NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2025 Softball Preseason All-Sun Belt Team, individual awards and preseason poll on Monday.
In a vote by the Sun Belt’s softball head coaches, reigning tournament champion Texas State received 134 points and five first-place votes to garner the crown as preseason favorite, edging out five-time defending regular season champion Louisiana who was picked second with 131 points and six first-place votes.
As host of the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship, Texas State defeated Louisiana, 9-5, in the title game to earn its second conference tournament crown and 11th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Louisiana hoisted the regular season trophy for the fifth-consecutive season en route to its 25th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance which was highlighted as the No. 13 national seed.
Rounding out the top five of this year's preseason poll was South Alabama in third with 106 points, Troy in fourth with 103 points and James Madison in fifth with 99 points and one first-place vote.
Marshall redshirt junior second baseman Brooklyn Ulrich and Texas State sophomore pitcher Madison Azua headlined the conference’s individual honors as Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
Ulrich returns for the Thundering Herd after batting .401 with 69 hits and tying for the Sun Belt lead with 48 RBI last season. The Mesa, Ariz., native was an All-Sun Belt First Team selection and an NFCA All-Central Region First Team pick in 2024. Ulrich batted .451 and hit 11 of her 13 home runs in conference play to complement a league-leading .988 slugging percentage.
Azua appeared in 30 games as a true freshman in 2024 and finished the season with a 9-5 record and 2.17 ERA across 96.2 innings in the circle. She spun three complete games, allowed 96 hits, 30 earned runs and walked 23 batters while striking out 81 and allowing just 18 extra-base hits. The Round Rock, Texas native also held opposing batters to a .251 batting average.
Louisiana and James Madison led all Sun Belt programs with three Preseason All-Sun Belt honorees apiece, as Texas State, Coastal Carolina and ULM each had two players selected.
Sun Belt softball teams open the season Thursday, February 6, and the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship will be held May 7-10 in Troy, Ala.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Softball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Brooklyn Ulrich, Marshall (R-Jr., 2B – Mesa, Ariz.)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Madison Azua, Texas State (So., P – Round Rock, Texas)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Bella Henzler, James Madison (Jr., C – Allison Park, Pa.)
Georgia Hood, Coastal Carolina (So., 1B – Mount Gambier, Australia)
Sam Roe, Louisiana (Sr., 1B – Destin, Fla.)
Brooklyn Ulrich, Marshall (R-Jr., 2B – Mesa, Ariz.)
Taylor McKinney, Troy (Sr., 2B – Montgomery, Ala.)
Delaney Keith, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 3B – Nampa, Idaho)
Cecilia Vasquez, Louisiana (Jr., SS – New Waverly, Texas)
Meagan Brown, ULM (So., OF – Katy, Texas)
Reed Butler, James Madison (Gr., OF – Pomfret, Md.)
Emma Davis, Georgia Southern (Jr., OF – Grayson, Ga.)
Maddie Hayden, Louisiana (Sr., OF – West Monroe, La.)
Ciara Trahan, Texas State (Sr., OF – Sante Fe, Texas)
Payton List, James Madison (R-So., DP – Beaver, Pa.)
Madison Azua, Texas State (So., P – Round Rock, Texas)
Maddie Nichols, ULM (Jr., P – West Monroe, La.)
2025 Sun Belt Conference Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
- Texas State (5) – 134
- Louisiana (6) – 131
- South Alabama – 106
- Troy – 103
- James Madison (1) – 99
- Coastal Carolina – 94
- ULM – 76
- Georgia Southern – 51
- Marshall – 50
- Southern Miss – 44
- App State – 33
- Georgia State – 13
First-place votes in parentheses