SE Softball Opens the Season at the DII First Pitch Invite

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern gets set to begin the 2026 season, as they head to Conroe, Texas, to take part in the Division II First Pitch Invitational, where they will play five games in three days.
 
Day one for the Storm begins on Friday, Jan. 30, at 11 a.m. against No. 13 Angelo State and later that day faces St. Mary's at 4 p.m. The blue and gold will have just one game on Saturday versus Texas A&M- International at 1:30 p.m. Southeastern then wraps up play on Sunday at 10 a.m. against Mississippi College and later at 12:30 p.m. against No. 1 UT Tyler
 
STORM REPORT
Southeastern was picked to finish tied for fifth in the Great American Conference Preseason Poll ahead of the start of the season. Head coach Mackenzie Sher and the Storm finished 2025 with a 26-27 overall record and a 17-16 mark. SE grabbed five series wins in league action, including sweeps at home over Northwestern Oklahoma State and Arkansas-Monticello.
 
Iliana Olivares and India McMurray highlight the returning production in the SE lineup for 2026. Olivares led the team in hits (62) a year ago and tallied conference-best 20 doubles on a .367 batting average. The senior first-baseman tallied 16 multi-hit games and had six games with two or more RBIs recorded. McMurray will help provide the power in the Storm lineup after registering a team-high 14 home runs and 37 runs batted in. The Dallas native racked up 47 hits in 138 at-bats for a .341 average.
 
The Storm enters 2026 with an experienced pitching staff, with three pitchers returning with 20 or more appearances in the circle. Trinity Oden led the team in starts (20), strikeouts (115) and ERA (3.68) as a freshman, and threw seven complete games with two shutouts. Emily Simmons racked up a team-high 12 wins in the circle and tallied 110 strikeouts across 124.1 innings in 30 appearances. Additionally, Alyson Malone played in 22 games during 2025 and will be joined by returner Bailey Kite and newcomer Lindsey Dubberly in the circle. 
 
SCOUTING NO. 13 ANGELO STATE
No. 13 Angelo State was selected third in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, off the back of a 47-14 2025 season and finishing 34-10 in conference play. Highlighting the returners for the Rambelles is senior outfielder Tatiana Trotter, who was selected as the LSC Preseason Player of the Year. Trotter totaled 14 home runs and 47 RBIs a season ago and batted .330 with 58 hits.
 
SCOUTING ST. MARY'S
The Rattlers enter 2026 under first-year head coach Taylor Lira, who brings back 14 players from last season's team that finished 26-29 and compiled a 21-23 LSC record. Ahead of the start of the season, St. Mary's was voted ninth in the LSC standings after finishing last season fifth in the East Division standings. STMU brings back a pair of LSC All-Conference players in Emily Ayala and Gabriela Banda.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-INTERNATIONAL
The Dustdevils were picked 11^th in the LSC Preseason Poll, following a 17-25 conference record in 2025 and a 24-31 overall mark. Texas A&M-International landed one player on the Preseason Pitcher to Watch list, as junior pitcher Kyle Goad was selected. Goad led the team in 2025 with a 3.66 ERA while recording 44 strikeouts in 128.0 innings of work. Additionally, Goad paced the side with eight wins in the circle and threw ten complete games.
 
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
Mississippi College returns four players who earned Preseason All-GSC recognition, while the Choctaws were voted third as a team in the poll. MC went 36-19 last season with a 22-11 GSC record and would earn a spot in the NCAA South Regional. Among the returners is the GSC Co-Freshman of the Year, Blakley Gill, who tallied 70 hits, including 18 doubles, three triples and five home runs, while batting in 40 runs. Gill also received First Team NFCA All-South Region and Second Team D2CCA All-South Region honors.
 
SCOUTING NO. 1 UT TYLER
No. 1 UT Tyler won its second consecutive National Championship in 2025 and repeated as the LSC Champion for the fifth straight season. The Patriots topped the LSC Preseason Poll with 39 of the 52 first-place votes and had Lauren Granger named a Preseason Player to Watch, along with Kendall Selitzky, who was named a Preseason Pitcher to Watch. UT Tyler returns four players from last year's championship team, including junior utility player Taryn Barney, who received NFCA and D2CCA All-Region honors in 2025.