When Larissa Anderson took over the Missouri softball program, it was probably fair to say expectations were somewhat low.
The program was... well, maybe not in shambles after the messy departure of Ehren Earleywine. But things had certainly been much, much better. A mass exodus of star players left the program with an usual talent deficiency. The long investigation of Earleywine had turned relations with former players and the athletic department sour. Not to mention, the ugly cloud of, “what’s actually happening behind the scenes,” continued to permeate into the stands. When Sterk finally brought the thing to an end and hired Anderson a few months later, it seemed like it would take some time before the Tigers could reach the lofty heights they achieved during the 2010s.