STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Texan Softball has high hopes for 2023 after the 2022 season saw them become the first Tarleton Athletics program to secure a postseason victory in Tarleton's NCAA Division I era.
 
Last year, the Texans went 30-25, their first 30-win season in Tarleton's Division I era, qualifying for the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC). Tarleton finished third in the WAC Southwest Division standings for the 2022 season. This year, the Texans were picked to finish sixth in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Individually, infielder Katy Schaefer was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team after posting a .359 batting average, nine home runs and 49 RBI in the previous season.
 
Infield
 
Coming off being named to the All-WAC Second Team, junior Morgan Medford returns to the Texan infield this season. Medford started in all 55 games at shortstop last season, hit .323, scored a team-high 48 runs and set a new school record with five runs scored against Sam Houston (April 9).
 
Austin Germain, Tristyn Trull, MacKenzie Peterson, Jordan Dickerson, Makayla Romeo, Schaefer and Bella Hernandez also return to the Texan infield in 2023. Germain earned starts at 2B, 3B, 1B and DP last season, also posting a season-high nine-game hitting streak. Trull started in 50 games and posted a .973 fielding percentage and. Peterson started in 24 games for the Texans, posting a .981 fielding percentage, and Dickerson is looking to make a mark this season after receiving a medical redshirt in 2022. Romeo hit .333 in 21 at-bats and Hernandez played in 25 games.
 
The infield will welcome in freshman Hannah Reed and transfer Kiana Gibson. Reed comes from Weatherford, Texas, where she earned District Defensive Player of the Year and hit over .440 in each of her final two seasons. Gibson joins the Texans after two seasons at Vernon Junior College, where she hit .439 as a freshman and .434 as a sophomore, tallying 23 home runs and 90 RBI.
 
Outfield
 
The lone senior returning in the outfield, Alexis Hoang from Stillwater, Oklahoma, played in 25 games last season. Amanda DeSario and Ashlee LaRue also return to the Texan outfield in 2023. DeSario started in 52 games in centerfield and LaRue drove in 10 RBI.
 
New to the Texan outfield are Kaylin Ortner, Kayla Wallace and Kelci Hill. Ortner, a true freshman, led her high school team to back-to-back district championships in her final two seasons. Wallace transfers to Tarleton from Blinn JC where she hit .341 with four home runs and 24 RBI. Hill played at Middle Tennessee State the previous three seasons, posting a career batting average of .315 with 21 doubles, five triples and 44 RBI.
 
Catcher
 
Behind the plate, Tarleton will have two returners in Brady Rowland and Brittany Coe. Rowland started 41 games, hitting .331 with 14 extra base hits, including five home runs. Coe played in 35 games, had 16 hits and threw out five base runners from behind the plate.
 
Utility
 
The Texans only returner at utility position is Paige Nunes. She played in 20 games her freshman season earning a season-high four RBI against Sam Houston and recorded her first career three hit game. 
 
New Texans at the utility position are Sage Harlow and Hayden Fox. Harlow comes to Tarleton from Grayson County College where she was All-American Second Team status, totaling 126 RBI and 24 home runs during her Grayson career. Fox was a three-time team captain at Gunter High School where she holds records for career batting average (.490) and triples (13).
 
Pitcher
 
Tristan Bridges will enter her fifth season in the circle for the Texans. She led the team with 34 pitching appearances and 12 wins. Through the 2022 season, Bridges entered the Tarleton top 10 career list for career strikeouts, appearances, innings, completed games and games started.
 
Kennedy Ferguson, Makenzie Dunbar and Reagan Chism also return for the Texans in the circle. Ferguson led the team last season with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 45 batters in 40.1 innings of work. Dunbar appeared in three games out of the bullpen. Chism started 14 games for the Texans, recording seven wins and striking out 40 through the season.
 
The Texans welcome pitchers Grace Garcia, Kendall Daniel, Madison Collins and Sophia Herrera. Garcia joins the Texans from the South Dakota where, as a senior, she threw a career-high 77.1 innings and went 7-5 with a 4.89 ERA and 64 strikeouts. Daniel led her team to back-to-back 4A State Championships in 2021-22, hit .562 as a senior and was invited to the West Texas All-Star Game. Collins was a two-time team captain for MacArthur High School, where she led her team to back-to-back district championships and was selected unanimous District MCP as a senior. Herrera joins the Texan ranks after spending the fall semester with Colby Community College.
 
Schedule
 
The Texans have a loaded schedule that features two teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll (No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 24 North Texas). Tarleton opens their season with a trip to College Station, Texas, to play in the Texas A&M Invitational. The Texans will then play host to Creighton, Northern Colorado, Texas A&M-Commerce and Akron in the Tarleton Invitational. Tarleton will next travel to El Paso, Texas, for the UTEP Invitational before heading to the Tulsa/OSU Tournament.