Looked like a good number of the ACC schools plus Auburn, OSU, Missouri, Kansas on deck. Not exactly a weak schedule, but also not sure how to compare it with last year.

Would love to see a schedule like that for any other JMU sport. Hopefully the RPI will end up matching last years, because that has significant influence on seeding/hosting.

Wonder if Coach Dean is running into the same problem Kenny Brooks had with the WBB team. Other teams just did not want to talk about playing the Dukes!! Especially at home!!

Brian

Based on last year's softball RPI's, just not seeing how folks think this is a weak schedule. We have :

Auburn (#3)
Missouri (#11)
UCF (#26)
OSU (#31)
UNC (#36)
VT (#44)

Possibly some others I've missed, but these look like big matchups to me.

(12-15-2016 05:23 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  Based on last year's softball RPI's, just not seeing how folks think this is a weak schedule. We have :

Auburn (#3)
Missouri (#11)
UCF (#26)
OSU (#31)
UNC (#36)
VT (#44)

Possibly some others I've missed, but these look like big matchups to me.

I knew Auburn and Missouri were up there but never knew OSU, VT etc were as well. Good to know!

This is a very solid schedule. Perhaps not as top-flight as last season, but then again, JMU has to replace some very important pieces lost to graduation. Here's to another exciting season, and I hope hosting another regional come season's end!

(12-16-2016 01:40 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(12-15-2016 05:23 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  Based on last year's softball RPI's, just not seeing how folks think this is a weak schedule. We have :

Auburn (#3)
Missouri (#11)
UCF (#26)
OSU (#31)
UNC (#36)
VT (#44)

Possibly some others I've missed, but these look like big matchups to me.

I knew Auburn and Missouri were up there but never knew OSU, VT etc were as well. Good to know!

Is that Ohio State, Oregon State, Oklahoma State?

I was going to ask the same thing.

(12-16-2016 09:51 AM)HyperDuke Wrote:  

(12-16-2016 01:40 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(12-15-2016 05:23 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  Based on last year's softball RPI's, just not seeing how folks think this is a weak schedule. We have :

Auburn (#3)
Missouri (#11)
UCF (#26)
OSU (#31)
UNC (#36)
VT (#44)

Possibly some others I've missed, but these look like big matchups to me.

I knew Auburn and Missouri were up there but never knew OSU, VT etc were as well. Good to know!

Is that Ohio State, Oregon State, Oklahoma State?

Oklahoma State. The other 2 usually are not top softball teams.

Yeah, as much as I will support JMU softball, I'm still a bit of a novice on who is a national player.

Yeah, I would've thought that Ohio St. not so much, but Oregon St., I could see being good. The Pokes definitely have a good program, not as good as the Sooners, but good.

SEC and PAC-12 schools typically dominate the top 20, and ACC schools are respectable in the 25-50 RPI range.

Our scheduling philosophy seems to be play a couple SEC schools, a ton of ACC teams (due to geography?) and a few top schools from other conferences.

It will be fun to see us hammer teams like UVA, VT, Maryland, Pitt and UNC :)

As strange as it sounds, even Longwood is decent with an RPI last year of #59, higher than some of the CAA schools.

Keep in mind that we beat Longwood in the Regionals to make it to the Super Regionals. They knocked out Princeton and UNC-CHeat. As Rocks said above, they aren't slouches, and almost any P5 school will prepare us for all rounds of the NCAA tournament. Auburn was the national runners-up last year, and Mizzou lost to #2 Michigan in the Supers. I said it in the 2017 thread, but this is a great schedule, and while I don't foresee going 50-6 again, I would expect a win total in the low to mid 40s, and the #1 seed in the CAA Tournament.

(12-16-2016 11:15 AM)JMURocks Wrote:  SEC and PAC-12 schools typically dominate the top 20, and ACC schools are respectable in the 25-50 RPI range.

Our scheduling philosophy seems to be play a couple SEC schools, a ton of ACC teams (due to geography?) and a few top schools from other conferences.

It will be fun to see us hammer teams like UVA, VT, Maryland, Pitt and UNC :)

As strange as it sounds, even Longwood is decent with an RPI last year of #59, higher than some of the CAA schools.

Longwood has always had a respectable baseball and softball program. My brother ended up there from STAB on scholarship. I'm happy that JMUMBB only win this year came on the hands of the lancers of longwood, I always told him he should have come to JMU!