2024 Nicholls Colonels softball team

The 2024 Nicholls Colonels softball team represented Nicholls State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. The Colonels played their home games at Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park and were led by third-year head coach Justin Lewis. They are members of the Southland Conference. The team compiled a 31–26 overall record and a 16–8 record in conference play finishing in third place. As the third seeded team in the SLC tournament, the Colonels were 2–2 defeating seventh seeded Houston Christian 5–4 and fifth seeded Lamar 5–48. They were defeated by second seeded Southeastern Louisiana 1–4 and first seeded McNeese 3–48.

2024 Nicholls Colonels softball
ConferenceSouthland Conference
Record31–26 (16–8 Southland)
Head coach
  • Justin Lewis (3rd season)
Assistant coaches
  • Ron Frost
  • Kat Frakes
Home stadiumSwanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park
Seasons
← 2023
2025 →
2024 Southland Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
McNeese ‍‍‍ 22 2   .917 40 20   .667
Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍y 17 7   .708 47 15   .758
Nicholls ‍‍‍ 16 8   .667 31 26   .544
Incarnate Word ‍‍‍ 14 9   .609 34 17   .667
Lamar ‍‍‍ 12 12   .500 26 25   .510
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi ‍‍‍ 9 15   .375 21 22   .488
Houston Christian ‍‍‍ 9 15   .375 23 27   .460
Northwestern State ‍‍‍ 5 18   .217 19 31   .380
Texas A&M–Commerce* ‍‍‍ 2 22   .083 9 45   .167
* Ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II[1]
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of May 19, 2024[2]
Rankings from NFCA/USA Today

Preseason

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Southland Conference Coaches Poll

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The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 2, 2024. Nicholls was picked to finish third in the Southland Conference with 97 votes.[3]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 McNeese State 128 (16)
2 Southeastern Louisiana 114 (2)
3 Nicholls 97
4 Lamar 78
5 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 72
6 Northwestern State 63
7 Houston Christian 49
8 Incarnate Word 30
9 Texas A&M–Commerce 17

Preseason All-Southland team

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Erin Kraus and Alexa Poche were named to the conference preseason first team. [3]

First Team

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  • Lexi Johnson (SELA, SR, 1st Base)
  • Erin Kraus (NICH, SO, 2nd Base)
  • Haylie Savage (HCU, JR, 3rd Base)
  • Reese Reyna (MCNS, JR, Shortstop)
  • Bailey Krolczyk (SELA, SR, Catcher)
  • Chloe Gomez (MCNS, SR, Utility)
  • Audrey Greely (SELA, SR, Designated Player)
  • Alexa Poche (NICH, SR, Outfielder)
  • AB Garcia (HCU, SO, Outfielder)
  • Erin Ardoin (MCNS, JR, Outfielder)
  • Ashley Vallejo (MCNS, JR, Pitcher)
  • Primrose Aholelei (TAMUCC, JR, Pitcher)

Second Team

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  • Crislyne Mareno (MCNS, JR, 1st Base)
  • Mariana Torres (MCNS, JR, 2nd Base)
  • Rylie Bouvier (MCNS, JR, 3rd Base)
  • Brooke Davis (LU, SR, Shortstop)
  • Ashlyn Walker (NWST, SR, Catcher)
  • Sydney Hoyt (TAMUCC, SR, Utility)
  • Cameron Niedenthal (LU, SR, Designated Player)
  • Cam Goodman (SELU, SR, Outfielder)
  • Ka'Lyn Watson (SELU, SR, Outfielder)
  • Laney Roos (NWST, SR, Outfielder)
  • Maggie Darr (NWST, SR, Pitcher)
  • Shaelyn Sanders (MCNS, SR, Pitcher)

Roster

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2024 Nicholls Colonels softball team
Players Coaches
# Pos. Name Bats/throws Height Year Home town
1 Madisen Levsey /
Fr
2 OF McKenzie Champagne L/R 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Jr Lockport, Louisiana
3 U Claire Cisco L/R 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) So College Station, Texas
4 INF Makynli Miller R/R 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Many, Louisiana
5 INF Erin Krause L/R 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Cypress, Texas
7 RHP Molly VandenBout R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Temple, Texas
8 Sydney Mann /
Fr
9 INF Alexa Poche' L/L 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr New Orleans, Louisiana
10 Madisen Fulfer /
Fr
11 Laylin Sturm /
Fr
12 Rylie Rutherford /
Fr
13 Katy Sanders /
Fr
14 RHP Audrey McNeil R/R 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Plano, Texas
15 INF Lilianna Robledo R/R 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) So Converse, Texas
16 OF Reagan Heflin L/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Richmond, Texas
17 Gabee Higbe /
So
18 INF Sydni Stevens R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Seguin, Texas
19 OF Samantha Gwiazda R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Frankfort, Illinois
20 OF Carmella Muccilli R/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Santa Cruz, California
21 INF Sydnee Shelton R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Fort Worth, Texas
22 LHP Molly Yoo L/L 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Cypress, Texas
23 Taylor Efferson /
Fr
24 RHP Averi Paden R/L 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) So Summit, Mississippi
25 Alyssa Naquin /
Fr
26 C Brynne Songy R/R 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) So Prairieville, Louisiana
42 P Abigail Anderson R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Mesa, Arizona
Head coach

