Sunday Sit-down with Mizzou softball coach Larissa Anderson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones caught up with Mizzou softball coach Larissa Anderson in this week's edition of Sunday Sit-Down to preview the 2026 season.

Coach Anderson emphasized that her team is intent on making it back to the postseason, after falling short of that goal in 2025.

"I mean it's unacceptable to not make postseason. Like you're expected to make postseason, that's why we're here and that's what everyone expects out of us," she said. "So, it's disappointing that we were unable to perform at what our potential is. When you really crunch the numbers, it was four games, like our 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. So, we have to go out and make sure that we're competing from day one, [make sure that] we're winning our non-conference games and then, you know, going through the gauntlet of the SEC. So, we got to make sure we really take care of business every single game that we play."

You can watch ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones' full chat with Coach Anderson in the video player above.

You can find a full transcript of the interview below.

Nathalie Jones: welcome back everyone. It is Sunday sit-down time, as you can see we're on location with Mizzou softball coach Larissa Anderson. Larissa, it doesn't really feel like softball out? How are you braving the cold out there?

Larissa Anderson: I mean, we're doing what we can with what we have. I mean, we have a great indoor facility, so obviously we're able to, to run and hit and throw and do all those things, but I would like it to be a little bit warmer outside.

Nathalie: That's for sure. Well, I'm glad we're doing this interview because it's reminding me about spring sports a little bit and warmer weather going to be here very soon, but i want to talk about the, about the team. Kind of, tell me how this offseason has been. What do you like about what the group's been building so far?

Larissa: I mean, the biggest thing is they completely dedicate themselves to putting them in the greatest situation and being strong and healthy. They did a lot of offseason training. Their summer was incredible in terms of preparing their bodies and even their mind to be able to overcome what adversity that we faced last year. Our fall was outstanding. The weather was great, extremely competitive, a lot of really, really fresh, fun players in our freshman class. So it's just been building up for what we've been doing in January, preparing. The next couple of weeks.

Nathalie: As far as the returners go, i mean, what have you liked about who has stepped up? I mean, you have Abby Hay returning and, obviously, Kayley Lenger, a lot of those players returning. What do you like about what they've done so far in this offseason?

Larissa: Their leadership, i mean that's the whole key. Like, you can have all the skill, but if you don't have that culture and that leadership in the locker room, like you're never going to reach your fullest potential, and that's what those veterans have really taken upon and that ownership of. It's led by Kayley Lenger. I mean she's just a tremendous leader. She's student-teaching all year long, so she's understanding how to communicate to her peers, but she's just really guiding this team. Then, like you said, abby hay, um, Marissa McCann, Cierra Harrison really leading this team and understanding what it takes to be able to play at this level.

Nathalie: When you look at the adversity from last season, I mean the players who were here last year, what kind of drive and motivation do you think that gives them headed into another season?

Larissa: I mean, it's unacceptable to not make postseason. Like you're expected to make postseason, that's why we're here and that's what everyone expects out of us and. So, it's disappointing that we weren't able to perform at what our potential is. When you really crunch the numbers, it was four games. Like, our 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. So we have to go out and make sure that we're competing from day one. We're winning our non-conference games and then, you know, going through the gauntlet of the sec. So we gotta make sure we really take care of business every single game that we play.

Nathalie: I mean, you guys have set this high bar for this program, how hard is it, you know, year in and year out in a league that's so tough top to bottom to kind of meet and surpass those expectations season in, season out?

Larissa: I mean, it's in every sport in this conference, it's so tough. It's so unbelievably competitive. You add Oklahoma and Texas and you have two--i mean, Oklahoma is the perennial national champion and then Texas going out winning the national championship, last year. So having that in this conference like every single weekend is a super regional and it's so tough. It's unbelievable, but that's why you play the game. It's to be there to give yourself an opportunity to go to postseason, and every team in the sec has a chance to go to the college world series. 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, you know, bring in better talent, bring in better players so that you can continue to move that bar forward.

