A Heartbreaking End: A Final Analysis For Alabama Softball Team30

This 2026 Alabama Softball season was the My Girl of softball seasons. Remember that movie? SPOILER ALERT: It’s about a sweet little girl (Anna Chlumsky) who has had some tragedy in her past and suddenly with the friendship and affection from a nice boy (pre-creepy adult Macaulay Culkin), everything is going so wonderfully for her. And then… another tragedy.

For most of the season, everything was going great for Bama softball. Team30 had many fans believing that they could once again get to the Promised Land. But in the end… tragedy – a double gut-punch in Act Three just like Vada got.

“You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart was ripped in half.”

It was mentioned in a previous article about how this was finally OUR team. It was the kind of team WE, the RBR community, have been pining for for many years. It had everything on our shopping list:

1. An ace
2. An almost as good No. 2 pitcher
3. A competent No. 3 pitcher
4. A big-time slugger
5. Four players with double-digit homers
6. A sharp defense
7. Solid catching
8. No wet noodle bats
9. No playing time favoritism
10. No clubhouse drama
11. No meltdowns

This team had all the ingredients for success. That is until they neared the finish line. For some reason, the team just did not have that good vibe on the first day of June that they had all season.

After the double-defeats, that word “mudita” resurfaced once again. In short, mudita is finding joy in the success of others. But there was no success and hence joy to be found in that finish. Just getting to the semifinals should never be “good enough”. Hopefully, the returning Alabama players will use this setback as a motivational factor.

ACCOLADES

• The Alabama Softball Coaches were named 2026 ATEC/NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
• Jocelyn Briski, Marlie Giles, and Jena Young made the 12 player WCWS All-Tournament Team.
• Alabama kept the streak of NFCA All-Americans alive as Jocelyn Briski was placed on the first team, Brooke Wells made the second team, and Alexis Pupillo to the third.
• Briski was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year and Patrick Murphy earned his sixth SEC Coach of the Year award. Briski and Wells were All-SEC First Team, while Pupillo and Marlie Giles made the Second Team.

FOR THE RECORD

• Alabama finished their season with a 56-9 record, their most wins since 2019 and the highest winning percentage since 2012.
• Alabama finished 19-5 in the conference, 33-2 at home, 14-4 away, 9-3 on neutral sites, and 0-1 vs Samford in Birmingham.
• Including the SEC Tournament, the crimson and white were 9-3 in post-season play. From the Tuscaloosa Regional through their second WCWS game, they won seven straight.
• The Crimson Tide was run-ruled five times last season including one humiliation at home. That situation did not happen this season.
• This year marked the Crimson Tide’s 16th Women’s College World Series appearance and eighth appearance in the semifinals.
• BEST WIN: April 25 at Tennessee in Knoxville, W, 12-0 (5 Inn.)
• WORST LOSS: April 14 at Samford L, 2-3

SEC (19-5)

Alabama played eight 3-game conference series:

• Swept: South Carolina, Ole Miss, Auburn, Kentucky
• Got swept: none
• Won 2 of 3: Arkansas, Missouri, Texas
• Lost 2 of 3: Tennessee

PITCHING

• The pitching staff posted top-four program marks in shutouts (26 – 2nd), batting average against (.174 – 3rd) and fewest runs allowed (104 – 4th).
• Team ERA landed at 1.57 – good for second in the nation behind Tennessee (1.47). They were also second to the Vols in Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings at 4.39.
• After two decent but not great campaigns in the circle, Jocelyn Briski had a spectacular breakout season in 2026 with a 24-4 record and 1.41 ERA. Physically she appeared svelter. Emotionally she seemed so much more confident and concentrated on the present. For the most part, she did not let rough patches get to her. The rising senior was rightfully named First Team All-American as well as Pitcher of the Year by several outlets.
• Freshman Vic Moten (21-5, 1.80) was a happy surprise and has the makings of a future ace.
• Fellow first-year hurler Kaitlyn Pallozzi (9-0, 1.47) had some good performances and has some great potential.
• Rising junior Braya Hodges and out-of-eligibility Alea Johnson rounded out the staff in limited appearances.

HITTING

• Alabama hit 102 home runs, the second-highest total in program history and just the second 100+ homer season.
• Brooke Wells and Alexis Pupillo finished the season ranked in the top five in program history in home runs (Wells: 24 – 3rd, Pupillo: 20 – 5th) and slugging percentage (Wells: .844 – 2nd, Pupillo: .775 – 5th).
• Team batting average finished at .321 which is good but 47th nationally. Bama scored 6.25 runs per game (51st). Alabama was 7th in the SEC in slugging and on-base percentage. After the season the Tide had, most observers may have figured these numbers would have ranked higher, but it just goes to show that they need to improve even more so.

FIELDING

• The Crimson Tide had some highlight reel plays on defense, but finished with a .977 fielding percentage. That number falls in the 8th slot among SEC teams. However thanks to excellent pitching (and I suppose no defensive meltdowns), the Tide allowed an SEC low of 14 unearned runs.
• Team30 turned only 13 double plays which comes to 0.2 twin-killings per game. That second number placed them tied for 255th in the nation out of 304 D-1 teams that field a softball team. But here again due to excellent pitching, opponents did not get in too many situations in which a double play would be possible.

