The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 1 Softball tabbed first in preseason SEC coaches' poll
01.30.2025 | Softball
Five Longhorns chosen to preseason All-SEC team.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On Thursday morning, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced its annual preseason softball coaches' poll that has first-year league member Texas sitting atop the 15-team poll. In addition, the league released its 24-member Preseason All-SEC Team that features five Longhorn student-athletes, tied for the most by any program in the conference.
It marks the first time since 2005 – and just the second time in program history – that the Texas Longhorns have been selected as preseason favorites in its league's preseason coaches' poll. In 2005, UT earned six of a possible 10 first-place votes and edged Oklahoma, which had four votes, by two points in the Big 12 Conference's preseason softball coaches' poll.
Twenty years later, Texas received a league-high seven of the league's 15 first-place votes to edge Florida (6) and Oklahoma (2) atop the poll. Tennessee and Texas A&M round out the top five. LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri and Alabama represent sixth through 10th place, while Kentucky, Mississippi State, Auburn, Ole Miss and South Carolina fill out the remaining spots, respectively. Points were compiled on a descending basis and coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Like the league's preseason coaches' poll, the Preseason All-SEC Team was also selected by a vote of the head coaches that resulted in 24 student-athletes from eight programs being represented. Texas' five selections – Reese Atwood, Citlaly Gutierrez, Teagan Kavan, Mia Scott and Katie Stewart – are tied with Florida for the most by any program around the league. Of the 24 student-athletes selected, 19 were also appointed to the Top 53 Watch List for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year that was announced last week.
After becoming the first Texas softball student-athlete in program history to earn multiple preseason all-conference honors in 2024, Scott now becomes the first Longhorn softball student-athlete to have been selected to three preseason all-conference teams (Big 12: 2023-24; SEC: 2025). With her inclusion on the preseason All-SEC Team, Gutierrez (Big 12: 2024; SEC: 2025) joins Scott as the only UT softball student-athletes to have multiple preseason all-conference honors. 2025 also marks the second consecutive season head coach Mike White's squad has had five preseason all-conference selections.
Texas, which appeared in the Women's College World Series Championship Series for the second time over a three-season span in 2024, will open its 2025 regular season on Friday, Feb. 7, when the Longhorns take on Longwood at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park as part of the Louisiana Classic hosted by Louisiana in Lafayette, La. A month later, UT will begin its first-ever SEC series with a trip to Gainesville, Fla., to play No. 2 Florida beginning on Saturday, March 15.
2025 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
|
Place |
School |
Points |
|
1. |
Texas (7) |
186 |
|
2. |
Florida (6) |
181 |
|
3. |
Oklahoma (2) |
170 |
|
4. |
Tennessee |
158 |
|
5. |
Texas A&M |
153 |
|
6. |
LSU |
115 |
|
7. |
Arkansas |
104 |
|
8. |
Georgia |
103 |
|
9. |
Missouri |
100 |
|
10. |
Alabama |
97 |
|
11. |
Kentucky |
55 |
|
12. |
Mississippi State |
54 |
|
13. |
Auburn |
37 |
|
14. |
Ole Miss |
34 |
|
15. |
South Carolina |
28 |
2025 Preseason All-SEC Softball Team
|
Name, School |
Class |
Hometown |
|
Jocelyn Briski, Alabama |
So. |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
|
Bri Ellis, Arkansas |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
|
Kailey Wyckoff, Arkansas |
Jr. |
Katy, Texas |
|
Jocelyn Erickson, Florida |
Jr. |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
|
Kendra Falby, Florida |
Sr. |
Odessa, Fla. |
|
Korbe Otis, Florida |
Sr. |
Littleton, Colo. |
|
Keagan Rothrock, Florida |
So. |
Whiteland, Ind. |
|
Reagan Walsh, Florida |
Sr. |
Redondo Beach, Calif. |
|
Sydney Berzon, LSU |
Jr. |
Buffalo, N.Y. |
|
Danieca Coffey, LSU |
R-Sr. |
Richwood, Texas |
|
Jaila Lassiter, LSU |
Jr. |
Atmore, Ala. |
|
Abigale Dayton, Oklahoma |
Jr. |
Riverside, Calif. |
|
Ella Parker, Oklahoma |
So. |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
|
Kasidi Pickering, Oklahoma |
So. |
Humble, Texas |
|
McKenna Gibson, Tennessee |
Sr. |
Santa Clarita, Calif. |
|
Karlyn Pickens, Tennesee |
Jr. |
Weaverville, N.C. |
|
Reese Atwood, Texas |
Jr. |
Sandia, Texas |
|
Citlaly Gutierrez, Texas |
Jr. |
Stamford, Texas |
|
Teagan Kavan, Texas |
So. |
West Des Moines, Iowa |
|
Mia Scott, Texas |
Sr. |
Angleton, Texas |
|
Katie Stewart, Texas |
So. |
Frankfort, Ill. |
|
Mac Barbara, Texas A&M |
Gr. |
Long Beach, Calif. |
|
Emiley Kennedy, Texas A&M |
Sr. |
The Woodlands, Texas |
|
Koko Wooley, Texas A&M |
Sr. |
La Porte, Texas |
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