aubiefifty 16,807 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 theplainsman.com Auburn softball debuts at No. 20 in Softball America preseason poll ~4 minutes After a 2023 season that ended one game away from a trip to a super regional, the Auburn Tigers find themselves ranked at No. 20 in the Softball America preseason poll. Atop the poll sits three-peat national champion Oklahoma, who is set to join the SEC in the 2025 season alongside No. 7 Texas. Rounding out the top five is No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Clemson, who eliminated Auburn from regional play the last two seasons. The Tigers recorded a 15-9 conference record in 2023 that included some notable series wins, including then-No. 15 Ole Miss, then-No. 13 LSU, then-No. 14 Alabama and a South Carolina squad that made an impressive postseason run to the SEC Tournament championship and the Tallahassee Regional final. Alongside an impressive 2023 resume, Auburn is returning two All-SEC selections that include junior infielder Nelia Peralta and senior pitcher Maddie Penta as well as the Extra Inning Softball No. 25 2023 signing class. In addition to being an All-SEC First Team honoree, Penta collected SEC All-Defensive Team accolades as well as becoming the first Tiger in program history to be named the SEC Pitcher of the Year. Penta also became the first Auburn player to be named to back-to-back All-SEC first teams since Kasey Cooper in 2017. Penta’s heavily-decorated season didn’t end there. Before the start of the 2023 WCWS, she was named a NFCA First Team All-American, the first Auburn pitcher to ever pick up the honor. She was also tabbed as a D1 Softball Second Team All-American. In her sophomore season, Peralta led the team in batting average (.329), OPS (1.040) and walks (43) while being one of two Tigers to start all 62 games of the 2023 season. Aside from being named to the All-SEC Second Team, Peralta was additionally named to the NFCA All-Southeast Region Third Team. Other SEC teams named to the Softball America Preseason Poll include No. 2 Tennessee, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 12 LSU, No. 17 South Carolina, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 21 Alabama and No. 24 Florida. In addition to a 2024 schedule that includes home series against Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama, Auburn is also the host of the 2024 SEC Softball Tournament. Auburn is set to kick off the season as the host squad of the Tiger Invitational on Feb. 9 through Feb. 11. The Tigers will first face No. 18 Virginia Tech on Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. CST. Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,807 Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 al.com Auburn softball unveils full 2024 schedule; adds games vs. Virginia Tech and Northwestern Published: Jan. 11, 2024, 12:38 p.m. 3–4 minutes Auburn softball’s opening day is set for Feb. 9, the program announced Thursday as it released its full 2024 slate. Come opening day, Mickey Dean and the Tigers will get right to work as they open their 2024 season with the Tiger Invitational at Jane B. Moore Field, where they’ll host Virginia Tech, Belmont and Illinois in a three-day tournament. Auburn, which finished the 2023 season ranked No. 19, will first see Virginia Tech on Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. in a game that immediately tests the Tigers as the Hokies finished last season ranked as the No. 21 team in the country. Auburn will square off against Virginia Tech a second time on Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. Auburn will also see Belmont twice — once on Feb. 9 and once on Feb. 11, as well as one game against Illinois on Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. After their season-opening weekend at home, the Tigers will then head to Mexico to compete in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, where they’ll play games against UC-Davis, Utah, Wichita State and Clemson. While Clemson and Utah both finished the 2023 season ranked in the top 15, Wichita State also finished last year inside the top 25. Auburn will then return home from Mexico and host the Plainsman Invitational, which will run from Feb. 23-25 and will feature a pair of games against Longwood, Southeast Missouri State and Northern Iowa for the Tigers. After a trip to Birmingham for a midweek tilt against UAB on Feb. 28, Auburn will return home to host the Jane B. Moore Memorial tournament from March 1-3. Auburn will first see USC-Upstate on March 1 at 1 p.m. followed by a meeting with Northwestern later that day at 4 p.m. Auburn will see Northwestern, which finished the 2023 season ranked No. 7, a second time that weekend with a game at 5 p.m. on March 2. The Tigers will also play a pair of games against North Texas in the Jane B. Moore Memorial tournament before a home game against Troy on March 6. After playing 23 