VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State softball team opens the 2025 campaign at the Gulf Shores Invitational in Gulf Shores, Ala., Jan. 31-Feb. 2.  The Blazers face a challenging slate of six games to open the season.
 
The Blazers open with Nova Southeastern on Friday at 1:15 p.m. ET, followed by facing Spring Hill College on Friday at 4 p.m. ET.  Saturday's games feature the Blazers versus No. 24 Oklahoma Christian at 12:45 p.m. ET and then Lubbock Christian at 3 p.m. ET.  The tournament concludes Sunday with VSU facing Florida Tech at 12:45 p.m., followed by No. 9 Rogers State at 3 p.m. ET.  
 
Certain games of the tournament for the Blazers will have live stats and streaming. Please check back with vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page for links.
 
VSU was picked fifth in the Gulf South Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, while senior infielder Aniston Gano was named to the Preseason All-GSC Team.  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. 
 
Alabama Huntsville was tabbed league-favorite, followed by West Florida and Auburn Montgomery was third.  Mississippi College was fourth, followed by VSU and West Alabama was sixth.  GSC newcomer Trevecca Nazarene was picked seventh, followed by Union, Lee and Montevallo rounded out the top ten.  Christian Brothers was picked 11^th and Delta State was 12^th.  
 
Blazer head coach Thomas Macera begins his 20^th season at the helm of the program as he is 802-255-2 (.758) at VSU and 1,008-329-2 (.754) overall during his coaching career.  Macera's squad finished the 2024 season with a 31-23 record overall and a 19-11 mark in GSC play.  VSU went 2-2 last season in Gulf Shores to open the year with a 1-0 win over Lubbock Christian and a 10-8 win over Spring Hill College, along with a 4-2 loss to then-No. 1 North Georgia and a 10-4 loss to then-No. 18 Saint Leo.  The game against Nova Southeastern was cancelled due to inclement weather. 
 
Along with Gano, junior infielder Saylor McNearney also returns after she hit .308 in 54 starts last season with 49 hits, 44 runs scored, five doubles, one triple and 15 home runs, while driving in 44.  She was 16 of 18 on the base paths.  She slugged .635 for the season with an on base average of .400 and an OPS of 1.051.  Behind the dish, senior Brandie Seber returns as she hit .320 for the season in 54 starts with 56 hits, 43 runs scored, four doubles, four triples, one home run and 25 RBI.  She threw out 11 base runners this past season, turned one double play and had a .962 fielding percentage.  Junior infielder Jayme Prandine is another returner this season as she finished with 20 hits in 80 at bats with 15 runs scored, four doubles and three home runs while she drove in 16 last season.  Senior infielder Carly Bogart finished second on the team in average last season at a .361 clip with 48 hits, 27 runs scored, eight doubles, 11 home runs and 23 RBI.  She slugged .689 and reached base at a .455 clip.  Junior outfielder Evie Pitts also returns as she scored 23 runs in 45 games last season mainly in a utility role.  
 
In the circle, the Blazers return sophomore Toree Wofford who went 10-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 31 appearances with 20 starts.  She had eight complete games with one save in a team-best 105.2 innings.  Wofford allowed 135 hits, with 82 runs – 70 earned, walked 24 and fanned 38.  Seniors Savannah Barfield and Madison Lumpp also saw action last season.  Lumpp had a team-high 11 wins going 11-6 in 29 appearances with ten starts in 91.1 innings and a team-best 3.76 ERA.  Barfield was 4-2 in 64 innings.  
 
Macera added the services of a number of talented newcomers, both freshmen and transfers.  In the circle, graduate student Claire Maulding looks to be a force to be reckoned with as she transferred to VSU from Florida Gulf Coast University.  There, she recorded a career-best 2.96 ERA in 28 appearances with 13 starts.  She went 8-6 with one save and 78 innings last season for the Eagles.  She allowed 136 hits, with 79 runs – 61 earned, walked 66 and fanned 76.  Teams hit .268 against her.  Maulding played two seasons at FGCU and two at Lake Land College in Illinois.  
 
