HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team was picked first in the 2025 Southland Conference preseason poll, which was released by the league office Thursday.  
 
Southeastern is coming off its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth last spring, as the Lady Lions tied a single-season school record for victories, finishing 47-15 overall on the way to the championship game of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
 
Under 2024 Louisiana Coach of the Year Rick Fremin, SLU posted its third straight 40-win season. Southeastern is one of 13 Division I schools in the nation to have won 40 games in each of the past three campaigns.
 
SLU and reigning SLC regular season champion McNeese each received nine first-place votes from the Southland coaches and media relations directors to occupy the top two spots in the poll.
 
UIW, which Southeastern defeated in last May's SLC Tournament championship game, received the other two first-place votes and was in third, followed by Nicholls and Lamar to round out the top five. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, HCU, Stephen F. Austin, Northwestern State and East Texas A&M followed in the predicted order of finish.
 
The top five teams in the poll each had four players selected to the preseason All-Southland teams, which were also released Thursday. Chloe Magee was the lone Lady Lion to earn first team recognition, while Maddie Watson, Maria Detillier and Shenita Tucker were named to the second team.
 
Magee was the first freshman in program history to be named first team All-Southland Conference last spring. Stepping in as the starting shortstop, the Watson, Louisiana native hit .343 with 46 runs, 61 hits, 16 sacrifice hits and 29 stolen bases in her debut campaign.
 
Watson started every game at second base last spring, but is slated to make the move to first base this season and was the second team choice at that position by the league's coaches. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native ranked among the SLC leaders with 30 RBI (9^th), 10 doubles (10^th), 22 walks (7^th) and nine sacrifice hits (2nd) in 2024.
 
Detillier was the second team preseason pick at third base heading into her third season as a starter for the Lady Lions. The Gramercy, Louisiana native hit .354 with 42 runs, 64 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, four home runs and a team-high 49 RBI last season.
 
Entering her first season in a Southeastern uniform, Tucker was a second team choice in the outfield. The speedster from Richmond, Texas was named the 2024 SLC Newcomer of the Year after starring for league rival Lamar. Tucker hit .335 with 27 stolen bases, 42 runs scored and 21 walks for the Cardinals last spring.
 
Southeastern will open the 2025 campaign with a trip to the LSU Invitational Feb. 7-9. The Lady Lions' tournament slate opens with an 11 a.m. game versus Charlotte on Feb. 7.
 
2025 Southland Conference Softball Preseason Poll
School (First-place votes) | Points
1. Southeastern (9) | 152
2. McNeese (9) | 151
3. UIW (2) | 130
4. Nicholls | 106
5. Lamar | 95
6. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 70
7. HCU | 68
8. SFA | 62
9. Northwestern State | 46
10. East Texas A&M | 20
 
2025 Softball Preseason All-Southland Conference Teams
 
First Team
Pos. | Name | School
1B | Monee Montilla | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
2B | Ryleigh Mata | UIW
SS | Chloe Magee | Southeastern
3B | Rylie Bouvier | McNeese
C | Riley Rutherford | Nicholls
UT | Victoria Altamirano | UIW
DP | Aubrey Brown | Lamar
OF | Reagan Heflin | Nicholls
OF | Alexis Dibbley | McNeese
OF | Jillian Gutierrez | UIW
P | Ryann Schexnayder | McNeese
P | Emma Wardlaw | Lamar
 
Second Team
Pos. | Name | School
1B | Maddie Watson | Southeastern
2B | Jayne Sepulveda | Lamar
SS | Baylee Lemons | UIW
3B | Maria Detillier | Southeastern
C | Makenzie Wright | Lamar
UT | Haylie Savage | HCU
DP | Karlie Barba | HCU
OF | Shenita Tucker | Southeastern
OF | Samantha Mundine | McNeese
OF | AB Garcia | HCU
P | Averi Paden | Nicholls
P | Molly Yoo | Nicholls
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on X and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
 
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.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.