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Travel softball for parents raises one of the toughest questions in the sport: how do college coaches actually decide who gets recruited?
On Inside the Circle with Coach Pat, University of Montana head softball coach Stef Ewing pulls back the curtain on the college softball recruiting process, from reading a tournament schedule the right way to understanding why rosters are expanding under the NCAA's new five-for-five eligibility rule. If you have ever wondered why one player gets seen at a showcase and another gets missed, this conversation breaks down exactly what recruiters are watching for and when.
Coach Pat, a 20-year youth and travel softball coach with a proven college placement track record, sits down with Stef Ewing, now entering her third season as head coach of the University of Montana Grizzlies in the Big Sky Conference. Ewing walks through the recruiting board her staff builds before tournaments like Colorado's Sparkler and IDT, explains how the transfer portal and the five-for-five rule are reshaping roster sizes, and shares her mudita based approach to team culture and player confidence.
Parents and coaches walk away with a clearer picture of when to contact a program, what college coaches actually notice between innings, and how to help a young athlete build confidence that outlasts any single game.
You’ll learn:
- How the five-for-five eligibility rule is expanding college softball rosters, and why Stef Ewing is holding two roster spots open while she waits to see who returns for a fifth year.
- Why sending your tournament schedule to a college program the night before you play is already too late, and when the college softball recruiting process should actually start.
- What college coaches are really watching for between innings, including outfield throws and infield reps, when they show up to a showcase game to see one specific player.
- How the transfer portal is changing college roster building, and why Stef Ewing still prioritizes recruiting high school players over transfer additions on her own team.
- Why Stef Ewing built a Colorado recruiting board covering 46 games a day across three coaches, and how her staff decides which players get direct communication first.
- How mudita, finding joy in a teammate's success, shapes team culture at the University of Montana and helped turn a last-place Big Sky team into a near champion.
- Why confidence, not results, is the biggest factor Stef Ewing coaches for, and how she teaches college athletes to communicate honestly when they are struggling.
We talk about:
00:00 Welcome to Inside the Circle with Stef Ewing
00:53 Meet Montana head coach Stef Ewing
02:27 How Stef Ewing started playing softball at age 12
03:53 Landing her first coaching job at Butler
10:21 What makes a player fun to watch when recruiting
16:23 How does the five-for-five rule change college rosters
19:59 Why a late tournament schedule costs you a recruiting look
26:23 What is five-for-five and how it affects recruiting timelines
33:00 Why rosters are expanding and how the portal changes roster turnover
35:48 Building team culture through mudita
41:14 How to help a young athlete build real confidence
53:41 Meet Stef Ewing's Montana coaching staff
Connect with Stef
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanieewing
- Website: https://gogriz.com/sports/softball/roster/coaches/stef-ewing/1891
Connect with me
- Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/coach_pat_fastpitch
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/share/19C1qWzufS/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- YouTube - https://youtube.com/@coachpatfastpitch
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@coach.patfp
- X (Twitter) - https://x.com/CoachPatFP
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