HAMMOND, La. – Pitcher Kaylan (KK) Ladner and utility player Madison Rayner will continue their athletic and academic endeavors as members of the Southeastern Louisiana softball program, SLU head coach Rick Fremin announced on Wednesday.
 
Both Ladner and Rayner started their collegiate careers at Southern Miss and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Ladner and Rayner give Southeastern 10 additions for the 2022 season.
 
"We're excited about adding KK and Madison to our program," Fremin commented. "They bring a lot of experience with them. Madison has the versatility to help up in both the middle infield and the outfield. KK's battle-tested in high-level games and she pitches with the attitude we want in the circle."
 
Ladner and Rayner join April addition and catcher Bailey Krolczyk (Corpus Christi, Texas). The Lady Lions added utility player Blaire Bizette (New Roads, Louisiana), infielder Sarah Diaz (Lafayette, Louisiana), utility player Taylor Duncan (Lake, Mississippi), pitcher Alexis Findley (Jefferson City, Missouri), utility player Elise Jones (Livingston, Louisiana), pitcher Leah Marshall (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) and utility player Maddie Watson (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) last November.
 
Ladner was 9-7 this spring with a 2.70 earned run average for the Golden Eagles. In 88.0 innings of work, she struck out 95 batters, registered a pair of shutouts and held opponents to a .238 batting average.
 
Prior to her time at USM, she earned the nickname, "The Gunslinger" at Hancock High School. A two-time All-Coast selection, she struck out 224 batters during her high school career.
 
Rayner hit .418 for Southern Miss during the 2020 campaign, starting all 22 games in the season shortened by COVID-19. In those 22 games, she accumulated 24 runs, 23 hits, seven RBI, six triples, four doubles, two home runs and two stolen bases.
 
Rayner helped Heidelberg Academy to its first-ever state championship and was twice named District MVP honors. She finished her prep career at Stringer Attendance Center, where she was the team MVP. Rayner and Ladner both played club ball for the Mississippi Elite Gold.
 
The newest Lady Lions will make their debut on Sept. 29, when SLU opens its fall exhibition season with a 10-inning contest versus LSU Eunice. Southeastern opens the regular season by hosting Lion Classic I on Feb. 11-13, 2022 at North Oak Park.
 
2022 Southeastern Louisiana Softball Additions
 
Name – Position – Hometown/Previous School
Blaire Bizette – UT – New Roads, La./Catholic-Pointe Coupee HS
Sarah Diaz – IF – Lafayette, La./Lafayette Christian Academy
Taylor Duncan – UT – Lake, Miss./Lake HS
Alexis Findley – P – Jefferson City, Mo./Blair Oaks HS
Elise Jones – UT – Livingston, La./Doyle HS
Bailey Krolczyk – C – Corpus Christi, Texas/McLennan CC/Veterans Memorial HS
Kaylan (KK) Ladner – P – Kiln, Miss./Southern Miss/Hancock HS
Leah Marshall – P – Mississauga, Ontario, Canada/Mount Dora Christian (FL) HS
Madison Rayner – UT – Stringer, Miss./Southern Miss/Stringer Attendance Center
Maddie Watson – UT – Baton Rouge, La./Parkview Baptist School
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail and text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on Twitter and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
HOME RUN CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the softball program are encouraged to join the Home Run Club. Lady Lion softball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Home Run Club and S Club (softball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern softball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events (softball, baseball, football and basketball), effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.