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The following release information was issued by the Sun Belt Conference and information and photo courtesy of the Sun Belt Conference…
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2024 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team, individual awards and preseason poll, based on a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.
Louisiana sophomore outfielder Mihyia Davis and Texas State senior pitcher Jessica Mullins headlined the conference’s preseason honors as the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year.
Davis is coming off a standout freshman campaign for the Ragin’ Cajuns, where she was recognized as both the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and a D1Softball Freshman All-American. The Louisiana center fielder led the nation with 52 stolen bases – becoming just the third Ragin’ Cajun in program history to reach 50 stolen bases in a single season. Davis’ 22 multiple-hit games, .380 batting average and 70 hits were team-leading totals.
Mullins put together an outstanding season for Texas State in 2023, helping lead the Bobcats to an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The pitcher from Tarkington, Texas made 42 appearances for the Bobcats last season, pitching 17 compete games with a 1.88 ERA through 201.1 innings pitched. She struck out 176 batters in 2023, enroute to earning 2023 Sun Belt First-Team honors.
Louisiana paced all Sun Belt programs with six preseason honorees, while Texas State (2), South Alabama (2), and Coastal Carolina (2) also had multiple players selected.
Louisiana claimed all 12 first-place votes to be selected as the conference’s preseason favorite for the sixth consecutive year. South Alabama checks in at No. 2 with 127 votes and Texas State comes in at No. 3 with 122 votes to round out the top third of the conference.
Preseason ranked No. 21 Louisiana (50-16, 22-2 SBC) is coming off its fourth consecutive Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament championship, the program’s 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, a No. 9 RPI rating, a Top 20 finish across the board in all major national polls, and a trip to the NCAA Super Regional round last spring. With a now veteran-laden roster, the Ragin’ Cajuns will face a tough non-conference slate against five opponents that appear in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 Texas, No. 15 LSU and No. 19 Baylor.
Sun Belt softball teams begin play on Thursday, Feb. 8. The 2024 Sun Belt Conference Tournament will take place May 8-11 at Bobcat Softball Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.
2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE SOFTBALL PRESEASON AWARDS
Preseason Player of the Year
Mihyia Davis, Louisiana (So., OF – Lovelady, Texas)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Jessica Mullins, Texas State (Sr., P – Tarkington, Texas)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Lauren Allred, Louisiana (So., 1B – Texarkana, Texas)
Taylor McKinney, Troy (Jr., 2B – Montgomery, Ala.)
Alexa Langeliers, Louisiana (Jr., 2B – Keller, Texas)
Sydney Bickel, Marshall (Sr., SS – Peoria, Ariz.)
Brooke Ellestad, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kimberly, Wis.)
Sara Vanderford, Texas State (Gr., 3B – Pasadena, Texas)
Delaney Keith, Coastal Carolina (So., 3B – Nampa, Idaho)
Mihyia Davis, Louisiana (So., OF – Lovelady, Texas)
Mackenzie Brasher, South Alabama (Gr., OF – Orange Beach, Ala.)
Kayt Houston, App State (Sr., OF – Rock Hill, S.C.)
Sophie Piskos, Louisiana (Sr., C – Paris, Tenn.)
Iyanla De Jesus, Coastal Carolina (Gr., DP – Mill Creek, Wash.)
Jessica Mullins, Texas State (Sr., P – Tarkington, Texas)
Olivia Lackie, South Alabama (Sr., P – Walker, La.)
Sam Landry, Louisiana (Jr., P – Mont Belvieu, Texas)
2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE SOFTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
- Louisiana – 144 (12)
- South Alabama – 127
- Texas State – 122
- Troy – 98
- James Madison – 94
- Coastal Carolina – 81
- Marshall – 79
- ULM – 59
- Southern Miss – 49
- Georgia State – 35
- Georgia Southern – 25
- App State – 23
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