TEMPE, Ariz. – A new era of Sun Devil softball begins this week in San Diego, with the team playing five games in three days at the SDSU Season Kickoff. Arizona State will face CSUN and San Diego State on Thursday, Northern Illinois and Notre Dame on Friday and close the trip against Memphis on Saturday.
Coming off a 43-11 season that included the program's seventh conference title, ASU begins the new campaign looking to earn an 18th straight trip to the NCAA Softball Championship.
Megan Bartlett makes her debut as the seventh head coach in the history of the Sun Devils program. In five seasons leading Ball State from 2016-2020, Bartlett had a record of 141-108 (.566) and four straight winning seasons.
Arizona State is scattered all over the national rankings entering the season. They sit at No. 22 in the NFCA Preseason Poll and No. 25 in the Softball American Poll. ASU was listed among those receiving votes in the USA Softball poll and was not listed in the D1 Softball rankings.
The 2023 roster features nine returners that all had crucial roles in the team's success last season. That group accounted for 56 percent of the Sun Devils' total hits and 54 percent of extra-base hits, with a combined OPS of 1.012.
In the circle is where the team will look the most different in 2023. Marissa Schuld is the lone returning pitcher returns from last year, and she is joined by three transfers and a freshman to complete the staff.
BIG GAME CHANGES PLANS
With Super Bowl LVII being played in the Valley on Sunday, the Sun Devils will open the season on the road for just the second time since opening the 1990 season in Fullerton, Calif. The last time ASU played its season opener away from home was in 2008, which was the year Super Bowl XLII was played in Arizona.
The Sun Devils did open at home in 2015, as Super Bowl XLIX was played the week before the team's season began. ASU also started the 2000 season at Rose Mofford Park.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
The Sun Devil duo of Yannira Acuña and Jazmine Hill has been raking in the preseason awards over the past few weeks.
Acuña was named to the Softball America and D1 Softball Preseason All-America First Teams and Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference. In addition, she was ranked as the 16th-best player in the country by Softball America and 19th by D1 Softball.
Hill was named to the Softball America Preseason All-America Third Team and the organization's 42nd-best player. D1 Softball listed Hill as the nation's 50th-ranked player.
OPENING WEEKEND HISTORY
Fast starts to the season are in the Sun Devils' DNA. Over the past 20 seasons, ASU has gone 100-16 (.862) during the first week of the season. Only four times during that span have they lost multiple games during the first week (2012, 2015, 2020, 2022) and eight times they finished undefeated.
Coming off a 43-11 season that included the program's seventh conference title, ASU begins the new campaign looking to earn an 18th straight trip to the NCAA Softball Championship.
Megan Bartlett makes her debut as the seventh head coach in the history of the Sun Devils program. In five seasons leading Ball State from 2016-2020, Bartlett had a record of 141-108 (.566) and four straight winning seasons.
Arizona State is scattered all over the national rankings entering the season. They sit at No. 22 in the NFCA Preseason Poll and No. 25 in the Softball American Poll. ASU was listed among those receiving votes in the USA Softball poll and was not listed in the D1 Softball rankings.
The 2023 roster features nine returners that all had crucial roles in the team's success last season. That group accounted for 56 percent of the Sun Devils' total hits and 54 percent of extra-base hits, with a combined OPS of 1.012.
In the circle is where the team will look the most different in 2023. Marissa Schuld is the lone returning pitcher returns from last year, and she is joined by three transfers and a freshman to complete the staff.
BIG GAME CHANGES PLANS
With Super Bowl LVII being played in the Valley on Sunday, the Sun Devils will open the season on the road for just the second time since opening the 1990 season in Fullerton, Calif. The last time ASU played its season opener away from home was in 2008, which was the year Super Bowl XLII was played in Arizona.
The Sun Devils did open at home in 2015, as Super Bowl XLIX was played the week before the team's season began. ASU also started the 2000 season at Rose Mofford Park.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
The Sun Devil duo of Yannira Acuña and Jazmine Hill has been raking in the preseason awards over the past few weeks.
Acuña was named to the Softball America and D1 Softball Preseason All-America First Teams and Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference. In addition, she was ranked as the 16th-best player in the country by Softball America and 19th by D1 Softball.
Hill was named to the Softball America Preseason All-America Third Team and the organization's 42nd-best player. D1 Softball listed Hill as the nation's 50th-ranked player.
OPENING WEEKEND HISTORY
Fast starts to the season are in the Sun Devils' DNA. Over the past 20 seasons, ASU has gone 100-16 (.862) during the first week of the season. Only four times during that span have they lost multiple games during the first week (2012, 2015, 2020, 2022) and eight times they finished undefeated.