Newly hired ASU softball head coach Megan Bartlett takes on rebuilding duties

Megan Bartlett hasn’t had much time to soak in her new job as Arizona State softball’s head coach.

Once she got the news on Wednesday, she immediately met with current players and incoming recruits for nearly 10 hours.

The urgency on Bartlett’s part comes with ASU losing eight players to the transfer portal this offseason.

“I kind of really dislike the transfer portal right in this moment. I think of course at this point, time is of the essence. This is very much the reality of college athletics these days. Anytime you come into a place that’s had an outstanding year and has some incredible athletes in the program, the transfer portal has created free agency. I got the wonderful upgrade of not only becoming a head coach, but becoming a GM all in about four hours yesterday,” Bartlett said.

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A new coach coming into the program this offseason was shocking considering how the last season went. ASU had one of the best seasons in program history with its first Pac-12 title since 2011 and hosted the NCAA Super Regional.

Under head coach Trisha Ford, the Sun Devils went from an overlooked program in the preseason rankings to one of the best programs in the country.

ASU was poised to make a run to its first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2018, but that changed when the Sun Devils lost to Northwestern in a best-of-three series in Tempe.

With only two players graduating, the program was set to reload next season. However, everything changed when Ford took the head coaching job at Texas A&M on June 7.

ASU has been dealt a blow to its depth with key departures in the infield.

Shortstop Alynah Torres transferred to Oklahoma on Tuesday. The Glendale Cactus High School product spent the last three years at ASU and tore it up last season with 16 home runs and a .339 batting average.

Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and first baseman Cydney Sanders announced plans to transfer on Monday. Sanders set the program record this season with 21 home runs in her debut.

Infielders Jordyn Van Hook and Kristiana Watson are also in the portal.

“I am fully aware that we are going to try to get the kids back out of the portal and we want them to be Sun Devils. I think for all of the reasons that they chose ASU to begin with and had an incredible experience, we’re going to continue to build upon that. Time is of the essence and it’s been a busy day. I’m sure it’s going to be a busy couple of weeks, but I’m up to the challenge and excited about it,” Barlett said.

Third baseman Bella Loomis and catcher Jessica Puk leave holes in their respective positions after graduating this season.

“I’m a pretty Type A personality and I’d love for all those things to wrap up in a shiny bow quickly, but that is not the reality in college athletics right now. We’re going to roll with it and we know people around the country and there’s going to be a ton of movement to come. Roster management is going to be the name of the game for the next couple of months,” Bartlett said.

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It will take a lot of work to build back ASU’s offense. The Sun Devils mashed a program-record 104 home runs last season and hit a team batting average of .315, the third-best average in the conference.

The most alarming part of the rebuild, however, is the pitching staff. Bartlett will have a hefty task with all four starters in the portal, including All-Pac-12 honoree Lindsay Lopez and All-Freshman honoree Mac Morgan. ASU had a combined ERA of 2.60.

The expectations are to get ASU back to the WCWS, but Bartlett is realistic in her approach now.

“First thing is first, I have to have a very well-rounded team to coach. We need people to pitch the ball and catch it and hit it. We’re going to quickly assess in the next week or week and a half, we’ll have a really strong idea of who is in and who is coming back to the program and who wants to be a Sun Devil, and who is going to move on,” Bartlett said. “From there, we’re going to spend a lot of time in the transfer portal. We just have to make sure we can put the team out there that can compete for championships this spring and we will.”

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Bartlett is confident with the players who remain and is ready to add more pieces to fit her offensive-minded approach to counter the Pac-12's stellar pitching.

After spending the last two seasons as an assistant to Texas head coach Mike White, Bartlett learned even more about getting to the highest stage. Bartlett isn’t new to head coaching and was the head coach at Ball State for five years, but she learned even more prepping with White for games.

“Coach (White) has taught me so much, like what it means to compete for a national title, the talent level that takes, and really the amount of mental preparation that takes. I really learned how to have a well-balanced roster that can attack any opponent,” Bartlett said.

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Texas defeated UCLA and Arizona before finishing as the national runner-up at the WCWS earlier this month. “We made sure we had hitters that could match up with anyone in the country and I learned a ton at Texas. I’m just ready to expound on what this team does well and I’m not going to come in here and change things. There’s no need for that. This is a great program with outstanding athletes in it,” Bartlett said.

Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com or 602-647-4122. Follow her on Twitter @jennarortiz. 

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Arizona State softball head coach Megan Bartlett ready to rebuild