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They are the preseason No. 2 team in the country and coming off a trip to the College World Series. Coaches across the conference picked them to win the Big 12 without breaking a sweat. They have a senior core that includes two All-American starters, and yet, around the softball lockeroom and on the practice field, there's nothing but intensity, and it starts at the top.
"We never talk about our ranking," softball Head Coach Jo Evans said. "When [the ranking] came out, not a single person on the team talked about it. That isn't our focal point, and it shouldn't be."
The Big 12 is one of the toughest conferences in the coutry. Three of the teams, Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma, are ranked in the Top 10, and Texas and Missouri are also in the Top 25. To be successful, Evans knows her team has to be battle-tested coming in.
"The Big 12 is a great conference," Evans said. "What we try to do in the preseason is schedule the best teams we can so that when conference play comes we are ready."
The Aggies' schedule reflects that mentality. Before getting to conference play, the Aggies will play 22 teams that competed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, and five of those teams played in the College World Series. The Aggies will face off against No. 6 Northwestern, No. 11 Washington, No. 10 DePaul and reigning World Series Champs, No. 1 Arizona. Then the Aggies start conference play.
"It's an honor to be picked to win the conference by our peers, but we know things can happen, good or bad."
Evans said the pressure of being so highly recognized doesn't shake her or the team because their main focus is on what they can control: getting better and continuing to win games.
"Those numbers are all based on last year, and we know that this is a completely different season. We will stay focused on ourselves and not pay a lot of attention to that. I think that teams that pay too much attention to rank and numbers get bogged down in it all, and that becomes pressure."
With this year's senior class, Evans said that the team has the dynamic and the leadership to be highly competitive throughout the season. Seniors Amanda Scarborough and Megan Gibson have been the stars for the team since 2006, and seniors Jami Lobpries and Jamie Hinshaw provide an excellent complement to the more visible superstars.
"Hinshaw and Lobpries will be a huge part of our success this year, and I am really counting out them," said Evans, who is in her twelfth year as head coach. "Gibson and Scarborough have been great in that they have led the way for the team. They show the younger players how to act when they have confidence and how to be leaders."
Since the loss in the College World Series in 2007, the Aggies have been working hard to tighten things up and focus on the details to make them better.
Evans said the team's main focus as has been working on thriving in pressure situations.
"We know we are going to see everything this season from some really great teams, so we try to replicate that in practice. It's hard, sometimes, as a coach to duplicate those situations for the players, but I want our kids to experience that at practice and to get comfortable with that fast of a pace."
As for Evans, after 11 years on the job, she said she is still excited about every coming season, and said she looks forward to coaching the four seniors during their final year.
"It's been such a privilage to be here and to coach these four seniors through their career. I feel really close to them. They have worked so hard and gained my respect and the respect of everyone across the country. It's fun every single day to come to practice every day and be around everyone on this team. It's fun to feel like we are 15 people against the world, taking on whomever we are going to take on."
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