Nathalie: When you sit down with this team, what have you guys kind of highlighted as the goal for this season? What you want to reach, where you wanna go?

Larissa: I mean, the biggest thing is playing back here, you know, hosting regionals and it's, it's getting back to the show like that's what we--we should be back in the NCAA Tournament every single year, but it's playing in front of the home crowd. Like there's nothing better than hosting a regional in front of your home crowd, in front of your fans. The players deserve it, and then, you know, after there it's just continue to take care of business.

Nathalie: Well, I wanna talk about obviously you had some additions on your staff, a new hitting coach. Kind of tell me about that, about bringing Jake [Epstein] in and you know what he's kind of brought to this program.

Larissa: You know, complete overhaul within our staff structure and it's been really refreshing. Jake Epstein has brought one, he's a tiger, you know, he played baseball here for three years. He coached on the coaching staff for baseball in 2018, so his familiarity with the community and the athletic department and just being what it means to be a Mizzou Tiger just adds a different layer of pride and that it's really neat to hear his experiences as. Student athlete and then a former coach. So, having his family be really invested in the area and the community gives that ownership and that, you know, pride to want to be a part of this coaching staff or the longevity. that's what the players need is the longevity.

Nathalie: When you look at hitting overall, you know, what did you kind of highlight that maybe was the problem last year and how much of an overhaul when Jake comes in and he's kind of taken over, how much of an overhaul does he do with maybe their approach and their mentality at the dish?

Larissa: One, he's a phenomenal swing coach. Like, he understands the hitting mechanics. He's been doing that his entire life. He was a consultant with the Milwaukee Brewers, so he understands the swing. He's very involved in 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 the mental approach and the hitters understanding what pitches you can hit and what you can't hit. We look at the past three years of this program, like our hitters were chasing balls all over the place. They didn't really have a lot of plate discipline, so that's what we're really focusing on is every player knowing what pitches you should be looking for, what pitches you should be taking, how can your swing match what the pitcher's strengths are, so that way we're putting them in a situation to be much more successful.

Nathalie: Well, I want to talk about your pitching staff. Let's start with the returners, [Cierra Harrison] and Marissa [McCann]. What's your expectations for those two this year?

Larissa: one, McCann is healthy. That's the biggest piece. She's had two years here that she hasn't been completely 100 percent healthy. She stayed here all summer long, you know, she lives in arizona, but she committed herself to being on campus to be able to train with our strength coach. So i'm really excited for her to be able to perform with a completely 100 percent investment in her health and her well-being. Cierra Harrison, it's like never say die. Like she is in her last hurrah right now, and if she wants to go out on a high note. I think the growth that she had last year going from being the no. 2 behind laurin krings to all of a sudden taking on the role of being a no. 1, there's some mentality adjustments that go into that, and she learned from that experience. now her offseason training, her January has been phenomenal. She's so unbelievably focused. She's extremely strong, extremely healthy, and i expect really good things out of her.

Nathalie: You brought in a heck of a talent out of Wildwood, Missouri, Abby Carr. What have you liked about the young freshman coming in?

Larissa: Two-way player. it's so exciting to see a two-way player. She can play first base, she can hit, she can pitch, she's such a pleasure to have just her personality, but just an unbelievable talent to be able to keep her home at mizzou, playing again in front of her home state. I think that's extremely special. i think she's supported by a great pitching staff and i think that's really important for her to experience playing in the sec and not like the entire team's on her shoulder and she has that support from McCann and Harrison. But getting her feet wet because eventually, you know, Harrison's going to be graduating. We're going to rely a lot on Carr.

Nathalie: you graduated Julia Crenshaw. Obviously, she had a heck of a career in the black and gold. Who's going to slide into that role of catcher this season?

