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Former Team USA standout Alissa Haber gave up the game she loved to explore the world beyond a softball diamond, but found the sport is still shaping her life, even an ocean away from home.

With no Olympics in sight, Stanford's standout shortstop, Ashley Hansen, is opting to walk away from softball and jump into her career at a technology firm in Silicon Valley.

Editor's note: Graham Hays is counting down to the start of the 2011 college softball season with a look at each of the teams in his top 20. Check back daily for updates. No. 19 Stanford Last year: 37-19, lost in Stanford regional Who returns: S...

With the season's opening games less than two weeks away, it's time to take a quick tour -- two by two this year -- through some of the best teams out there. No. 9 Stanford It's not easy to fly under the radar as a freshman at Stanford. Last year b...

From the advantages in the circle to the plate to the X factors in each matchup, we've got the breakdown of this week's eight NCAA softball super regionals.

Graham Hays asks and answers the five most burning questions ahead of the NCAA softball tournament's super regionals.

The NCAA softball tournament starts on Thursday. Graham Hays breaks down the favorites, danger teams and long shots in each regional ahead of the action.

SAN DIEGO -- If you want to assign blame for the prevalence of hype in our modern world, there is plenty fairly handed out to those of us who persistently peddle it. But save a little for enablers such as Stanford freshman Ashley Hansen. Because so...

And then there were five in the preseason top 20, like the number of rings in the Olympic symbol (spoiler alert: foreshadowing). 5. Northwestern Last season: 40-16 (Lost to Arizona State in the Tempe Super Regional) Preseason talking point: There...

What better team to fill the eighth position in the preseason top 20 than a school founded in 1885 that sits on 8,180 acres and plays in a softball conference with eight teams? Hey, it was that or a joke about Fibonacci numbers. Although come to th...

The statistical record of a season is valuable in projecting which players and teams are most likely to be in position to make big plays and excel in those special moments, writes Graham Hays.