COLUMBIA, MO. — Not every coaching transition is created equally. For first-year Missouri softball coach Larissa Anderson, there was a lot to overcome when she left Hofstra for the Midwest last May. Anderson replaced a doomed interim coach who oversaw the team after a controversial coaching change. Plus Anderson inherited the leftover pieces of a team that missed the 2018 SEC tournament held at its own home stadium.
Just when Anderson had her roster ready for her debut season, the NCAA hammered the Tigers with a postseason ban in January, just part of multilayered sanctions that stemmed from academic misconduct violations involving a former player.