Larissa: You know, we have two extremely talented catchers, but Stefania Abruscato, she was recruited to replace Crenshaw. So, she's gonna be behind the plate and we graduated a local talent early, Gracie Britton. She graduated high school early this December and then she's gonna be able to help us behind the plate. Extremely talented, again, you know, always wanted to be a tiger. When i first got here to mizzou in 2018-2019, she's one of our bat girls, so i've seen her ever since she was a little nine year old. but just having those two talents behind the plate, they handle the pitchers extremely well. They both add something. Different, um, Fania is a different catcher than Crenshaw, but maximizes what she's able to do, very great glove behind the plate, handles the pitchers extremely well, and a very strong arm, and we know what her bat can do in the lineup.

Nathalie: You're going to hit the road here pretty soon. It's hard to believe it's coming up so quick. You're gonna go to some warmer weather. I'm a bit jealous going down to Florida, right? I mean, what do you like about how you're opening up the season here? I know you like to start with some tough competition to prepare you for sec play. What do you like about the start of this season here?

Larissa: You know, one, being outside and being warm. We're getting down a day early, so we're going to be able to have a full practice outside, which we definitely need. I mean we haven't been outside yet, so that's going to be really important for us to just get them comfortable on dirt. You know, i think about it all the time, can you imagine a basketball team never ever bouncing a basketball on a court? So you have a softball team that's going to go play that hasn't been on dirt yet. So, that's the first piece and just getting them comfortable and then having them trust their preparation. You know, we've been doing this since August 26th, so they're completely prepared that there isn't anything that anybody can do that they have not experienced or not prepared for. the other piece is we have a wide variety of levels of competition from other Power Four's to some mid-majors, so putting them in a situation that we will be exposed on what we need to work on to prepare for sec and also some level of comfort in knowing that we're prepared, that we have to go out and we have to play our best ball to be able to beat this competition.

Nathalie: If you go down there and you see what from your team would make you, make you happy in that in that first, you know, few games here. What makes you happy to see from your team?

Larissa: I mean, the number one is competitiveness, you know, just being competitive in every single pitch that you do as soon as that ball comes out of the pitcher's. Hands you have no control over anything else. The other is intent. It's having the intent and knowing what you're trying to accomplish, having a good game plan, staying disciplined in that game plan, not deviating from your plan, and just trusting the whole process. They do those things, they're going to be much more successful than they have in the past, and i think that's what's really fun to watch is their competitiveness, their understanding of what they're trying to accomplish, but staying true to who they are and what they believe in.

Nathalie: I'd be remiss if i didn't ask about a former abc 17 intern Nathalie Touchet's podcast that's coming up. What do you like about her kind of getting to dabble in that world a little bit?

Larissa: One, I have to tell you, I'm so glad she changed her major her freshman year because she was born to be in front of the camera. She has an unbelievable personality. I'm excited to be her first guest on our podcast, but I mean every time that she's on the field with you in football games, and i know she's been behind the scenes in some basketball and volleyball games, she loves it. I mean she was born for it. she has an amazing opportunity to be here at mizzou in the journalism school and i'm just excited to watch her career.

Nathalie: How awesome is that, I mean, now with today's world and name image and likeness for these kids to really get to be themselves and kind of put their own brand out there, how important have you realized that is in this world of college sports and how it is now?

Larissa: That was the intent. Like, you know, i think back to years where if you were a musician or really strong in math, like you could tutor math, you could tutor your, your instrument, you couldn't do that with softball. now for these athletes to be able to market themselves for what the skills that they have that they can go out and benefit from what they can do and who they are and i think that was the entire intent and obviously it's it's blown out of the water here, but to be able to have Nathalie go out and do what she can do to market herself, it's just going to set her up for her entire career.

Nathalie: Awesome. Well, we're looking forward to that, looking forward to seeing you on the podcast. Appreciate you making some time for us.

Larissa: Thanks for being here, MIZ

Nathalie: Well, for the rest of you guys, we'll be right back after the break.