MARTIN, Tenn. – Armed with a veteran roster – including 10 seniors – the University of Tennessee at Martin softball team has championship aspirations heading into the 2024 season.
The Skyhawks head into a new season with optimism after a strong finish to last season and a decorated returning nucleus. Pundits agree with UT Martin’s own self-evaluation as the squad was predicted to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Predicted Order of Finish while garnering a first-place vote.
UT Martin returns three All-OVC selections and a pair of OVC All-Newcomer picks with the return of outfielder Kaci Fuller, infielder/pitcher Katie Dreiling, outfielder Avry Blume, pitcher Brooklynn Linneman and outfielder/pitcher Kiersten Nixon.
In addition to the five all-conference selections returning to the fold, UT Martin welcomes back a total of eight returning starters and seven other contributors from a group which finished last season with a 23-24 record and fourth in the OVC. Despite entering the OVC Softball Championship as the fourth seed, the Skyhawks knocked off the tournament’s top seed and advanced to Friday night’s consolation championship.
Along with the preseason poll, Fuller was tabbed one of 11 OVC Players to Watch after a dazzling junior campaign. Along with being named to the OVC 75th Anniversary team earlier this summer – ranking as the only active player on the prestigious anniversary list – she earned All-OVC first team honors after winning the regular season batting championship before finishing the year with a .404 batting average while adding nine doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 30 RBIs. Fuller enters the season as the program’s all-time leader in career batting average at a .381 clip while sitting third in slugging percentage (.560) and fifth in on-base percentage (.417).
Earning positions on the All-OVC second team was the tandem of Blume and Dreiling. Along with manning centerfield at a high defensive clip, Blume posted a .325 batting average with eight doubles, six home runs and 24 RBIs. Dreiling pulled double-duty for the Skyhawks as she notched a .310 batting average with three home runs, 10 home runs and 21 RBIs at the plate. Then in the pitching circle, Dreiling tallied a 13-8 overall record while notching a 2.54 ERA in 118.1 innings of work.
Outside of the All-OVC teams, the tandem of Linneman and Nixon were impressive in their debut campaigns on the way to All-Newcomer honors. Linneman led the team with 20 starts and pitched three shutouts while posting a 7-6 record and 2.99 ERA in 98.1 innings of work. Nixon also threw 56 innings for the Skyhawks in 13 starts while posting a .275 batting average, seven home runs and 18 RBIs with the bat.
In total, the Skyhawks have 10 seniors on a veteran roster with Blume, Dreiling, Fuller, Linneman and Nixon joining the group of Anna Blanton, Emily Brown, Annie Gutierrez, Anna Hazlewood and Maddi Long. The group has compiled 96 wins since the 2020 abbreviated campaign with Long ranking as the longest tenured Skyhawk as she enters her fifth and final season.
Statistically, the Skyhawks carried the lumber in 2023 as they recorded a .282 batting average which ranked as the seventh-best mark in program history while its .463 slugging percentage ranked second in school history. The squad also led the OVC in home runs (58), slugging percentage (.461) and fielding percentage (97.8 percent).
The Skyhawks will be challenged early and often throughout a loaded 55-game schedule. UT Martin will face off against four NCAA Tournament participants with Eastern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, Ole Miss and Southern Illinois highlighting the schedule while competing in a grueling 27-game conference slate.
UT Martin will make appearances in the Trojan Classic (Troy, Ala.), Roar City Classic (Nashville, Tenn.), Frost Classic (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Blues City Classic (Memphis, Tenn.) along with several midweek matchups. The Skyhawks then open league play on March 9 with a trip to new OVC foe Western Illinois before hosting SIUE (March 23-24), Southern Indiana (Apr. 6-7), Morehead State (Apr. 20-21) and Southeast Missouri (May 4-5). The conference road slate will see road matchups at Eastern Illinois (March 16-17), Tennessee State (March 29-30), Tennessee Tech (Apr. 13-14) and Lindenwood (Apr. 27-28).
The entire regular season schedule leads up to the OVC Softball Championship which is scheduled for May 8-11. The location and venue of the championship will change for the first time in several years after a successful stint at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. Now the Skyhawks and other OVC competitors will travel to the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois for the first time with hopes of punching the team’s first ticket to the NCAA Tournament since 2012.
Pitchers
The Skyhawks return their entire pitching staff from last season while adding one newcomer to the mix. The senior trio of Katie Dreiling (13-8, 2.54 ERA), Brooklynn Linneman (7-6, 2.99 ERA) and Kiersten Nixon (1-8, 4.88 ERA) combined to start 46 of the team’s 47 games in the circle. UT Martin will look to that trio to carry a heavy load for the squad in 2024 while looking to see who else from the group of Emily Brown, Ashtyn Green, Anna Hazlewood, Jordyn Hustey and Lindsay Kline will grab a role and run with it.
Pitchers: Emily Brown, Katie Dreiling, Brooklynn Linneman, Ashtyn Green, Anna Hazlewood, Jordyn Hustey, Lindsay Kline and Kiersten Nixon.
Catcher
UT Martin brings a lot of experience to the catcher position with the return of seniors Maddi Long and Annie Gutierrez. The tandem split reps behind the plate last season in a hope to stay fresh with Long starting 31 contests at catcher while Gutierrez earned the starting nod 16 times. Long has appeared in 149 games throughout her career while boasting a .259 batting average. She has seen a steady uptick in production every year of her career, increasing her home run and RBI total while notching 10 extra base hits in each of the last three seasons. Gutierrez posted a .244 batting average with one home run and 13 RBIs in her debut season in a Skyhawk uniform last season.
Catchers: Annie Gutierrez and Maddi Long.
Infield
One area that the team is looking to replace its production is at a pair of infield positions. The Skyhawks lost a pair of veterans in Kaitlyn Kelley (second base) and Kallie Pickens (third base) along with the offensive numbers you could pencil in the lineup. The squad brought in a pair of transfers to hopefully fill those holes with Dylan Scott (Miami – Ohio) and Alli Robinson (West Viriginia Wesleyan) expected to slot into third base and second base, respectively. Sophomore Kyrsten Brown will retain her starting role at shortstop after seeing her name written in the starting lineup in all 47 games last season. First base will see a mixture of Katie Dreiling, Anna Hazlewood and Jordyn Hustey cycling through the lineup. Rounding out the depth is Kennedy Brown who could back up both positions up the middle and at the hot corner.
Infielders: Kennedy Brown, Kyrsten Brown, Katie Dreiling, Anna Hazlewood, Jordyn Hustey, Alli Robinson and Dylan Scott.
Outfield
The Skyhawks return all of the team’s outfielders from a season ago while adding to the potent stable of contributors. Kaci Fuller returns for her senior campaign as the team’s everyday left fielder while ranking as the program’s all-time batting average leader. Avry Blume transitioned full-time to centerfield last season and committed just one error while racking up several big plays on the defensive end. Along with her work with the glove, Blume tallied 14 extra-base hits and drove in 24 runs. Freshman Kyla Harley is projected to slot into right field in her debut season while senior Anna Blanton has proven to be a solid contributor as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. While Kiersten Nixon will probably see most of her action as an offensive player, freshmen MacKenzie Bowling and Carly Ward could also see action between the foul poles.
Outfielders: Anna Blanton, Avry Blume, MacKenzie Bowling, Kaci Fuller, Kyla Harley, Kiersten Nixon and Carly Ward.
