HAMMOND, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team opened preseason practice Monday with the first pitch of the 2026 season less than a month away.

One of eight teams in Division I to win 40 or more games each of the past four seasons, SLU returns eight positional starters, the top two pitchers and all four 2025 first team All-Southland Conference selections from last season's team, which finished 50-16 – the fourth team in SLC history to reach the 50-win plateau - and advanced to the final of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional with two wins over host and No. 10 national seed LSU.
 
11^th-year head coach Rick Fremin, the two-time reigning Louisiana Coach of the Year and leader of the 2025 NFCA Gulf Region Coaching Staff of the Year, welcomes back 2024 SLC Hitter of the Year Ka'Lyn Watson and 2024 first team All-SLC pitcher Cera Blanchard to lead an influx of 10 talented newcomers to bolster the roster.
 
"We enter the season with extremely high expectations," Fremin said. "We have a challenging schedule, so we'll have our work cut out for us. After a good fall, we feel like a lot of the puzzle pieces are falling in place for us to make a run."
 
The Southeastern offense led the nation in stolen bases, triples and triples per game, while also ranking among in the Division I top 20 in hits (12^th), sacrifice bunts (4^th) and stolen bases per game (2^nd). With the top nine hitters for average back from last season's squad, along with the return of Watson, who ranked in the top six in the SLC in 12 different offensive categories in 2024, the Lion offense should again be productive this spring.
 
"Anytime you can get a seasoned veteran player like Ka'Lyn back, that's just a priceless asset for our lineup," Fremin commented. "For us to have the nucleus of our team returning, along with Ka'Lyn and our additional newcomers, we believe we're only better. Now we have a roster with postseason experience that should be better prepared for some of the high-pressure environments we're putting them in."
 
Southeastern returns first team All-SLC selections Maria Detillier (.365, 15 2B, 6 3B, 4 HR, 55 RBI) and Chloe Magee (.358, 54 runs, 39 RBI, 18 SH, 35 SB) at third base and shortstop, respectively, to make up one of the top left sides of the infield in the nation, while Shelby Morris returns at second base after a freshman campaign that saw her hit .339 with 53 runs scored, 35 RBI and 31 steals.
 
"Maria, Chloe and Shelby work so well together," Fremin commented. "We're expecting more of the same because of their level of communication. They know what each other is doing and where the other one is going to be without even saying anything and it's amazing to watch."
 
Cydnee Schneider is back behind the plate. The Elkhorn, Neb. native earned All-Louisiana honors after batting .324 with 15 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 41 RBI in her debut season in Hammond.
 
"Cydnee has dedicated herself and is in the best shape of her playing career," Fremin stated. "We're expecting her to have a great senior season and to be physically ready to handle a bunch of innings behind the plate."
 
2025 starting designated player Brilee Ford (.290, 11 2B, 36 RBI) and Katie Lott, who comes to Southeastern after stints at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, are the top candidates to replace 2025 senior Maddie Watson at first base.
 
"Throughout the fall and now at the start of preseason, Katie and Brilee have been in a war with high level practice and maximum effort," Fremin said. "Both of them have positioned themselves where we're 100 percent confident with both players at that position."
 
In the outfield, last season's starting trio of first team All-SLC performer Shenita Tucker (.394, 30 BB, 25 SB), Colleen Kulivan (.264, 32 runs, 14 SB) and Kailey Dixon (.355, 19 SB) all return. Watson is also back after hitting .440 with 17 doubles, six triples, eight home runs and 52 RBI last spring at Division II national champion UT Tyler.
 
"Outside of our pitching staff, outfield is the deepest position on our team," Fremin commented. "All of our outfielders are athletic, run well and fit our system. We have confidence that we won't have a drop off defensively no matter which three are out there."
 
2025 All-Gulf Region, All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana selection Macie LaRue (19-3, 2.29 ERA) and Hallie Burns (12-6, 2.66 ERA) return after logging the most innings for a SLU pitching staff that ranked in the top 10 in Division I in ERA (2.41, 8^th) and shutouts (17, 7^th).
 
Blanchard, who led Southeastern with an 18-3 record and 1.77 ERA in 2024, comes back to Hammond after finishing 22-3 with a 1.37 ERA at UT Tyler last spring. Returner Celia Lamkin (2-0, 1.80 ERA), along with a talented newcomer quartet of Tyler Oubre, Haley Crawford, Bre Clark and Katherine Thiessen round out the deepest Lady Lion pitching staff of Fremin's tenure.
 
"This group is different than any pitching staff we've had in the past," Fremin. "They move as a unit and encourage one another, which is only going to strengthen our staff moving forward. We feel we're going to be able to run multiple people out to the circle and still get the same result. We feel our pitchers have individual skill sets that complement each other well."
 
Southeastern will open the season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic Feb. 5-8 in Clearwater, Fla. with the tournament slate bookended by games versus 2025 Super Regional participant Clemson and Women's College World Series participant Oregon. The opening week sets the tone for a challenging nonconference schedule that includes trips to 2025 national champion Texas and an Oklahoma squad which won the previous four national titles from 2021-24.
 
"We had a hard time scheduling home games this season, so we're hitting the road and we'll be going to some extremely tough environments. We expect the Southland Conference to be stronger this season, so we need to be battle tested to prepare us for a postseason run. We're willing to walk into any stadium and face any storied program. We'll respect them, put a good product on the field and do our best to represent our university."
 
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.