Rock Hill, S.C.----The Back-to-back regular season SAC champion Wingate University Bulldogs have been named the preseason favorite in the 2025 South Atlantic Conference softball preseason poll, which was announced Wednesday morning. The poll is voted on by the league's head coaches. In addition, four Bulldogs have earned preseason All-SAC honors. Savanna Brooks, Kaylee Hobgood and Hali Scott are first team selections, with Raelynn Kramer picking up second team accolades.

Wingate picked up six of the 13 first-place votes, finishing eight points ahead of second-place Lenoir-Rhyne, who also picked up six first-place votes. Anderson is third, with Carson-Newman, LMU, Tusculum, Newberry and Catawba rounding out the top eight. Limestone checks in at number nine, with Emory & Henry, Coker, UVA Wise and Mars Hill finishing out the poll.

Brooks piled up the honors in 2024, being named the SAC and Region Player of the Year, while also being named the SAC Scholar-Athlete. The first team All-SAC and All-Region honoree earned second team All-American accolades from the D2CCA, while being named a first team Academic All-America honoree for the second straight year. She hit .342 with 19 homers, 15 doubles and 60 RBI on the year, scoring 50 runs while compiling a .749 slugging percentage. Brooks became the Wingate all-time leader in career homers, while also breaking the single-season homerun mark in 2024.

Hobgood was also an All-SAC and All-Region selection in 2024. She hit .354 on the year with a team-high 69 hits, while leading the conference with 28 stolen bases. She had seven doubles, three triples, 26 RBI and 43 runs scored on the year, compiling a .428 on-base percentage. Hobgood piled up 18 multi-hit games including four three-hit games and a pair of four-hit efforts. She had a streak of 23 straight games of reaching base safely. Hobgood spent 49 games as Wingate's leadoff hitter in 2024. She has piled up 140 hits and 57 stolen bases in her first two seasons with the Bulldogs, scoring 91 runs.

Scott was also an All-SAC and All-Region honoree in 2024. She went 16-5 on the year with a 1.73 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 121 1/3 innings of work, adding three saves. Scott took part in six shutouts on the season, holding opponents to a .206 average. She also collected 25 hits including eight doubles and four homers at the plate, driving in 21 runs on the year. Scott finished as the league leader in ERA. She struck out 10 in a three-hit shutout at Mount Olive, while following that up with a four-hit shutout at Flagler, striking out eight. Scott threw a one-hitter against UVA Wise with seven strikeouts, while punching out eight in 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball against Tusculum. She fanned a career-high 12 against Tusculum in the SAC Tournament, allowing just one run on two hits in seven innings of work. Scott went 6 2/3 innings against Anderson in the NCAA Tourney opener without allowing a run on just two hits, striking out six.

Kramer picks up league accolades for the first time. She appeared in 59 games last season, hitting .313 with 51 hits including 13 doubles and seven homers, driving in 37 runs and scoring 37 times. Kramer posted a .521 on-base percentage for the year. She notched 15 multi-hit games while driving in multiple runs nine times.

The Bulldogs open up the 2025 season on the road, traveling to Lander Saturday, Feb. 1 for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The Bulldogs travel to Florida the following weekend to take on Colorado School of Mines, Barry and Nova Southeastern. The 'Dogs open the home slate on Feb. 15 and 16.

SAC Presason Softball Poll
 

Rank	School (1st Place Votes)	Points
1.	Wingate(6)	138
2.	Lenoir-Rhyne (6)	130
3.	Anderson	120
4.	Carson-Newman (1)	118
5.	Lincoln Memorial	94
6.	Tusculum	88
7.	Newberry	82
8.	Catawba	65
9.	Limestone	56
10.	Emory & Henry	42
11.	Coker	38
12.	UVA Wise	22
13.	Mars Hill	21

 
SAC Softball Preseason All-Conference

All-SAC First Team
OF – Kaylee Hobgood, Wingate
OF – Brianna Gallagher, Catawba
OF – Maddie Carpenter, Anderson
1B – Kary Hales, Catawba
2B – Savanna Brooks, Wingate
SS – Hayden Dye, Carson-Newman
3B – Madison Primm, Lenoir-Rhyne
DP – Carson Hobbs, Anderson
UTL/Non-P – Danielle King, Emory & Henry
UTL/P – Brianna Herring, Catawba
C – Lani Warren, Lenoir-Rhyne
P – Madison Wilson, Lenoir-Rhyne
P – Hali Scott, Wingate

All-SAC Second Team
OF - Leah Grimes, Mars Hill
OF – Shelby Bandt, Anderson
OF – Santana Anderson, Carson-Newman
1B –  Brooklyn Lucero, Carson-Newman
2B – Julia Mardigian, Lenoir-Rhyne
SS – Katelyn Rackard, Lenoir-Rhyne
3B – Raelynn Kramer, Wingate
DP – Danielle Jason, Tusculum
UTL/Non-P – Hannah Bogoski, Lincoln Memorial
UTL/P – Olivia Yates, Emory & Henry
C – Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman
P – Lex Glemaker, Newberry
P – Alexandra Baquie, Catawba
 
Players to Watch:
Mya Cribbs, OF, Coker
Cheyenne Palmer, P, Coker
Adyson Gibson, OF, UVA Wise
Taylor Clay, SS, UVA Wise
Olivia Shockley, P, UVA Wise
Chelsey Stonesifer, P, Limestone