Toledo softball rebuild appears ahead of schedule

Bryan Blair has hired enough head coaches at the University of Toledo for a profile to emerge.

At the top of the list is head coaching experience. Ironically, the outlier was his first hire as Toledo’s athletic director — softball coach Jessica Bracamonte.

The learning curve has proven to be shallow. In the final season under previous coach Joe Abraham, Toledo cratered to 12-37 overall and 5-21 in the Mid-American Conference. A step-by-step rebuild was expected under Bracamonte, who came to UT after three years as an assistant at powerhouse Duke and six at Central Michigan.

Instead, she got it all back in Year 1. The Rockets were 21-25 overall and 14-14 in the MAC with an almost identical roster from the previous season. This year is even better, with UT (22-21, 12-10) rising as high as second in the conference. On Tuesday, Toledo got an up-close look at what being the best entails.

Miami — the queen of the MAC — swept the Rockets 8-0 and 10-4, but UT is still on pace to qualify for the conference tournament.

“I believe every game is [a measuring stick],” Bracamonte said. “I don’t think the team you play changes or should determine that. We don’t put too much into the name because we have a lot of opportunities to prove to ourselves where we’re at in comparison to where we need to be. And one series isn’t that.”

Bracamonte was a four-year starter at Michigan State, flashing her coaching skills by earning the Big Ten’s sportsmanship award and academic All-American honors. She broke into coaching almost as soon as she graduated, moving up the road to Central Michigan, where she began a career-long knack for finding hitters. She also learned that a positive environment fosters winning.

“We invested in them as people, and that was really the very first thing that we said we were going to do because we knew the softball part would take some time,” Bracamonte said. “The thing that doesn’t always have to take as much time is, we care about you and this is how we care about you. This is why we love you. This is what we’re gonna do because that’s what love is. Before I even was able to bring my staff on board, that was my No. 1 goal.”

The old-school approach from Abraham — who helped guide Toledo to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1992 — had worn thin after four years. The program’s culture was frayed and in a state of disrepair. A belief in the roster was present, they just needed someone to coach them up.

“The relationship she has with us outside of softball might not seem like a big difference, but it really does make a big difference on the field,” said junior infielder Sidney Griffith. “Our team’s shown exactly that when you know your coach has your back on and off the field. It just helps the way you play, helps the way your team culture is, and everything in between.”

Rigorous, detailed preparation has added slashes in the win column. There are exhaustive scouting reports on opposing teams, especially pitchers, which includes watching film. Before the Rockets step in the batter’s box, they have studied tendencies and readied for all manner of situations and outcomes.

“If we’re facing a drop-ball pitcher, the whole week we’re doing at-bats off our drop-ball machine,” Griffith said. “When we see it that weekend, we’re not even phased by it.”

Entering the week, Griffith had the MAC’s fourth-best batting average (.398). Junior shortstop Eli Enriuez was second with five triples and eighth in hits (52). Senior first baseman Riley Mohr ranked 10th with 11 doubles.

Junior pitcher Sophia Knight has the fifth-best earned run average (2.82) in the MAC, and opponents are only hitting .246 against her. Knight has struck out 93 batters to rank ninth, and her 12 wins rank sixth.

As a team, Toledo is second in batting (.306), fourth in doubles (67), and third in triples (eight) and ERA (3.50).

“I think most coaches, probably all coaches, have super high standards,” Bracamonte said. “Knowing what their program was coming in didn’t lower those standards. It didn’t change my goals right away. Now, I am really proud of what the team has done and what we’ve accomplished in two years, but I think the ceiling is higher than anybody outside of our circle can really see or visualize. I don’t really feel we’re ahead of schedule. If I’m being honest, I feel like it would be a stretch for me to say we’re right on schedule and not a little bit behind.”

The modest coachspeak is predictable, but Bracamonte doesn’t come off as blustering or too proud. She’s a young coach who quickly found her footing in Toledo and has the semblance of a program builder. If the Rockets continue on the trajectory Bracamonte established, the gap between NCAA tournament berths will be much smaller than 27 years.

“I think the main marker for success to me is I see our team embracing each other, smiling at each other, hugging each other, just loving the game of softball,” Blair said. “More than that, loving each other and loving the process, I think that’ll breed future success.

“It’s how she treats the girls, how she gets them to treat each other and see the potential. I mean, these are the same girls that barely won anything. Now we’re loving the game of softball and winning a whole lot. That’s no secret.”