2024 Georgia Softball Preview

The Georgia Bulldog’s 2024 season will be the third under head coach Tony Baldwin. Georgia finished 2023 with a 41 and 15 overall record along with finishing second in the SEC with a 16 and 7 record. They were eliminated from post-season tournament play in the Super Regional round ending their 2023 season.

Returning virtually their entire starting lineup this season Georgia has to have their eyes on winning their first Softball National Championship in 2024 barring any unpredictable happenings like player injuries or bad luck. The Georgia lineup will look a lot like last years with speedster Dallas Goodnight in center field, Jadya Kearney in right field, and Jaiden Fields in left field. Along with Sydney Chambley at first, Sydney Kuma at second, Ellie Armistead at shortstop and Sara Mosley holding down the hot base at third. Transfer Sarah Gordon behind the plate and Lyndi Rae Davis as the designated hitter. Jaydyn Goodwin will also be seeing game time in both the outfield and infield.

The Bulldogs have a solid pitching staff with returners, Shelby Walters and Madison Kerpics. Along with newcomers, left-handed transfer Lilli Backes and right-hander Rachel Gibson.

Gibson, who while not getting much playing time at Clemson, Georgia head coach Baldwin has high hopes for her. He said. “Rachel will strengthen our pitching staff. She is explosive and has a very live arm. We believe her potential is through the roof! We are excited to add her to our group as we believe her best days are ahead of her.” Gibson, a right-handed pitcher, is a Georgia native returning home after two seasons spent playing for Clemson.

Another transfer Lilli Backes is a left-handed pitcher from North Carolina. She made 39 appearances last season leading the Tar Heels with a 2.79 E R A in 180.2 innings of work. She also struck out 156 batters and had a 16 and 14 record, with 15 complete games.

Transfer Sarah Gordon is a catcher/utility player from Louisville with three seasons of eligibility left. Gordon started all 56 games for the Cardinals at catcher, first base, or as the designated player as a freshman. She hit .379, finishing second on the team with 66 hits, 41 runs, and 49 RBI’s. She registered 20 multi-hit games and led the team with 14 multi-RBI performances. On the base paths, she was a perfect 8-for-8.

The Bulldogs have also added three talented freshmen for this season, infielders, Emily Digby and Hannah Davila along with utility player Emma Castorri.

Time will tell but Georgia looks very strong on paper going into this season with all their experienced returners along with strategic transfer additions and a solid pitching staff that makes them a favorite to win their first NCAA Division 1 softball championship this year behind the guidance of head coach Tony Baldwin.

2024 Tennessee Softball Preview

Tennessee Softball

The Lady Vols had a remarkable 2023 season, finishing with a 19-5 record in the SEC and clinching both the SEC regular season and SEC Tournament titles. They boasted an overall record of 51-10, marking their first-ever 50-win season. Additionally, the Lady Vols made it to the national semifinals at the WCWS for the first time since 2013, but their dream season came to a close with a 5-1 loss to Florida State.

This WCWS trip was the program’s first since 2015 and their eighth overall. Although Tennessee has never won the Women’s College World Series, they have been the runner-up twice, in 2007 and 2013.

While Tennessee has 17 returning players from the 2023 team (including 9 starters), they do face some significant roster gaps in 2024. Ashley Rogers, who is now playing professional ball, and Nicola Simpson, who transferred to Seattle, have left notable voids. Furthermore, Mackenzie Donihoo, an Oklahoma transfer from last season, has retired from softball due to medical reasons.

On a positive note, Tennessee has added three talented signeess to their recruiting class: top-rated shortstop Bella Faw, along with twin outfielders Alannah Leach and Gabby Leach.

This year, Tennessee will have a variety of pitching options, with graduate student transfer Payton Gottshall leading the way. In the 2023 season, Gottshall showcased an impressive ERA of 1.65 in 110 innings. Senior Ryleigh White, along with sophomores Karlyn Pickens and Charli Orsini, will also play crucial roles on the pitching staff.

Tennessee’s power game remains strong, with standout players like Kiki Milloy (.406 BA, 25 HR, 56 RBI, 40-41 SB), Zaida Puni, McKenna Gibson, Giulia Koutsoyanopulos, and Rylie West.

