Alliance Seeding and Oversight Committee for AFCS Announced

Alliance Seeding & Oversight Committee

May 5, 2021 — The Alliance Fastpitch is excited to announce the creation of our Alliance Seeding and Oversight Committee spearheaded by Derek Allister and OnDeck Softball. The purpose for this committee was to create a process for seeding teams in our Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series (AFCS) this summer.

By utilizing the college softball post season format for the AFCS, it is important to have a committee review the objective points and team standings for each age division and tier to ensure proper matchups in the first rounds of the AFCS (Regionals and Super Regionals). This committee will be tasked with seeding teams 1-64 or 1-80 in each AFCS by reviewing Alliance Rating System (points, league standings) and Alliance Power Points (points from interleague play).

Derek Allister has worked with various League leaders and industry leaders to comprise both a seeding and oversight committee to spearhead this process. The below outlines the criteria, purpose, and personnel of the two committees.

Oversight Committee –The purpose of the Oversight Committee is to critique the Seeding Committee’s work, to recognize problematic match-up issues, and to instill public confidence in the Seeding Process. All votes by the Oversight Committee must pass with a 4-2 or better majority. This committee will be able to require changes to the seeding, but will not dictate what those changes might be.

The six-member Oversight Committee will represent various regions from across the county. Each member must have a National Perspective on club softball with in-depth knowledge of one region of the country; have no affiliation with the Seeding Committee; and must not be affiliated with a travel ball organization in a major coaching capacity.

• Derek Allister – OnDeck Softball, Lake Tahoe, CA
• Dave King – Triple Crown Sports, Fort Collins, CO
• Sam Macken – Co-owner Strike Zone Sports, Minneapolis, MN
• Lacey Ingram – Co-owner TPM Fastpitch, Atlanta, GA
• Christina Gwyn-Barton – Keller HS Head Coach, Keller, Texas
• Jay Miller – Retired College Coach

Seeding Committee – The purpose of the Seeding Committee is to seed the AFCS 1-64 or 1-80 based upon a set of established criteria utilizing objective data and win-loss records vs. Alliance competition. All votes by the Seeding Committee must have a 6-4 or higher majority. No simple majorities will be permitted.

Criteria for seeding includes:

• Win-Loss records vs. Alliance competition (Alliance Rating System)
• Success vs. other Alliance region teams (Alliance Power Points)
• Strength of schedule
• Consistency of performance during the year

 The Seeding Committee will be made up of 10 Members consisting of two Chairs, one representative from each Alliance League, and two At-Large positions. Each member must have intimate knowledge of a minimum of one Alliance region and not be the head of any club softball organization participating in the AFCS. The Chair(s) shall have a National perspective of club softball and not have a position as any club organization’s coaching staff.

• Co-Chair – Don Minard
• Co-Chair – Travis Cotsenmoyer
• PCFL – Paul Nakama
• RMFL – Krista Crawford
• TFL – Maria Winn
• NEFL – Jim Barsalona
• SEFL – Blythe Golden
• HFL – Brian Madden
• At-Large – Chris Florence

Final Seedings will not be announced until all League Championships and Qualifiers have been completed this summer. The AFCS will run the week of July 24 to August 1st for all age divisions and tiers. For the full list of events including dates and locations as well as teams who have already qualified, please visit https://staging.thealliancefastpitch.com/the-alliance-fastpitch-championship-series/

About The Alliance Fastpitch:

The Alliance Fastpitch is a cohesive network of regional softball leagues, teams, coaches, athletes and parents. Founded in the Summer of 2020, the Alliance Fastpitch has quickly grown to over 970 teams and over 12,000 individual members which includes coaches and athletes. 

Our six regional Member Leagues include the Pacific Coast Fastpitch League, Heart of America Fastpitch League, Northeast Fastpitch League, Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League, Southeastern Fastpitch League and Texas Fastpitch League. These regional Member Leagues provide a purpose of play to existing events with a structured point and ranking system, regional League championships, and a true national championship series, the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series (AFCS).  Berths in championship events must be earned, with every team starting at the same level each season. The Alliance has partnered with the top event providers (USA Softball, USSSA, Triple Crown Sports) to host these events throughout the country.