Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Ranked in the Preseason Top 25
Louisiana softball is just around the corner as we are getting set for what should be a great 2023 season. The Ragin Cajuns are coming off a year where they were 45-11 and won their third straight Sun Belt Conference Tournament. They would get an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament where they Traveled to South Carolina to play in the Clemson Regional. They battled their way from the elimination bracket to make it to the championship series against Clemson, but they come up short in the end.
The Cajuns are returning a majority of their key players as 2022 Sun Belt player of the year, Melissa Mayeux is the only major starter who will not return in 2023. The team is returning a lot of key players such as second-year outfielder, Maddie Hayden. Hayden had an impressive .369 batting average with 59 hits and 38 runs scored as a freshman. They also return their outstanding second-year pitcher in Sam Landry. As a freshman, Landry recorded 145 strikeouts while only allowing 36 earned runs with an ERA of 2.51.
The college softball experts have big expectations for the Cajuns, who are ranked in the preseason top 25 polls. D1 softball released the 2023 pre-season top 25 poll and the Cajuns come in at #20.
Not only are the Cajuns featured on this list, but many of their opponents for the 2023 season are featured in the top 25 as well. The Cajuns will face multiple opponents in the top 20 like LSU, UCF, and Texas. They also will face multiple opponents in the top 5 such as Florida State, Oklahoma State, and UCLA. The Cajuns have a tough strength of schedule to start the season, but going into conference play with multiple top-25 victories will certainly go a long in getting to host a regional in Lafayette.