BSC Bengals Offer Personalized Approach To Club Softball

Ken Briggs and his wife Roseann both came from families that didn't have a lot of money. They struggled to pay for activities growing up. Early in their marriage, they encountered the same issue.   Once they launched <a href="https://bscbengals.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Briggs Softball Club-Bengals</a>, an immediate priority <a href="https://www.briggswhosnextscholarship.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was to start a scholarship fund</a> for players who can't afford travel softball. The organization, based in Southern California, has given away nearly $110,000 in scholarship money over the last four years.    “We know it's hard out there and we want to help families. Our hearts are really in it,” Ken Briggs said. “We send them to camps of colleges that are interested in them that they can't afford to attend. The scholarship money pays for a lot of things like that. It's something we are really proud of.”   The Briggs, whose younger daughter Ciara played at LSU and older daughter Kelsi played at East Carolina, have spent nearly 20 years coaching travel softball. Four years ago, they decided to branch out on their own with BSC Bengals.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A top 3 finish for <a href="https://twitter.com/BSCBengals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BSCBengals</a> in a 65+ team field in the 14u division of the Top Gun Invitational! Congrats on a great weekend! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TGI2024?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TGI2024</a> <a href="https://t.co/bb1Hrkjr2b">pic.twitter.com/bb1Hrkjr2b</a>— Top Gun Events (@TopGunEvents) <a href="https://twitter.com/TopGunEvents/status/1802676625089138967?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2024</a></blockquote>   “We realized there were things that we can do that we can't go anywhere and do them, so it was time to break off. Now we are doing everything that we've always wanted to do,” Ken Briggs said. “The big thing for us was making sure that we weren't really big. We want to know every player. We want to work with every player hands on. We want to instruct the coaches to get everyone in one system so when they're moving up there's no changing.”   Although their teams compete in events around the country, the end goal isn't about the results on the scoreboard.   “We're trying to develop them. It's not about winning tournaments and winning over 100 games a year. It's about trying to get them ready for each age division and then getting the 18s ready for college,” Ken Briggs said. “I think we're doing the right thing. We get a lot of advice from college coaches who we know and we ask a lot of questions. We make mistakes, but we are learning.”   The organization has a recruiting coordinator, Marlece Hornbuckle, and tries to help each player find the right opportunity at the college level where they can thrive.   “We have players going to the Ivy League, the Big West, the SEC, the Big Ten. They're all over the country, which is great because every player is different,” Ken Briggs said. “We're pretty honest with the players too. When they're young, everybody wants to go to the teams that are in the World Series, right? But as they get older, their development and who they become might not put them there. It might put them somewhere else, and that's okay.”   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">BSC Bengals to Watch</h2>   2025s    Elle McCloskey-Oklahoma State    Sienna Mayer-North Texas    Izzy Cacatian-Stanford    Jillian Torres-Notre Dame    Lila Partridge-Kansas    2026s    [player_tooltip player_id='102068' first='Ayla' last='Tuua']–LSU    Morgan Fitzpatrick–Notre Dame    Payton Kingery–North Texas    Kylie Rocha–Purdue    Jocelyn Alatorre–Kansas    2027s   [player_tooltip player_id='97355' first='Kayleigh' last='Allen']–OF    Chloe Koenigshofer–OF    Marilyn McCaverty–C    Caroline Baker–P    Sullivan McLaughlin–C    Samantha Jaimes–SS    Charli Moreno–M/Inf, 3B    2028s    Savannah Doss–P    [player_tooltip player_id='107947' first='Emily' last='Yoon']–P    Hazel Renteria–SS    Harlowe Higgins–C    Sophia Otera–P    2029s    Erica Martin–P/OF    Jocelyn Stock–P    Kynalea Cacal–SS    Arianna Jackson–UT   Remi Spangler–P/1B

Ken Briggs and his wife Roseann both came from families that didn't have a lot of money. They struggled to pay for activities growing up. Early in their marriage, they encountered the same issue.