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Why Mizzou Softball's Larissa Anderson Won't Accept Another Postseason Miss

"It's unacceptable to not make the postseason."
Charles Mays|
Mizzou Softball Head Coach Larissa Anderson calls 2025 unacceptable.
Mizzou Softball Head Coach Larissa Anderson calls 2025 unacceptable. | John Reed-Imagn Images

"It's unacceptable to not make the postseason. You're expected to make the postseason. That's why we're here and that's what everyone expects out of us."

That was what Mizzou Tigers Softball Head Coach Larissa Anderson said during a recent sit-down conversation with ABC 17 News' Sports Director Nathalie Jones.

Anderson and the Tigers are embarking on a hopeful bounce-back season after finishing 2025 with a 25-31 record and missing the NCAA Tournament.

"It's disappointing that we weren't able to perform at what our potential is, and when you really crunched the numbers, it was four games," Anderson told Jones. "Our RPI ranking was extremely high. We were a top-30 RPI team. So we had the body of work. We just didn't finish above .500, and that's what one of the criteria is."

Mizzou had nice wins against Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas A&M. However, close losses were a major factor in the Tigers' demise last season. Twenty of their 31 losses were by two runs or less, and if they went into the fifth inning trailing, they were 0-15 in those contests.

In a conversation with Mays Sports Media Softball, Anderson spoke on that issue.

"We weren't winning games late, and I think we were 0-15 if we were losing games going into the fifth inning. We have to be able to be stronger late in the game, and that's a lot of mental toughness and making adjustments and not being defeated," said Anderson.

Competing in the SEC is tough, but it has to be done, and every team and school expects to win. This conference isn't for the faint of heart. After finishing 6-18 in conference play last year, Anderson can't and won't accept another season like that. This is a must-win turnaround year.

"It's so tough, unbelievable, but that's why you play the game. It's to be there to give yourself an opportunity to go to the postseason, and every team in the SEC has a chance to go to the College World Series," Anderson explained to Jones. "But again, if you're doing the same thing that you did last year, you're not getting any better. So it's continually to raise that bar, raise that standard, bring in better talent, bring in better players, so that you can continue to move that bar forward."

Anderson Adds to Coching Staff for 2026

Raising the standard is what Anderson did by performing a staff overhaul.

One of the biggest additions is new assistant coach and hitting coordinator Jake Epstein. The Tigers struck out 306 times in 2025, second-worst in the SEC, with only Auburn recording more, and also placed them near the bottom of the country. They were the league's worst in hits with only 355 on the season.

That is where Epstein's mental plate discipline expertise comes in. It's about understanding the strike zone, what pitches you can contact and drive for hits, and not chasing home runs.

"He's a phenomenal swing coach. He understands the hitting mechanics. He's been doing that his entire life. He was a consultant with the Milwaukee Brewers," Anderson told Jones. "So he understands the swing. He's very involved in the analytics and breaking it down on film, but the layer that we haven't had in this program in quite a while is just a mental approach."

Keep an eye on Mizzou's hitting numbers this season to see if Epstein's instruction has reached the minds and actions of the players in 2026. With a newfound team hitting approach, a healthy and motivated circle led by Cierra Harrison and Marissa McCann, along with returning leadership all around, this season could definitely shape the upcoming future in Columbia, Mo.

Anderson and the Tigers will jump right into tough nonconference competition with two consecutive weeks in Clearwater, Fla., at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic and the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield.

The Tigers will face six programs that made the postseason in 2025, such as Oregon, Liberty, UCF, UCLA, Florida Atlantic, and Duke, in those events. That, paired with a hot start in their SEC slate, is a daunting path ahead, leaving little to no room for error this season.

While the season is a long one, the start of the season can be crucial for the mindset of a team returning from a postseason miss. We will see very soon how this team's mental toughness has evolved since last season.

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Charles Mays
CHARLES MAYS

Charles Mays is the owner of Mays SportsWire, LLC. Raised in Ridgely, Tenn., he currently resides in Knoxville, Tenn. He began his media career with Tomahawk Nation, part of SB Nation, where he covered Florida State athletics and also covered Clemson. In June of 2025, Mays launched Fastpitch Wire Softball to provide consistent coverage of the game at every level, an outlet that has consistently grown since its launch.

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