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When something that stunning happens, it sets off alarms, at least among a certain segment of the fanbase. People wonder: Has ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ softball fallen that far?

I don’t think that’s the right way to frame it. While it’s true that the program isn’t in the same place as the glory days — and likely never will achieve that consistent excellence again — the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™ recent results aren’t really about what’s wrong with them.

They’re about what’s changed within the sport.

When Mike Candrea first started coaching at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ in the mid-1980s, Hillenbrand Stadium didn’t exist. Now, programs all across the country have softball stadiums and hitting facilities. They’re investing in softball. They’re providing opportunities for the thousands upon thousands of girls who’ve been playing the game since they were Little Leaguers.

Where once the West Coast owned college softball, it now has become a national sport. Between 1982 and 2011, West Coast teams won 26 of 30 . Since 2012, only one West Coast program has triumphed — UCLA in 2019.

None of this is to say ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ can’t continue to be one of college softball’s premier programs. It just isn’t the premier program anymore. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

‘Hard knock to take’

Fans are understandably upset with UA coach Caitlin Lowe today after ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ lost to Ole Miss 7-3 Sunday night in the Tucson Regional championship game. It was just the fourth time the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ failed to advance out of a regional in 37 tries — and just the second time it happened at home in 26 attempts.

The idea that Lowe should be fired because ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ didn’t win a regional is absurd. After not making the NCAA Tournament in 2023, the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ have ascended. They won 11 more games this year than last. If not for NiJaree Canady, they would have won the Big 12 this season.

“I definitely feel great about the direction that our program is going,� Lowe said late Sunday night as Miranda Stoddard, Devyn Netz and Sydney Stewart sat beside her, tears welling in their eyes.

“I think about our crowd today and this weekend. Tucson doesn't show up for just anybody in the softball world. They show up for champions. These guys laid it all out on the line every single day of the entire season. People show up for that. They have your back.

“I’m just so proud of the legacy these guys are going to leave. And it's not this weekend; that doesn't define them. It's Devyn’s absolute spirit and heart of a warrior, and Miranda's feistiness and ability to just go out and dominate, no questions asked.

“They’ve left this team better, and I think that’s what we're doing every year. It doesn't always result in a national championship. Only one team gets to do that.�

Lowe recalled what it was like in 2023 when “we were sitting in the room watching our name not get called.� It was a difficult, look-in-the-mirror moment, she said.

How are we going to grow? How are we going to get better?

“They decided how they wanted this program to be, the standards, the culture, all of it,� Lowe said. “They bought in, and they've just been going to work till the very last out. They absolutely fought their tails off for what they believed this team to be and for what they believe (it can) be in the future.

“It's a hard knock to take. But I told them my freshman year it did not end where it needed to be, and that fueled my fire for the rest of my entire life.

“Sometimes life hands you these things. For our seniors, they're going to use it in life, because that's how it goes. And for the rest of them, they're going to use it in the game, and I'm excited to see what that brings next season.�

The only other time ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ lost a regional at home was in 2004, Lowe’s freshman year. The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ went to the WCWS each of the next three seasons, winning it all in 2006 and ’07.

With Lowe entering the last year of her contract, it’s tempting to compare her situation to that of former UA women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes. They’re not the same.

The softball team hasn’t hemorrhaged transfers like the women’s basketball team did during Barnes’ final few seasons. I haven’t heard any rumblings about problems within the program.

I don’t get the sense that Lowe is looking to leave anytime soon. She also makes considerably less than Barnes did, which should make the negotiations for an extension much more manageable.

Lowe’s average annual salary is about $225,000 plus bonuses. , eight softball coaches make more than $500,000 annually. Patty Gasso of four-time defending national champion Oklahoma leads the way at $1.9 million. The next seven are between $505,000 and $625,000.

Even with a raise, Lowe would be a bargain.

Promising core

Assuming no unexpected losses to the transfer portal — never a safe assumption these days, but we can only go on the information we have right now — ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ will bring back the nucleus of an Oklahoma City-type team. Projected returnees include Stewart, Dakota Kennedy, Kaiah Altmeyer and Regan Shockey.

The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ must replace Netz and Stoddard in the circle — no easy task. Although Netz struggled against Ole Miss, she had by far her best season as a pitcher. Stoddard was studly down the stretch and finished 15-0 with a 1.73 ERA.

If there’s one thing you can point to that separates recent ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ teams from past champions, it’s the lack of truly dominant arms in the circle. They’re hard to come by. Texas Tech wouldn’t have landed Canady without someone writing a seven-figure check. UA softball isn’t living in that world.

So how do you compete then? Recruiting. Development. Culture.

Netz spent all five years of her college career here. It didn’t end the way she wanted it to, but she appreciated every moment.

“I'd just like to say thank you to Cait and Coach Candrea for taking a chance on a girl who just wanted to play at the highest level,� Netz said, sniffling, sobbing and smiling. “I remember the moment that I stepped on campus. It was just everything that I wanted. I remember sitting in my math class in high school emailing them saying, ‘You know what? I want to win a national championship with you guys.’

“When I got that email back, I was so excited. I knew I was gonna commit here. I couldn't have picked a better school, couldn’t have picked a better coaching staff.�

That’s culture. Another example: Stoddard had given up on softball. After three years at Kentucky, she was burned out.

“I stepped away from the game, and I struggled to find my love for it,� Stoddard said. “This group has definitely allowed me to go out with such a sweet taste in my mouth about the sport and about what it can mean to be a team and mean to be a teammate.

“It's just been fun. I think that's really what it's all about. That's exactly what we all want to return to. It's the same feeling that we had when we were playing All-Stars when we were 8.�

The vibes are positive around ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ softball, even if the results weren’t what the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ wanted Sunday.

This isn’t the time to blow it up and start over.