Along with Maulding, sophomore catcher Daniela David transferred from West Georgia, while junior infielder Adrianna Portanova transferred from Indian River CC and junior infielder Rachael Lee came from Gulf Coast CC.  Junior Charlotte Phillips came to VSU from Gulf Coast CC rounding out the transfers.  Macera added two freshmen in pitcher Maci Padgett and infielders Chloe Eichelberger and Krisley Arnold.  
 
Nova Southeastern was picked second in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll after its third-straight trip to the NCAA postseason in 2024 finishing with a 39-14 record overall and a 22-8 mark in the SSC.  The Sharks have reloaded for 2025 with six Division I transfers, along with returners Brenna Lokeinsky, Tori Copeland, Brook Mahoney, Gianna Russo, and SSC Freshman of the Year Maliyah Lawson.  Also returning are Alisha Lanyon, Tierani Teslow, Aubrye Hutzler and Brianna Mathews.  
 
VSU split a doubleheader with Nova Southeastern later in the season in Valdosta in 2024 with NSU winning the opener 12-0 in five innings and the Blazers coming back for the win in the nightcap, 7-6.  The Blazers lead the all-time series 16-5 dating back to Feb. 28, 1998.  The teams have split the last four meetings, but prior to that VSU had won nine-straight.  
 
Spring Hill College went 29-21 last season and a perfect 22-0 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) play, as it qualified for the NCAA South Regional.  The Blazers own a 7-0 record all-time against SHC, including a 10-8 win last season in Gulf Shores, Ala.  
 
No. 24-ranked Oklahoma Christian was picked fourth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll this season after going 35-23 last season and 27-15 in LSC play, qualifying for the NCAA South Central Super Regional. Returning for the Eagles this season is Kiley Brewster and Jill Dickson.  Brewster led the squad with a .320 average with 55 hits, while Dickson had a team-high 128 strikeouts.  Grace Anderson and Kadence Brewster also return as Anderson had a team-best 3.16 ERA in 24 starts, while Ka. Brewster had a team-best 58 hits and a .315 average.  Dickson and Anderson earned first team all-league honors in 2024.  This marks the first meeting in the series between Valdosta State and Oklahoma Christian on the diamond.  
 
Lubbock Christian was picked fifth in the Lone Star Conference poll as the Lady Chaps finished the 2024 season with a 26-22 record overall and a 24-18 mark in LSC play.  Riley Flores returns this season after earning all-league honors last season.  LCU had five all-conference selections depart following the 2024 season.  Head coach Daren Hays has 13 new additions for the season, including ten transfers and three freshmen, while five of the transfers came from D1 programs. 
 
VSU and LCU met in the season-opener for both teams in 2024 with VSU posting a 1-0 victory with a single run in the second inning by McNearney, plating Seber.  The series is tied 1-1 as LCU won on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning in 2020 also in Gulf Shores, Ala., 4-3.  VSU led 3-0 in the game heading into the seventh, before LCU tied with a three-run home run in the seventh and then the sacrifice fly in the eighth.  
 
Florida Tech was picked seventh in the SSC Preseason Poll after finishing the 2024 season with a 25-21 record overall and a 14-16 mark in league play.  VSU leads the all-time series with Florida Tech 12-4 dating back to Feb. 1, 2008.  The Blazers have won the last three meetings in the series and eight of ten.  VSU swept a doubleheader in Melbourne, Fla., on Mar. 15, 2023, while the teams met in Gulf Shores on Feb. 2, 2020, with VSU winning 9-0 in five innings.  
 
Rogers State enter the season ninth nationally after finishing the 2024 season as Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) regular season and tournament champions and lost in the Central Region Super Regional.  The Hillcats finished the 2024 season with a 46-12 record overall and a 23-3 mark in the MIAA.  This will be the first meeting on the diamond between Valdosta State and Rogers State.
 
Following the weekend games, the Blazers will turn their sights to Tampa, Saint Leo and Florida Southern in Florida next weekend.  VSU travels to Union to open GSC play on Feb. 15-16, before returning home to open the 2025 home slate versus GSC-newcomer Trevecca Nazarene on Feb. 22-23 at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.