Clearwater College Softball Tournament Showcases Top Teams, Region

Sixteen teams from 13 states will descend upon Clearwater this week for four days and 40 games of some of the best college softball that will take place in one location this season.

Whether it is taking in as many games as possible, or a game or two of a favorite team, Clearwater’s Eddie C. Moore Complex will be the place starting Thursday morning when the curtain rises on the 2023 TaxAct Clearwater Invitational presented by EvoShield.

Ten of the teams participating in the tourney are in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason rankings, including top-five UCLA, Oklahoma State and Florida State. The Seminoles are one of three teams from the Sunshine State in the tourney.

“You are getting great competition early in the year that prepares you for what you will see in the postseason,” said Ken Erickson, who is in his 26^th season as coach at USF, across Tampa Bay and about 25 miles from the tournament site. “You have some of the best pitching in the country coming to (Clearwater) and playing there for four days. It is like a postseason environment in the second weekend of the season.”

Four fields will be buzzing with action all four days and from morning through evening. All 40 games will be broadcast across the ESPN family of networks with the final two games of event airing primetime Sunday on ESPN and ESPN2, respectively.

“It’s a great showcase for the sport of softball,” said Erickson, who has led the Bulls to 17 NCAA tournament appearances. “Softball is a great made-for-TV sport because it is fast and in a short window that the viewership enjoys.”

The event provides a fan- and team-friendly environment that is attractive to programs such as UCLA, which finds it more than worth its while to cross the country to participate, which they will have done for each of four years the tournament has been played.

“They have done a great job of creating a vibe and a presence with the teams,” said Kelly Inouye-Perez, who has led the Bruins to seven straight College World Series appearances and two national titles. “There are a lot of softball fans that will be there to watch the sport and the (organizers) do a great job of celebrating the sport. They also do a great job of taking care of the teams. Those are big reasons why we continue to go back.”

The tournament and city of Clearwater enjoy a nice relationship at a time of year when the weather generally could not be better. With more than a taste of spring in the air, the exposure the city and region receive during four days of broadcasts is priceless marketing.

“It is the time of year when we are enjoying some of the best weather and we have people coming down to visit,” said Steve Hayes, president and CEO of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. “Every time a batter hits a ball to the outfield, what do (those watching at home) see in the outfield? ‘America’s Best Beaches.’”

Hayes is referring to signage plugging 35 miles of sand, sun and surf that St. Pete, Clearwater and Dunedin have to offer.

“It’s tough to buy that kind of exposure,” he said.

While USF is close by, UCF a little more than 100 miles away in Orlando and it is about a four-hour drive south from Florida State in Tallahassee, many visitors from states that have teams participating may have already descended upon the region. That does not mean they are going to attend the event, but it would not surprise if, for example, some fans from the Great Lakes State make themselves known when their Wolverines take the field.

“Michigan is one of our top markets, so you know those folks are either wintering down here already or are going to follow the team especially if they are into collegiate softball,” said Hayes.

For such fans, regardless of where they are from, a softball tournament featuring some of the nation’s best collegiate programs in the middle of February in Clearwater would seem like a home run.