Twenty-four days away from the start of the regular season, D1Softball released its preseason rankings with the Florida Gators sitting at No. 20. The outlet released their rankings Tuesday morning, the second media outlet to have the Gators in the top 25 programs in the nation, in addition to Softball America, which had them as No. 24.
In 2023, the Florida Gators (38-22) wrapped up their season with an 11-2 loss to No. 9 Stanford Cardinals (43-13) in the NCAA Palo Alto Regional Championship. Although a disappointing end, the 2023 Gators had a memorable season to say the least.
On the plate, the 2023 team recorded a batting average of .315 and slugging percentage of .523 with 16 triples, 69 home runs and 361 RBI, all ranking within the top ten in program history.
The reigning NFCA Division I Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year Skylar Wallace and All-SEC players Kendra Falby and Regan Walsh return for the Gators this season. Four seniors, Avery Goelz, Baylee Goddard, Emily Wilkie and Katie Kistler, return for their final season.
Florida welcomed four transfers: Brooke Barnard from Ole Miss, Jocelyn Erickson from Oklahoma, Korbe Otis from Louisville and Mackenzie Wooten from Virginia. In addition, seven freshmen will be making their collegiate debut this season.
The fall exhibition season proved to be nothing short of a success for Florida. Racking up win after win came easily as the undefeated Gators outscored their opponents 43-7 in the four-game stretch. These wins came over Jacksonville (11-1), USF (11-2), Saint Leo (14-1) and UCF (7-3).
Unfortunately, the final exhibition match of the season against the College of Central Florida was canceled due to weather. This was not before the Gators showed the promise of how good they are and can be.
As a team, Florida hit .345 through the fall season. The offensive show-out included six home runs, four triples and 13 doubles.
Wallace led the Gators with stellar fall play of her own. She recorded a .643 AVG and 1.571 SLG%. The impressive statistics don’t end there as Wallace’s hits totaled two home runs, two triples and three doubles with 14 RBI and six runs.
Florida softball has announced an open practice on Friday, January 19, with a scrimmage at 4 p.m. and words from head coach Tim Walton following around 6 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The 2024 regular season opens on Friday, February 9, vs. Oregon State at 5:30 p.m. The game is the first of five at the USF-Rawlings Invitational in Tampa, Florida.
ChompTalk.com 
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