Alabama Softball Ranked No. 11 in the Preseason

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- Alabama Softball is set to compete in the Candrea Classic in Tucson, Arizona, in just 16 days. The team will face the Washington Huskies and Michigan State on Feb. 7, followed by matchups against the Huskies and Arizona Wildcats on Feb. 8, and Western Michigan on Feb. 9.

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On Tuesday, the preseason rankings were unveiled through the ESPN.com/ USA Softball Collegiate Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Crimson Tide secured the No.11 position after concluding the 2024 season with a 39-20 record, marking their 15th overall and second consecutive appearance in the Women's College World Series.

Alabama joins 10 other Southeastern Conference teams in the Top 25 with Texas leading at No.1, followed by Florida at No.2, Oklahoma at No.3 - the reigning WCWS champions and the first team in college softball history to achieve a four-peat - Tennessee at No.5, Texas A&M at No.7, LSU at No.9, Arkansas at No.13, Georgia at No.14, Missouri at No.15, and Mississippi State at No.25.

Under the guidance of coach Patrick Murphy, Team 29 aims for greater success in the 2025 season, featuring a mix of returners, five transfers, and four freshmen. Murphy provided insights into Team 29 during the 'Hey Coach' segment on Tuesday.

Murphy stated, “Well, we have athletes like her [Abby Duchscherer] all over the field.” He added, “We have nine green light girls, and two have yellow lights right now who believe they’re going to be a green light. They’re very close. So we’re very fast; over half the lineup is going to have a green light. If they get on, they can steal at any time.”

The Crimson Tide boasts a loaded roster this season, featuring players such as Jocelyn Briski (48), Alexis Pupillo (54), Marlie Giles (85), and Brooke Ellestad (64), all recognized in the Softball America Preseason Top 100. Additionally, Braya Hodges and Audrey Vandagriff  have made the D1Softball D100 Freshman Watch List. Briski (63) and Pupillo (74) are included in the D100 Player Rankings. Pupillo (5), Briski (19), Salen Hawkins (14), and Brooke Ellestad (14) have all been named in the D1Softball Player Position Rankings.

“We have really good athletes everywhere; she [Duchscherer] can play probably four positions. Almost everybody on the squad can play multiple positions, which is probably the first time we’ve ever had that. I look out in the infield, and we have two, two, two, two, two. You know, baseball probably has three at each position, I rarely would have more than one. The depth is tremendous; we have five pitchers that are ready to go and they’re ready to prove a point. It’s going to be a lot of fun. They’re very, very athletic and I think people are going to enjoy watching us play” said Murphy regarding the depth of Team 29.

ALABAMA'S 2025 ROSTER

Brooke Ellestad- IF (transfer portal addition)

Kennedy Marceaux- IF (recruit)

Kristen White - OF

Kinley Pate- OF

Catelyn Riley- RHP (transfer portal addition)

Abby Duchscherer- IF

Larissa Preuitt- OF

Audrey Vandagriff- OF (recruit) 

Emily Winstead- RHP (transfer portal addition) 

Kendal Clark- UTIL 

Riley Valentine- C

Kali Heivilin- IF

Jocelyn Briski- RHP

Braya Hodges- RHP (recruit)

Alexis Pupillo-UTIL (transfer portal addition) 

Marlie Giles- C

Salen Hawkins- IF (transfer portal addition)

Alea Johnson- RHP

Mari Hubbard- IF (recruit) 

Lauren Johnson- OF

TOP 25 POLL