DALLAS – North Texas has been voted by the league’s head coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2023 Conference USA regular season softball championship, the league announced Thursday, along with the preseason all-conference team.
Two-time defending C-USA Player of the Year
Bailey Vannoy, a senior catcher and outfielder for Charlotte, was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year, while North Texas left-handed pitcher
Ashley Peters was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Vannoy earned Second Team NFCA All-America honors and her third First-Team All-C-USA nod after ranking top-20 nationally in hits (74), home runs (24), runs per game (1.03) and total bases (164) in 2022. She led the league in slugging percentage (.845) and RBI (58) and set C-USA single-season records in home runs (13) and total bases (77) in conference play. Vannoy enters her final season already in the league’s career top-15 in runs (149), doubles (47), home runs (53) and total bases (428).
Peters looks to build upon a standout season in her first year with the Mean Green in which she posted the third-most wins in single-season program history (20) and finished third among C-USA hurlers in ERA (2.43), strikeouts (156) and batters struck out looking (47) on her way to Second-Team All-C-USA recognition. She garnered C-USA All-Tournament honors after tossing a pair of complete games in UNT’s opening game against Charlotte and in the title game versus WKU, giving her four complete games on the year.
Led by Peters, the Mean Green earned a league-high five selections to the preseason all-conference team. Coming in at No. 24 in the D1Softball Preseason Top 25, North Texas earned nine first-place votes and 99 total points in the preseason poll. The Mean Green return six of its primary starters in the field and a pair of starting pitchers from last year’s 37-16 team that claimed the C-USA Softball Championship title advanced to the Stillwater Regional Final.
A trio of returning all-league honorees join Peters on the preseason all-conference squad in junior infielder
Kailey Gamble, junior outfielder
Lexi Cobb and sophomore pitcher
Skylar Savage. Cobb earned C-USA All-Tournament recognition after leading the team in hits (8), runs (8) and total bases (16) in the event, and Savage is coming off a league-leading seven saves and C-USA All-Freshman Team honors. Junior catcher
Kalei Christensen will take over behind the dish after making most of her 98 appearances over the past two seasons in the outfield.
WKU was voted to the runner-up spot with 82 points, while Charlotte grabbed the remaining first-place vote and edged out LA Tech for the No. 3 spot by a 78-74 margin. Florida Atlantic and UAB each received 56 points to tie for fifth, followed by UTSA (39). FIU and Middle Tennessee tied for eighth with 25 points apiece, and UTEP rounded out the poll with 16.
Gamble, along with UAB senior catcher
Sierra Frazier, broke the conference record for most RBI in C-USA play with 34 apiece last season. Fellow Blazer and sophomore infielder
Lindsey Smith was also named to the preseason all-league squad after tying for the team-lead with 11 doubles and ranking second in slugging percentage (.474), runs (27) and home runs (4) on her way to C-USA All-Freshman recognition.
WKU is represented on the team by senior outfielder
Taylor Davis, who led the league with 11 sacrifice bunts in 2022. She finished third in C-USA in batting average (.397) and fifth in runs scored (42). Joining Vannoy from the 49ers is sophomore infielder
Ella Chancey, who earned a C-USA All-Freshman Team nod after finishing second to Vannoy on the team in runs (36), hits (58), RBI (38), home runs (11) and total bases (103).
LA Tech’s two honorees include defending C-USA Freshman of the Year and NFCA National Freshman of the Year finalist
Sierra Sacco and First-Team All-Region and All-C-USA honoree
Amanda Gonzalez. Sacco led the conference and ranked in the top 10 nationally in batting average (.441) and hits (83), while Gonzalez finished among the league’s top-10 in batting average (.370), on-base percentage (.467), OPS (1.091) and hits (61).
Florida Atlantic placed a pair of veteran owls on the team in senior outfielder
Sara Berthiaume and graduate pitcher
Lynn Gardner. Berthiaume’s league-leading seven triples tied for the fifth-most in C-USA single-season history, and Gardner paced the conference with five shutouts against C-USA foes.
UTSA also earned two spots on the list in junior infielder
Kat Ibarra and graduate utility player
Marena Estell. Ibarra led the Roadrunners in batting average (.327), on-base percentage (.429), runs (37), hits (50), triples (3) and total bases (87), while Estell led the team in slugging percentage (.619), RBI (33) and home runs (14).
The 2023 Conference USA season begins Thursday, February 9, and the 2023 C-USA Softball Championship will be May 10-13 in Ruston, La.
2023 C-USA Softball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
North Texas (9) |
99 |
| 2. |
WKU |
82 |
| 3. |
Charlotte (1) |
78 |
| 4. |
LA Tech |
74 |
| T5. |
Florida Atlantic |
56 |
| T5. |
UAB |
56 |
| 7. |
UTSA |
39 |
| T8. |
FIU |
25 |
| T8. |
Middle Tennessee |
25 |
| 10. |
UTEP |
16 |
C-USA Softball Preseason Player of the Year
Bailey Vannoy, Charlotte
C-USA Softball Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Ashley Peters, North Texas
C-USA Softball Preseason All-Conference Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Kalei Christensen, North Texas |
Jr. |
C |
McKinney, Texas |
| Sierra Frazier, UAB* |
Sr. |
C |
Corona, Calif. |
| Ella Chancey, Charlotte* |
So. |
IF |
Athens, Ga. |
| Kailey Gamble, North Texas* |
Jr. |
IF |
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Amanda Gonzalez, LA Tech* |
Sr. |
IF |
Santa Monica, Calif. |
| Kat Ibarra, UTSA* |
Jr. |
IF |
Katy, Texas |
| Lindsey Smith, UAB |
So. |
IF |
Hayden, Ala. |
| Sara Berthiaume, Florida Atlantic* |
Sr. |
OF |
Coconut Creek, Fla. |
| Lexi Cobb, North Texas* |
Jr. |
OF |
Silver Lake, Kan. |
| Taylor Davis, WKU* |
Sr. |
OF |
Madison, Ala. |
| Sierra Sacco, LA Tech* |
So. |
OF |
Marrero, La. |
| Bailey Vannoy, Charlotte* |
Gr. |
OF |
Leander, Texas |
| Marena Estell, UTSA |
Gr. |
DP/UT |
Hooks, Texas |
| Lynn Gardner, Florida Atlantic* |
Gr. |
P |
Mobile, Ala. |
| Ashley Peters, North Texas* |
Sr. |
P |
Rock Island, Ill. |
| Skylar Savage, North Texas* |
So. |
P |
Van, Texas |
* - 2022 all-conference selection