SUWANEE, Ga. – Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference softball coaches have once again selected Texas Lutheran as the favorite entering the 2023 season based on balloting in the annual preseason poll. Complete Release
After advancing to its third-straight NCAA Division III Softball College World Series and setting a new SCAC and program mark for wins with 45, Texas Lutheran picked up seven of the possible eight first-place votes to total 63 points and sit atop the poll. The Bulldogs, who are the eight-time defending SCAC Champions and finished last year ranked third in the final NFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll, return three batters that recorded 35 or more hits a season ago and a pair of First Team All-SCAC performers. Leading the way in the field is senior infielder Laura Hernandez, who earned First Team All-SCAC accolades after posting a .279 batting average with 38 hits, 26 RBI, 18 runs scored and four home runs. Hernandez will be joined in the lineup by junior outfielder Madison Johnson, a Second Team All-SCAC performer last year, and Honorable Mention honoree senior utility Bailey Hudgeons to round out the returning 35-plus hit performers. That duo combined for 76 hits, 51 RBI, 38 runs scored and 29 extra base hits in 2022.
In the circle, senior Ashlyn Strother, the two-time reigning SCAC Pitcher-of-the-Year and NFCA First Team All-American joins Hernandez as the second First Team All-Conference performer from the record-breaking 2022 squad. She finished last year among the nation’s best, ranking third among all Division III hurlers with 25 wins. She was also fourth nationally with a 0.77 ERA, tied for fourth with 10 shutouts and 14th with 209 strikeouts.
Leading Texas Lutheran from the dugout will be Wade Wilson who enters his 12th year as head coach. He has posted a 382-79 (.829) mark at TLU after leading the Bulldogs to a 45-6 record a year ago in the program’s third consecutive run to the NCAA Division III Softball College World Series. The Bulldogs achieved their third-straight perfect record in SCAC play after posting a 21-0 mark in 2022. Wilson has guided Texas Lutheran to eight SCAC titles, earned seven SCAC Coach-of-the-Year accolades and added NFCA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year to his resume following the run to the National Championship in 2019.
Following its most wins since the 2016 with 21 last year, Trinity University (21-24, 13-8) was selected to finish second in this year’s preseason poll with 53 points. The Tigers completed back-to-back winning records in SCAC play for the first time since the 2015 and 2016 seasons and the 13 conference wins a season ago are the most since 2016. Sophomore utility Jessica Lloyd returns following a First Team All-SCAC season as a rookie after leading the Tigers with 45 hits and a .352 batting average. In addition, Lloyd drove in 13 Tigers and scored 10 runs. Joining Lloyd as returning All-SCAC performers are a pair of Second Team honorees in junior first baseman Jordyn Williams and sophomore shortstop Alexa Saucedo. That duo combined for 45 hits, 25 runs scored, 21 extra base hits and 20 RBI.
Leading Trinity in 2023 will be Abby Martin, who enters her fourth year as head coach after guiding the Tigers to their first appearance in the SCAC Tournament championship game since 2016. In her previous three seasons, Martin has compiled an overall record of 44-51, including a 25-20 mark in SCAC play.
After setting a new program record for wins with 24 a season ago, the University of St. Thomas (24-15, 14-7) received the final first-place vote and finished third in this year’s preseason poll with 50 points. The Celts return a pair of 2022 First Team All-SCAC performer led by SCAC Co-Newcomer-of-the-Year, sophomore third baseman Jaelyn Simmons. Simmons led the SCAC with seven home runs and finished third with a .400 batting average while knocking in the fourth most runs with 29 RBI. Addison Lehew, a sophomore designated hitter, joins Simmons as a returning First Team All-SCAC performer. Lehew elevated her play in SCAC action last season, finishing second in the league with 17 RBI in conference games and fourth with a pair of home runs in conference contests.
St. Thomas will enter 2023 under the guidance of Angela Froboese, the program’s first-ever head coach, who produced back-to-back 20-win seasons in her first two seasons. Last year, Froboese was honored by her peers, earning SCAC Co-Coach of the Year along with TLU’s Wilson.
Southwestern University (14-26, 9-12) landed in the fourth position with 38 total points. The Pirates welcome back 2022 Second Team All-SCAC designated hitter, sophomore Jodi Glenn-Millhouse. Glenn-Millhouse impressed during her rookie campaign, finishing second in the Southwestern lineup with 35 hits and a .330 batting average.
Schreiner University (16-27, 12-9) checked in at fifth in the preseason rankings with 34 points, as the Mountaineers have now won 10-plus SCAC contests in the last five full seasons dating back to 2017. Highlighting the team’s returnees is 2022 First Team All-SCAC performer Danielle Pedraza. A year ago, she led the Mountaineer lineup in nearly every offensive statistical category, including hits (38), batting average (.325), doubles (10), slugging percentage (.504) and home runs (3).
Following its sixth-straight full season with 15 or more wins, dating back to 2016, Centenary College (15-21, 7-14), was selected to finish sixth in the year’s preseason poll with 23 points. Two-time First Team All-SCAC honoree junior outfielder Mackenzie Cox will headline the Ladies lineup. Last year, Cox led the team in batting average (.420), hits (50), on-base percentage (.477), runs scored (37) and set the program’s Division III era record for stolen bases in a single season with 35.
University of Dallas (7-31, 4-16), led by a pair of Honorable Mention All-SCAC performers in Emily Luna and Jennifer Schmalz who combined for 64 hits, 40 runs scored, 22 RBI and nine extra base hits last season, earned 18 total points to finish seventh in the preseason rankings.
Austin College (8-29, 3-17) rounds out the 2023 softball coaches’ preseason poll with nine points. The ‘Roos welcome in a new era of coaching with the hiring of Brandon Johnson. Johnson will lean on Honorable Mention All-SCAC performer, junior shortstop Lizzy Preston. Preston led Austin College last year with a .343 batting average, 37 hits, 22 runs scored and 14 walks.
Since the SCAC began sponsoring softball as a championship sport in 1999, seven different teams have claimed conference championships. Texas Lutheran (2014-19, 2021-21) leads the way with eight followed by Trinity (1999, 2000-02, 2005-07) with seven. DePauw University captured three (2008-09, 2011), Southwestern two (2010, 2013) and Millsaps College (2003), University of the South-Sewanee (2004) and Birmingham-Southern College have each secured one title.
The 2023 SCAC softball season begins on February 8th, while the first conference series of the season are scheduled for Saturday, March 11th. The 2023 SCAC Softball Tournament will be held at the beginning of May on the campus of Trinity University as the double-elimination tournament will begin on Friday May 5th.
| 2023 SCAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points) |
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| 1. | Texas Lutheran University (7) | 63 |
| 2. | Trinity University | 53 |
| 3. | University of St. Thomas (1) | 50 |
| 4. | Southwestern University | 38 |
| 5. | Schreiner University | 34 |
| 6. | Centenary College | 23 |
| 7. | University of Dallas | 18 |
| 8. | Austin College | 9 |