COACHING

• Briski got many Most Improved awards this year. If there was a coaching version, Patrick Murphy would probably get that award to go with this SEC Coach of the Year trophy. The Gut® moves were very minimal this season. The two Transfer Portal acquisitions (Wells and Young) were home runs. And there was not a lot of mention of “mudita” (until the season ended) which can be misunderstood and misused. Murphy finally joined the rest of the softball world here in the 2020s that depends more on power hitting than grandmammy’s strategy of slap and run.
• I don’t know how much credit can be given to whoever the hitting coaches are since a good deal of the power and big hits came from newcomers (Wells, Young, Ana Roman). Seniors Pupillo, Giles, and Kristen White improved at the plate in their final season. On paper, Audrey Vandagriff had a decent year at the plate but she dropped off from her All-American season of 2025. Also digressing were Salen Hawkins, Lauren Johnson, Larissa Preuitt, and Abby Duchscherer. So, it was a mixed bag of success.
• One of the most baffling developments was the offense’s struggles against change-ups. Another seemed to be preparedness for games. Often times it took until the second time through the batting order for the team to start hitting. I not gonna do the research but it sure seemed like the Tide went down 1-2-3 in the first inning with great frequency in the final month or two. On the flipside of that coin, the staff was pretty efficient at in-game adjustments. They deserve credit for that.
• Pitching coach Lance McMahon deserves credit for whatever he did to help Briski blossom. Moten looked like a seasoned veteran right out of the gate. Former 5-star Palozzi was about what was expected in her first year of college ball. Hodges and Alea were not very competitive against Power teams. Again, it was a mixed bag.

RBR AWARDS

• MVP: BRISKI
• BEST HITTER: WELLS
• BEST PITCHER: BRISKI
• BEST DEFENDER: HAWKINS
• FROSH OF THE YEAR: MOTEN
• NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: WELLS
• MOST IMPROVED: PUPILLO
• GREEN LIGHT GIRL: KINLEY PATE – 21 runs scored, 7 of 7 stolen bases
• MOST SAD-TO-SEE-GO: GILES
• BEST ATTITUDE: PREUITT
• PARTICIPATION AWARD: PUPILLO – the only player to start all 65 games.
• MOST CONSISTENT COMMENTER: DARTHSABAN for the “Fire Murph” campaign (!, ?, ?????) – REPEAT WINNER!

THE FUTURE

The Crimson Tide returns their top three pitchers, starters at all four infield positions, and two outfield spots. The only gaps come at catcher, centerfield, and the bat of Pupillo. However, Bama may have filled some of those holes by utilizing the Transfer Upgrade Portal. So far, Alabama has picked up three players.

GRADUATED

• DH/C Alexis Pupillo
• C Marlie Giles
• OF Kristen White
• 1B/3B Abby Duchscherer
• PR Kinley Pate
• OF Larissa Preuitt
• P Alea Johnson

UPGRADE PORTAL

• I am taking full credit for this one. 😉 Karlee Ford fills a huge need for an experienced catcher. The fact that she played in the Hawkeye State sealed the deal because we all know what a penchant Murphy has for his home state. Ford had a good season at Iowa State hitting .345 with 14 doubles, 10 home runs, and 49 RBIs. She had 17 multi-hit games and was named Second Team All-Big 12. Ford hails from right outside of Wichita and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
• Tennessee freshman Kailey Plumlee figured one season in Knoxville was enough. The Vols had the best and deepest pitching staff in the nation. Plumlee was stuck behind five other pitchers with only one of them graduating, plus two new hurlers coming in as freshmen next season. As she did not make a single appearance, she was granted a redshirt and will have four years of eligibility. Alabama also has a pretty deep staff, which makes this addition a little peculiar. Plumlee is definitely an unknown quantity, but her value surely comes in the fact that she is a left-hander.
• Last but not least, the Crimson Tide added the NJCAA National Player of the Year. Noelani Livingstone played for Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers. She hit .526 with seven home runs, 57 RBIs along with 32 stolen bases. Her numbers look amazing. But then again, so did former NJCAA First Team All-American Kendal Clark’s stats before she transferred to Bama and flattened out. So, we should probably not crown her with any superlatives just yet. Livingstone played centerfielder for coach Robert Iamurri. If that names sounds familiar, he is the father of Alabama coordinator of player development, Ryan Iamurri, who played on the 2012 WCWS Championship team. Former Alabama pitcher Courtney Gettins is also on the Buccaneers’ staff. Livingstone is originally from British Columbia and has played for Team Canada. Thanks to Diego Pavia’s and Trinidad Chambliss’s a-hole lawyers, it is unclear how many years of eligibility she will have – either two, three, or four. Who even knows anymore?
• The college softball transfer portal remains open until June 22. As of post, there have not been any Crimson Tide players enter.

FROSH

The Crimson Tide also have five freshmen coming in – including one with a very familiar name.

• IF Ava Briski – 4-star, Jocelyn’s kid sister
• C Torynn Slaughter – 5-star from Phoenix, AZ
• IF Liv Keiter – 4-star from Colorado
• IF Paige Stanfield – 4-star from Kansas
• OF Ava Bush – 4-star from Missouri

The NCAA roster cap is 25. At this point, Alabama will have 22 on the 2027 roster, which is right around where they usually are.

WRAP IT UP, ALREADY!

I have been covering softball for RBR since the magical year of 2012 and have to say that this 2026 team was perhaps my favorite. IMHO, the Tide should have won it all in 2021 and the same is true about this team. Murphy is becoming the Bobby Cox of softball – which is both a compliment and a criticism. After the campaign they had this year, the letdown at the end made no sense. Alabama had a few sluggish games throughout the season, but rarely two in a row. It’s almost as if there was some kind of off-the-field issue. We’ll probably never know.

The future looks bright but it is becoming tiresome to continue saying “Wait Til Next Year!” That said, Alabama should be one of the favorites in 2027. For the record, My Girl 2 was awful. See you in February.

#RollTide #Team30 → 31