The Fastpitch Chronicle

We promised you a list of teams to watch just before the games really get underway. This list is not a chronological list of rankings. It is a list of teams our rankers and sources have compiled. We may have missed a team to two and we may have listed some teams that aren’t as good as they were last season but they are still teams to watch – can they be as good or can they surprise people. Of course another factor is whether there has been a coaching change at a school. That usually creates change so we need to “watch” that team.

There have been a few games played and more will get played this week.

Look for the first Fastpitch Chronicle statewide rankings to be posted next Sunday night, April 6th. Don’t confuse the Fastpitch Chronicle rankings with the WFSCA rankings. There are some definitive differences in how the two rankings are compiled. The WFSCA rankings are open to paid WFSCA member coaches who can vote only in the division of play they play WIAA tournament games in.

The Fastpitch Chronicle rankings involve nearly 100 rankers and includes current coaches; former coaches who maintain a keen interest in the game and actually watch games; umpires and former umpires; several sports writers and broadcasters in the state; fastpitch experts who simply get out and watch good teams play each other. The other key difference is that those rankers rank across divisions. For example, there are instances where a Division 3 school plays in a conference where all the other schools are D-2 or higher. That coach can’t vote for the D-2 teams in they play and vice versa. The FPC rankers are allowed to rank across divisions of play.

This marks the 14^th year that the Fastpitch Chronicle has ranked teams on a statewide basis. If your team is not on this list, simply let me know. We’ll start watching you closer and the rankers will be notified.

Here is the list of teams to watch by division of play:

Division 1 – By WIAA Sectional Assignments

Madison LaFollette ; DeForest, LaCrosse Central, Sun Prairie, Verona, Beaver Dam, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Oshkosh West, Oshkosh North, Neenah, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln, Bay Port, Ashwaubenon, Appleton East, Appleton North, Hortonville, Pulaski, Chippewa Falls, SPASH, Eau Claire North, Wausau West, D.C. Everest, Fort Atkinson, Janesville Craig, Union Grove, Westosha Central, Hamilton, Menomonee Falls, Watertown, Oconomowoc, Greendale, Greenfield, Racine Case, Kenosha Bradford, Brookfield East, Germantown, Pius XI Divine Savior Holy Angels,

Division 2 – By Sectional Assignment

LaCrosse Logan, Baldwin-Woodville, Rice Lake, Mosinee, Medford, Tomahawk, Shawano, Oconto Falls, Luxemburg-Casco, Southern Door, West De Pere, Wrightstown, Adams-Friendship, Ripon, Fox Valley Lutheran, Little Chute, New London, Winnconne, Xavier, Columbus, Marshall, Portage, Monroe, River Valley, Dodgeville, Beloit Turner, Edgerton, McFarland, New Berlin West, New Berlin Eisenhower, Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Mayville, Waupun, Plymouth

Division 3 – By Sectional Assignment

Bloomer, Elk Mound, Neillsville, Chequamegon, Hurley, Clayton/Turtle Lake, Grantsburg, Westfield, Laconia, Weyauwega-Fremont, Pacelli, Iola-Scandinavia, Amherst, Stratford, Marathon, Spencer, Bonduel, Crandon, Wabeno-Laona, Manitowoc Lutheran, Michicot, Roncalli, Dodgeland, Horicon, Lomira, Kenosha St. Joseph, Shoreland Lutheran, Parkview, Brodhead, Arcadia, Luther, Westby, Mineral Point, Cuba City, Waterloo, Poynette

Division 4 – By Sectional Assignment

Northwood, Shell Lake, Gilman, McDonell Central, Elmwood/Plum city, Pepin-Alma, Athens, Thorp, Almond-Bancroft, Assumption, Three Lakes, Wausaukee, Newman Catholic, New Lisbon, DeSoto, Seneca, Barneveld, Belmont, Potosi, Highland, Williams Bay, Johnson Creek, Catholic Central, Oakfield, Green Bay NEW Lutheran, Algoma,