Defensively, the team has made improvements. They ended the 2023 season with an impressive fielding percentage of .975. In comparison, the Lady Vols committed 39 errors as a team, while their opponents made 76.

With head coach Karen Weekly leading the team, supported by a talented group of assistant coaches, and a mix of experienced veterans and promising newcomers, Tennessee has the potential for another successful season. Expect to see them make another appearance at the WCWS, and who knows what they can achieve from there.

2024 Texas Softball Preview

Texas

Texas head coach Mike White has kept the softball program in the top tier since his move from Oregon to the Forty Acres. Two years ago they made it to the championship series before losing to perennial top dog Oklahoma. And last year making it to the Super Regionals before losing to a stout Tennessee team.

Last season the team finished the year with a 45-1-1 record. They played good at home with a 30-5 record but on the road it wasn’t as positive ending with a 7-8 losing record.

The team did lose several players for this season including, Lou Gilbert who graduated and Mya Holmes who left the team. Also Alyssa Popelka, Camille Corona, Courtney Day and Maddie Pomykalski all left via the transfer portal.

Texas has a solid core of returning players including, Jordyn Whitaker, Bella Dayton, Mia Scott, Reese Atwood, Viviana Martinez, Baylea Brandon and Katie Cimusz to give the team a solid foundation for this season.

They also added six foot freshmen right handed Teagan Kavan who faced 29 batters in four fall games managing to strike out out 15 of them. She will be joining returners including left handed, Estelle Czech, and right handers, Mac Morgan, Citlaly Gutierrez and Sophia Simpson on the pitching staff.

Texas also picked up Joley Mitchell in the transfer portal from Notre Dame. Mitchell should provide some hitting power along with speed on the bases.

When all is said and done this year’s team in made up of a nice mix of, 6- Freshmen, 5- Sophomores, 6- Juniors and 5- Seniors.

It looks like Texas should be able to make another good run this season going deep into it come tournament time.

2024 LSU Softball Preview

LSU

On paper going into last season LSU looked poised to make a serious run at a national championship but things didn’t work out that way with the Tigers ending the season with a 42-17 overall record including 13-11 in the SEC. LSU exited the NCAA Tournament earlier then expected in the Regional Round being eliminated by in state rival Louisiana Lafayette.

It seems like there magic number statistically for LSU last season was three. They finished third in the SEC last season in team batting (.312 BA), pitching ERA (2.09 ERA) and fielding percentage (.975). With most of the team returning those numbers should be similar for this season.

One of the biggest off season changes for LSU was the departure of long time LSU assistant coach Lindsay Leftwich leaving after 12 years at LSU to become the head coach at North Carolina State. Over those 12 years Leftwich had been involved with all aspects of their program including defense, hitting, recruiting, video scouting and camps.

LSU Head coach Torina hired Bryce Neal as an assistant coach to fill the position left open with the departure of Leftwich. Neal comes from Louisville where he also was an assistant coach. Neal also previously oversaw the offensive and defensive development at Bucknell and was a volunteer coach at Arizona State prior to that.

LSU finished last season with a .312 team batting average with 44 home runs and 296 RBIs. They were in next to last place with home runs hit in the SEC. While the team’s pitching had a 2.09 ERA.

The Tigers have some key losses to deal with for this year including, Ali Kilpone, Savannah Stewart and Georgia Clark. Kilpone had a 13-7 record with a 2.25 ERA. Clark led the team last season with 14 home runs and 46 RBI’s. Clark was also team leader both on the field and in the dugout and will be missed this season.

LSU did add some new players to the team including, pitcher/infielder Kelly Lynch of Washington and Oklahoma State pitcher Tatum Clopton.

The Tigers have a long list of returning players, Danieca Coffey, Karli Petty, Taylor Pleasants, Hannah Carson, Raeleen Gutierrez, McKenzie Redoutey and Ciara Briggs, who should help the team be on the winning side of a lot of games this season.

Besides Lynch and Clopton LSU returns Sydney Berzon, Emilee Casanova and Raelin Chaffin who will be sharing in the pitching duties.

Hopefully this year for their fans LSU will play up to their full potential come tournament time.