The 24th season of Arkansas softball is nearly here, and the Razorbacks are entering their 2020 campaign ranked 21st by D1 Softball (D1Softball.com)
The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with ten teams ranked in the Top 25. The Pacific 12 is next with five teams, followed by the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences with four each. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Sun Belt Conference each have one team in the rankings.
The D1 Softball Top 25 rankings are compiled by polling 10 sportswriters, broadcasters, analysts and coaches from across the nation, and are lead by writers Rhiannon Potkey and Tara Henry.
The Razorbacks head softball coach, Courtney Deifel and the Razorbacks were picked earlier this month to finish seventh in the SEC after a vote of th 13 head coaches in the annual preseason poll.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to begin play on Friday, February 7 in Las Cruces, New Mexico against UTEP and Bradley. Arkansas returns to Bogle Park February 20 for the Razorback Invitational that includes Boston University, South Dakota State, Marist, and Montana.
The 2020 schedule features two home tournaments, four SEC weekend series and eight additional non-conference games for a total of 32 home games.
Returning All-SEC selections, senior Autumn Storms and junior Hannah McEwen have been named to the 13th annual SEC Preseason All-SEC Team as announced by the league this morning. Storms was a 2019 second team All-SEC selection and a second team All-American, as well. Storms had a team-best 1.54 regular season ERA against SEC opponents. She dominated the circle in conference play, ranking first among SEC pitchers for walks allowed per seven innings and strikeouts to walks ratio. McEwen was only one of two players to start all 58 games of the 2019 season, finishing her sophomore year as the SEC regular season hits leader (73).
Arkansas was one of four SEC teams to have multiple players honored, joining Alabama (3), LSU (2) and Tennessee (2).