non-conference matchups in less than a month, Auburn will then look ahead to SEC play, which gets underway with a visit to Missouri the weekend of March 8-10. On March 15-17, Auburn will host its second SEC series as Arkansas visits Jane B. Moore Field, followed by a midweek home game against Troy on March 19. The Tigers will then visit Texas A&M on March 22-24 before welcoming last year’s SEC Tournament champions in Tennessee to The Plains on March 29-31. On April 5-10, the Tigers will breakup their SEC action as they host the War Eagle Classic on April 5-6 — a two-day tournament that will feature a pair of games against Georgia Tech and Louisiana Tech for the Tigers. Auburn will then put a bow on its non-conference action on April 10 as the UAB Blazers come to town. Down the stretch of their SEC slate, the Tigers will visit LSU (April 12-14), host Kentucky (April 20-22), head to Ole Miss (April 26-28) and finally host Alabama (May 2-4) — all before hosting the SEC Tournament May 7-11. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fat Barner 140 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Realized today that Auburn softball has the longest super regional drought in the SEC (Haven’t made it to a super regional since 2017, all 12 other SEC programs have made at least one since 2018). These girls have a lot to prove. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDirtFan 39 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 On 1/23/2024 at 10:37 AM, Big Fat Barner said: Realized today that Auburn softball has the longest super regional drought in the SEC (Haven’t made it to a super regional since 2017, all 12 other SEC programs have made at least one since 2018). These girls have a lot to prove. I'm noticing a trend...what else changed in the program in 2017??? I'm not suggesting that we return to the sexual predatory environment...but these young women just deserve better. It's hard to attract SEC softball talent with a great education & mid softball experience. My prediction is that we miss Supers again for Penta's senior year (shame), Dean steps down for personal reasons and Carosone takes the reigns starting in 2024-25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fat Barner 140 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 12 hours ago, RedDirtFan said: I'm noticing a trend...what else changed in the program in 2017??? I'm not suggesting that we return to the sexual predatory environment...but these young women just deserve better. It's hard to attract SEC softball talent with a great education & mid softball experience. My prediction is that we miss Supers again for Penta's senior year (shame), Dean steps down for personal reasons and Carosone takes the reigns starting in 2024-25. If we don’t make supers this year, Dean should not be coaching at Auburn next year. But is Carosone ready to be a head coach?? She hasn’t had experience doing that and she is still so young. If I was AD, I would find someone outside Auburn, though I do love Carosone. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDirtFan 39 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/25/2024 at 12:40 AM, Big Fat Barner said: If we don’t make supers this year, Dean should not be coaching at Auburn next year. But is Carosone ready to be a head coach?? She hasn’t had experience doing that and she is still so young. If I was AD, I would find someone outside Auburn, though I do love Carosone. I share your concern and admiration of Carosone. I'd prefer to see more experience in the captain's chair, but she was promoted to Associate Head Coach, which I see as a leading indicator. I'm not sure how you bring in a new HC with that title on staff and you can't take the promotion away. I think they've already made the decision and Cohen's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fat Barner 140 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 2 hours ago, RedDirtFan said: I share your concern and admiration of Carosone. I'd prefer to see more experience in the captain's chair, but she was promoted to Associate Head Coach, which I see as a leading indicator. I'm not sure how you bring in a new HC with that title on staff and you can't take the promotion away. I think they've already made the decision and Cohen's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Who made Carosone the AHC, Dean or Cohen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDirtFan 39 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 22 hours ago, Big Fat Barner said: Who made Carosone the AHC, Dean or Cohen? I'm not sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fat Barner 140 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Something to keep an eye on. Hitting coach Ken Brooke turned down the Auburn job and is now at BYU. Their first game today: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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