After decade of growth, USC softball pushes for next step under Beverly Smith
Concrete evidence of the resurgence of South Carolina softball under Beverly Smith can be found beyond the right-center field wall at Beckham Field.
A sparkling new video board, which is set to be finished by the time the 19th-ranked Gamecocks open the season Friday against North Dakota State, was being constructed when reality set in for Smith, USC’s coach since 2011.
“I had to pinch myself,” she said.
The board — 20.5 feet high, 36 feet wide and equipped with LED technology — is the latest sign of progress for a program coming off a seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The program Smith inherited was coming off an 11-40 season.
On the brink of the first pitch to Year 10 in Columbia, Smith is grateful for the growth.
“We’ve watched a new stadium be built for softball, we’ve hosted a regional, we’ve had the SEC Tournament here,” Smith said. “There’s been a lot of great things. And it shows in our student-athletes, the experiences they’re able to have, our recruiting’s going really well.
“So for me, I sit back and I’m very proud.”
South Carolina had plenty of success before Smith arrived, but it was in a bit of a drought. Hall of Famer Joyce Compton’s 24-year run came with 951 wins, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Women’s College World Series. When she retired in 2010, however, USC hadn’t been to the Big Dance in a half-decade.
Smith got the Gamecocks back there in 2013 and they’ve haven’t missed it since.
“We had a great group of young ladies and they worked so hard that year,” Smith said. “The first couple years were very challenging, but also very enjoyable.
“We talk about having a growth mindset, we talk about that all the time, and that hasn’t changed for 10 years. So to able to see the constant improvement in the program and everything go on the incline, for me, it’s what I preach to the team, about growth mindset and never settling and always just trying to create this culture of excellence.
“I’m just seeing the fruits of our labor pay off.”
The missing piece to Smith’s résumé is that trip to Oklahoma City. The Women’s College World Series is, naturally, Carolina’s goal every season. Its best chance came and went two years ago with a loss to Arizona State in the super regional round.
Reasons for an OKC breakthrough this spring start with experience. The Gamecocks return 16 players from last year’s team, including four-year starters at second base (Mackenzie Boesel) and shortstop (Kenzi Maguire) and a reigning All-SEC performer at third base (Jana Johns).
Also back are three pitchers — Cayla Drotar, Kelsey Oh, Karly Heath — who made at least 11 starts last season.
“When they arrive in the fall, the freshmen especially, we focus on the goals for the year,” Maguire said. “So we’ll talk about where we want to be, obviously that’s Oklahoma City.
“And then from them, we just talk about how we keep going by inches. So the game’s played by seconds and inches. We focus on all the little things and the little details that we have to do each day. So it’s not necessarily like, ‘We have to win Oklahoma City.’ It’s more, ‘We have to win this pitch, we have to win this day,’ and that’s the only way we’re going to get better to be able to win Oklahoma City.”
Smith, who seems driven to lead at least another 10 Gamecock teams, feels “great” about the one that gets started Friday.
“We certainly want to win the regional and end the season in Oklahoma City,” she said. “We do talk about it and I think we got the team that can compete for it.”
SOUTH CAROLINA SOFTBALL
What: Opening weekend of 2020 season
When: 2:30 p.m. Friday vs. North Dakota State; 5 p.m. Friday vs. Southern Illinois; 3 p.m. Saturday vs. Ohio State; 3 p.m. Sunday vs UNC Greensboro
Where: Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field
Watch: Streaming on SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