Justin Lewis (Louisiana–Monroe)

Assistant coach(es)

Ron Frost (Alabama State)
Kat Frakes (UIS)


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 26, 2024

Schedule and results

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Legend
  Nicholls win
  Nicholls loss
  Postponement/Cancellation
Bold Nicholls team member
2024 Nicholls State Colonels softball game log
Regular season (31–26)
Post-Season (2–2)
Southland Tournament (2–2)
Date Opponent (Seed)/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record Tournament record
May 7 vs. (7) Houston Christian (3) North Oak ParkHammond, LA 5–4 Paden, Averi (8–4) Swanson, Lyndie (10–8) None ESPN+ 322 30–24 1–0
May 8 vs. (2) Southeastern Louisiana (3) North Oak Park • Hammond, LA 1–4 Blanchard, Cera (18–2) Yoo, Molly (7–9) None ESPN+ 456 30–25 1–1
May 8 vs. (5) Lamar (3) North Oak Park • Hammond, LA 5–4
(8 inn)
Yoo, Molly(8–9) Mitchell, Karyana(13–9) None ESPN+ 322 31–25 2–1
May 9 vs. (1) McNeese (3) North Oak Park • Hammond, LA 3–4
(8 inn)
Sanders, Shaelyn (20–10) McNeill, Audrey (14–13) None ESPN+ 520 31–26 2–2
Schedule source:[4][5][6]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the NFCA/USA Softball poll.

Conference awards and honors

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Post-season All-Southland Conference Teams

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Reglin Heflin was named as a conference first team member. Abby Anderson was named as a second team member.[7]

Player of the Year: Victoria Altamirano, UIW

Hitter of the Year: Ka'Lyn Watson, Southeastern

Pitcher of the Year: Shaelyn Sanders, McNeese

Freshman of the Year: Alexis Dibbley, McNeese

Newcomer of the Year: Shenita Tucker, Lamar

Coach of the Year: James Landreneau, McNeese

First Team

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  • Corine Poncho (MCNS, SO, 1st Base)
  • Mariana Torres (MCNS, SR, 2nd Base)
  • Chloe Magee (SELA, FR, Shortstop)
  • Maddison Guillen (UIW, SR, 3rd Base)
  • Bailey Krolczyk (SELA, SR, Catcher)
  • Victoria Altamirano (UIW, SO, Utility)
  • Audrey Greely (SELA, SR, Designated Player)
  • Reagan Heflin (NICH, SO, Outfielder)
  • Ka'Lyn Watson (SELA, SR, Outfielder)
  • Alexis Dibbley (MCNS, FR, Outfielder)
  • Cera Blanchard (SELA, SR, Pitcher)
  • Shaelyn Sanders (MCNS, SR, Pitcher)

Second Team

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  • Lexi Johnson (SELA, SR, 1st Base)
  • Ryleigh Mata (UIW, JR, 2nd Base)
  • Baylee Lemons (UIW, JR, Shortstop)
  • Rylie Bouvier (MCNS, JR, 3rd Base)
  • Bella Perez (MCNS, FR, Catcher)
  • Haylie Savage (HCU, JR, Utility)
  • Crislyne Moreno (MCNS, JR, Designated Player)
  • Jillian Guiterrez (UIW, SO, Outfield)
  • Abby Andersen (NICH, SR, Outfield)
  • Cam Goodman (SELA, SR, Outfield)
  • Primrose Aholelei (TAMUCC, SR, Pitcher)
  • Ellie DuBois (SELA, SR, Pitcher)

Weekly awards

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Weekly honors
Honors Player Position Date Awarded Ref.
SLC Pitcher of the week Audrey McNeill RHP February 12, 2024 [8]
SLC Hitter of the week Molly VandenBout DP February 26, 2024 [9]
SLC Pitcher of the week Audrey McNeill RHP March 11, 2024 [10]
SLC Pitcher of the week Audrey McNeill RHP May 6, 2024 [11]

See also

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2024 Nicholls Colonels baseball team

References

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  1. ^ "Texas A&M University-Commerce Officially Joins NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference". Texas A&M University-Commerce. July 1, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Southland Standings". D1Softball.com. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "McNeese predicted to repeat as SLC Softball Champions; Preseason poll and all-conference teams announced". Southland Conference. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "2024 Softball Schedule". Nicholls State University. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "D1SOFTBALL - Nicholls State (Southland)". D1 Softball. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "WarrenNolan.com - Nicholls Colonels - Southland". Nolan Analytics, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "Altamirano wins Player of the Year, Watson and Sanders lead strong showings for McNeese at Southeastern on SLC All-Conference Teams". www.southland.org. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  8. ^ "Softball season opens with SLU's Krolczyk and Nicholls' McNeill winning Player of the Week honors". February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "Nicholls' VandenBout, Lamar's Mitchell Named Jersey Mike's Softball Players of the Week". February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  10. ^ Callum Squires (March 11, 2024). "Tyson of A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeill of Nicholls win Jersey Mike's SLC Softball Players of the Week awards". Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  11. ^ Anthony Goss (May 6, 2024). "HCU's Savage, Nicholls' McNeill earn final Jersey Mike's SLC Softball Player of the Week honors of 2024 season". Retrieved May 26, 2024.