NEW ORLEANS – The league slate for the 2025 Sun Belt Conference softball season begins with a showdown between two of the league’s top five teams in the latest NCAA RPI rankings – Coastal Carolina and Troy – meeting for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 14.
 
All 18 Sun Belt games this weekend will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• TUSSLE IN TROY: Coastal Carolina (22-4) travels to Troy (18-9) – the site of the 2025 Sun Belt Championship in May – as the Chanticleers represent the Sun Belt’s top team in the RPI at No. 22 while the Trojans are fifth at No. 68. Coastal enters the weekend riding an eight-game winning streak while the Trojans have won six in a row. The teams last met in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Sun Belt Championship in San Marcos, Texas where Troy cruised to a 16-0 win behind a five-inning no-hitter by Libby Baker.
• TOP CHANTS: Coastal Carolina senior pitcher Nicolette Picone and junior third baseman Delaney Keith stand atop the leaderboards in major statistical categories, as Picone’s 13 wins and Keith’s 13 home runs are both tied for the national lead. Picone is also third nationally in saves (4), fourth in complete game (9) and fifth in innings pitched (87.0), while Keith is seventh in total bases (78), ninth in slugging percentage (1.026) and 11th in runs scored (33).
• BOBCATS IN THE CIRCLE: Sun Belt preseason favorite Texas State (15-6) enters conference play leading the league in team ERA (2.18) behind the consistency of pitching by Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year and sophomore left-hander Madison Azua and junior right-hander Emma Strood. Azua leads the league in WHIP (0.86) and Strood is second (0.99), while Strood is first in K:BB ratio (7.75) while Azua is second (5.62).
• RANKED WINS: Multiple Sun Belt teams earned wins over ranked opponents during the first five weeks of the season, as Coastal Carolina earned victories over ninth-ranked South Carolina (March 12) and 24th-ranked Kentucky (Feb. 21), while Louisiana took down No. 21 Alabama (March 8) and Georgia Southern outlasted No. 22 Michigan (Feb. 9). Collectively, Sun Belt teams have won 20 non-league games against autonomy conference opponents in 2025.

SUN BELT SOFTBALL SERIES – WEEK 1
 

Series	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Southern Miss at Georgia Southern	2:00 p.m.	10:30 a.m. &  1 p.m.	No Game
James Madison at South Alabama	4 & 6 p.m.	No Game	12:00 p.m.
Georgia State at ULM	5:00 p.m.	1:00 p.m.	12:00 p.m.
Louisiana at Marshall	5:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.	11:00 a.m.
Coastal Carolina at Troy	5:30 p.m.	3:30 p.m.	12:30 p.m.
App State at Texas State	6:00 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	11:00 a.m.

 
All Times CT