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NCAA Speed

Posted by Pitcher Dad on May 31, 2025, 3:18 pm

Watching the tournament and it seems like every pitcher is throwing around 70mph. Is that an optimistic gun? Or did pitchers get faster with leaping?

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by @Real Experience on June 3, 2025, 12:57 am, in reply to "NCAA Speed"

Our experience... My daughter pitched mid-major. Her team won conference and played at the Alabama Regional a few years back. I knew how fast she threw as I had the pocket radar on her a bunch of games that year. The guns at Alabama seemed pretty reasonable after watching the reply of the game. Showed her at 63 - 66 her first inning. The fastest I had her that year was 64, but she was definitely jacked on adrenaline that first inning! So I can see the 65 or even 66 happening. Then she settled in with more spin. Anyways, that was our experience at Alabama specifically. When she played at Oklahoma a few years before that, the fastest I saw from any Oklahoma pitcher was 66. Right now the WCWS has some of the elite of the elite pitchers, so I can see 68 - 73 being real. (BTW, when my daughter's team played the Bandits in travel ball and Fouts pitched, I had her at 66 - 67 on the pocket radar.)

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by @NCAA on June 2, 2025, 8:42 am, in reply to "NCAA Speed"

The guns are most certainly juiced.

Any pitcher dad will understand the difficulty it is to pick up 1 to 2 mph. It's exponentially more difficult the faster the pitch.

I heard one pitcher asked about it and her response was she can throw that fast (68-70) but her ball flattens out and the it's hammer time. Basically stating she wasn't pitching what the speed indicated.

Yet, I'm to believe that a certain TN pitcher went from throwing 70 to 78+ mph? Don't get me wrong, she is a phenom, but not a 78+mph phenom.

High pitch speeds generate publicity for the sport.

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by Juiced on June 2, 2025, 7:19 am, in reply to "NCAA Speed"

Guns are juiced they do throw hard but all about the spin.

A pitcher from Oklahoma posted on twitter a couple years ago she never hit those speeds other pitchers from P5s in the WCWS jumped on the post and agreed to the same.

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by @Juiced on June 2, 2025, 10:25 am, in reply to "Re: NCAA Speed"

There were a couple of local kids in the tournament, and I don't remember them throwing that hard as utes. I get that they get stronger in college, but 70 mph is freaking ripping it. On the other hand, I wanna believe it as I'm guessing bat speed increases as the hitters get stronger. Whatever the speeds, it's still a great show if you understand the game.

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by @Pitcher Dad on May 31, 2025, 10:59 pm, in reply to "NCAA Speed"

Yes they are hitting 70. My daughter just finished freshman year at an SEC school. She was low 60s in HS but was recruited because of her nasty off-speed and is a lefty. She’s now consistent 67-68 and claims that she was 69.5 in a game. They have all the real data (not the tv gun) so can’t really question it. A weight program and weekly pitching regiment will do wonders for a girl’s speed. I expect her to be around 70 next season.

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by @@Pitcher Dad on June 1, 2025, 7:46 am, in reply to "Re: NCAA Speed"

I get how they become quick. It just seems like the screen speed is higher than it was just last year. The WCWS is incredible to watch, given the depth of talent across the board. Congrats to your daughter.

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by @Dad on May 31, 2025, 7:03 pm, in reply to "NCAA Speed"

The pitchers are indeed faster. Especially in the WCWS, you’re watching the best of the best. The training, analytics, nutrition, etc. are all better than they have ever been.

Guns can be hot or cold, but there is no doubt that you’re watching the best athletes the sport has ever produced.

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by Training on June 2, 2025, 9:26 am, in reply to "Re: NCAA Speed"

The weight training and the nutritional programs are top notch at these D1 P4 schools. The game has evolved from just 10 years ago.

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by @Training on June 3, 2025, 7:18 am, in reply to "Re: NCAA Speed"

This. 1000%.

It's nuts to think about how girls go through their club seasons... long days of playing, not enough sleep because of 8 AM games, eating food when it fits in between games or late at night, and not getting enough sleep - and how the college schedule is organized, especially in P4.

In college, they make sure you get enough sleep. They make sure you are eating well. You get your lifts in even during season. You play, usually, one game a day. If you're sore, they have training staff to work on anything that nags you.

College is of course much more competitive than club, but in some ways, college is also a much easier environment to perform your best in!

Re: NCAA Speed

Posted by Thomas the Doubter on May 31, 2025, 4:22 pm, in reply to "NCAA Speed"

Don’t trust the guns!

But they do throw hard!

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