season at the WCWS. Evans, one of the winningest active Division 1 coaches in the game today, with over 1,200 wins, will face one of her biggest challenges yet, coaching during a global pandemic. Along with coaching during Covid-19 the Aggies face away SEC series at LSU, Alabama, and Florida.
12th Man Firing Up the Aggies
Facing a fall like never before the Aggies had to adjust just as every other NCAA team has. Finding themself limited to only intrasquad games Coach Evans had to get creative. “The silver lining about Covid was weren’t allowed to play outside opponents and so with this huge roster of 27 people everyone got lots of reps and lots of playing time,” Evans said. They decided to run their games based on a point system similar to that of the new professional league Athletes Unlimited This system rewards players based on in game performance, meaning each inning is with 10 points and each game is worth 50 points. Evans wanted to run games like AU to put an emphasis on the importance of each at bat, pitch and inning.
