VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a 31-23 season and a 19-11 mark in the Gulf South Conference, the Valdosta State softball team was picked fifth in the 2025 GSC Preseason Poll, announced Thursday by the league office.  VSU senior infielder Aniston Gano was named to the Preseason All-GSC Team.
 
Alabama Huntsville was tabbed league favorite with 103 points and one first place vote, while West Florida was second with 102 points and three first place votes.  Auburn Montgomery was third with 101 points and four first place nods, while Mississippi College was fourth with 95 points and three top votes.
 
VSU rounded out the top five with 77 points, while West Alabama was sixth with 71 points and the last first place vote.  GSC newcomer Trevecca Nazarene was picked seventh with 63 points, followed by Union (62), Lee (43) and Montevallo was tenth with 40 points.  Christian Brothers checked in at 11^th with 20 points and Delta State was 12^th with 15 points.
 
Gano, a native of Lakeland, Ga., put together an incredible 2024 season, following an injury in 2023.  She earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Second Team At-Large All-America accolades playing in 54 games and hitting .326 with 57 hits on 175 plate appearances.  She tallied 34 runs with five doubles, one triple and 22 home runs for a team-best 70 RBI.  Gano slugged .743 on the season and reached base at a .403 clip. 

Defensively, she tallied 339 putouts at first base with 13 assists and just five errors on the year for a .986 fielding percentage, while helping turn 13 double plays. She racked up the postseason accolades in 2023 earning second team all-league honors as well as being named second to the GSC All-Tournament Team.  She earned all-region honors by both the NFCA and D2CCA. 
 
Gano and the Blazers open the 2025 season under 20th-year head coach Thomas Macera on Jan. 31 in Gulf Shores, Ala., for six games in the Gulf Shores Invitational.  VSU opens the home slate on Feb. 22 with a three-game GSC series versus Trevecca Nazarene at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.  Macera is 802-255-2 (.758) at Valdosta State and is 1,008-329-2 (.754) for his collegiate career.