Photo courtesy Liberty Athletics
The following release information was issued by CUSA and information courtesy of CUSA…
DALLAS – Liberty has been voted by the league’s head coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2024 Conference USA regular season softball championship and also had the Preseason Player of the Year in Rachel Roupe and the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in Paige Bachman.
Roupe is coming off a breakout 2023 season that netted First Team All-Atlantic Sun and First Team VaSID All-State honors, in addition to being a three-time ASUN Player of the Week. She hit .317 on the year and posted a .415 on-base percentage and .634 slugging percentage. Roupe tied for the ASUN lead with 15 home runs while ranking second in the league with 50 RBI.
In her first full season as a starting pitcher, Bachman went 10-9 with a 3.02 ERA and limited opponents to a .222 batting average. She tossed four shutouts, nine complete games and struck out 79 batters in 122 innings. During conference play, Bachman went 6-2 and ranked third in the ASUN in opponent batting average (.175) and fourth in ERA (1.65).
Led by Roupe and Bachman, the Flames earned a league-high four selections to the preseason all-conference team. Liberty earned six first-place votes and 75 total points in the preseason poll. The Lady Flames were also represented by junior infielder Rachel Craine and junior pitcher Elena Escobar.
Western Kentucky garnered a first-place vote and was voted to the runner-up spot with 66 points, while MTSU grabbed the remaining two first-place votes and the No. 3 spot. The Blue Raiders hoisted the trophy at the 2023 CUSA Softball Championship and advanced to the final of the Tuscaloosa Regional last spring.
LA Tech (53) was voted to the No. 4 spot, and FIU (48) edged out Jax State (38) for the No. 5 spot. NM State (30), Sam Houston (26) and UTEP (16) round out the preseason poll.
FIU, LA Tech, MTSU and WKU each placed three on the team, including all six returning All-CUSA honorees in Isabella Perez (FIU), Ella Whitney (FIU), Kylie Neel (LA Tech), Allie Floyd (LA Tech), Shelby Echols (MTSU) and TJ Webster (WKU). Jax State and NM State each landed two student-athletes on the list, and Sam Houston garnered one spot.
The 2024 Conference USA season begins February 9, and the 2024 CUSA Softball Championship will be May 8-11 in Las Cruces, N.M.
2024 CUSA Softball Preseason Poll
| Rank | School (first-place votes) | Total |
| 1. | Liberty (6) | 75 |
| 2. | Western Kentucky (1) | 66 |
| 3. | Middle Tennessee (2) | 60 |
| 4. | Louisiana Tech | 53 |
| 5. | FIU | 41 |
| 6. | Jax State | 38 |
| 7. | NM State | 30 |
| 8. | Sam Houston | 26 |
| 9. | UTEP | 16 |
CUSA Softball Preseason Player of the Year
Rachel Roupe, Liberty
CUSA Softball Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Paige Bachman, Liberty
CUSA Softball Preseason All-Conference Team
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | Hometown |
| Isabella Perez, FIU* | So. | C | Key West, Fla. |
| Kendal Lunar, NM State | So. | C | Alamogordo, N.M. |
| Hannah Scheaffer, Sam Houston | Sr. | C | Cypress, Texas |
| Casey Goguts, FIU | Gr. | DP/UT | Jupiter, Fla. |
| Anyce Harvey, MTSU | Jr. | DP/UT | Trussville, Ala. |
| Ella Whitney, FIU* | So. | IF | Martinsville, Ind. |
| Lindsey Richardson, Jax State | Sr. | IF | Moody, Ala. |
| Claire Raley, LA Tech | Jr. | IF | Clovis, Calif. |
| Rachel Craine, Liberty | Jr. | IF | Middletown, Del. |
| Shelby Echols, MTSU* | Sr. | IF | Pearland, Texas |
| Taylor Sanders, WKU | Gr. | IF | Shelbyville, Tenn. |
| TJ Webster, WKU* | Gr. | IF | Huntsville, Ala. |
| Kylie Neel, LA Tech* | Gr. | OF | Richmond, Texas |
| Rachel Roupe, Liberty | Jr. | OF | Sharpsburg, Md. |
| Shelby Sargent, MTSU | Sr. | OF | Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
| Riley Carley, NM State | R-Sr. | OF | Tucson, Ariz. |
| Jaliyah Holmes, Jax State | So. | P | Sharpsburg, Ga. |
| Allie Floyd, LA Tech* | So. | P | East Bernard, Texas |
| Paige Bachman, Liberty | Jr. | P | Fredericksburg, Va. |
| Elena Escobar, Liberty | Jr. | P | Spring Hill, Tenn. |
| Katie Gardner, WKU | Gr. | P | Bowling Green, Ky. |
* – 2023 All-CUSA selection
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