What an amazing softball career Dot Richardson has had—both as a player (two Olympic Games, for example) and as a coach… and it’s far from over!

This Spring, she led Liberty Univ. to a 50-15 record and a huge upset in the NCAA College Station Regionals, beating No. 1 seeded Texas A&M before falling to Oregon in the Super Regionals.

The tremendous campaign earned the Lady Flames program its highest year-end rankings ever, with final end of season rankings of No. 15 by Softball America and D1Softball, No. 16 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll and 17th in the NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Additionally, Coach Richardson and her staff were named as the NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.

But that’s not all she’s been up to this year as a softball head coach: in January (2025), Dot was hired to manage the Florida Vibe pro team which this week is playing “Pro Series” exhibition games as part of the Top Gun Invitational club ball tournament in the Kansas City area.

I caught up with Dot this week to get her thoughts on her wonderful 2025 year to date, including providing the sport with the opportunity to have pro competition once again. Below is the video interview and what she had to say.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

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