HAMMOND, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team is ranked No. 10 in the D1Softball Preseason Mid-Major Top 25 released Monday.
 
Southeastern finished the 2025 season ranked ninth in the D1Softball Mid-Major poll. The Lady Lions finished 50-16 overall – the fourth 50-win season in Southland Conference history – last spring. SLU advanced to the final game of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional with two victories over host and No. 10 national seed LSU.
 
SLU returns eight positional starters, four first team All-Southland Conference selections and the top two pitchers from last season's squad. The strong returning nucleus will be buoyed by 10 newcomers, including the return of 2024 first team All-SLC selections Cera Blanchard and Ka'Lyn Watson.
 
Southeastern will open the 2026 season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic Feb. 5-8 in Clearwater, Fla. The Lady Lions will face Clemson Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. to open the tournament.
 
2026 D1Softball Preseason Mid-Major Top 25
1. Florida Atlantic
2. Liberty
3. Grand Canyon
4. Texas State
5. Omaha
6. Coastal Carolina
7. South Florida
8. Nevada
9. San Diego State
10. Southeastern
11. Cal State Fullerton
12. Belmont
13. UConn
14. Boston
15. UC Santa Barbara
16. Binghamton
17. Maine
18. Miami (OH)
19. North Florida
20. Southern Illinois
21. Idaho State
22. St. John's
23. Radford
24. Army
25. Charlotte
 
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.