A new era is beginning for South Carolina softball under first-year head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard. The program is in search of its third consecutive winning season and is striving to advance past the NCAA Regional round for the first time since the 2018 season.
The program experienced numerous changes this offseason, including the addition of Chastain Woodard. A South Carolina alum, Chastain Woodard returns to the program after spending the past five seasons as UNC Charlotte's head coach. During her tenure, she led the 49ers to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
The Gamecocks have six returning players from the 2024 roster. Senior infielder Brooke Blankenship said Chastain Woodard has made her transition seamless while making all of her players feel like South Carolina is their home.
“There’s a lot of people (on the team) who purely love South Carolina,” Blankenship said. “We know that we’re representing something bigger than ourselves, and I think that will show.”
The Gamecocks added nine transfers to the roster this season, six of whom transferred from Charlotte to reunite with Chastain Woodard in Columbia. These players include sophomore pitcher Kadie Becker, senior infielder Ella Chancey, sixth-year pitcher Sam Gress, sixth-year outfielder Abigail Knight, junior infielder Arianna Rodi, and junior catcher Lexi Winters.
Chastain Woodard said the team has done an excellent job putting “returner” and “transfer” labels aside to create a connected and successful team in Columbia.
“The freshmen, the returners, the girls who have transferred from other schools,” Rodi said. “We’ve all really just come together as one.”
Chastain Woodard said she looks to utilize a balanced pitching rotation of five players, led by junior pitcher Jori Heard, sophomore pitcher Nealy Lamb and Gress. She also said the use of a pitching committee will make the Gamecocks a difficult team to scout and prepare for.
“We all bring something special to the table and something that’s going to contribute to what we’re trying to accomplish as a team.” Gress said. “Just knowing that between the five of us anybody can go out there and get the job done, it’s really special.”
Lamb is entering her first season as a Gamecock after transferring from Charleston Southern where she was named Big South Freshman of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All Conference. Lamb recorded a 1.78 ERA across 137 innings during her freshman campaign while striking out over a quarter of the batters she faced.
Heard, who ranked second on the team last year with a 1.88 ERA as well as pitching a perfect game and two complete game shutouts, has continually improved year after year in her career for South Carolina.
“The really exciting thing about Jori is that she’s progressively gotten better every year, and she’s the best she’s ever been right now,” Chastain Woodard said.
Chastain Woodard said she is confident in the talent of her batters and that they will find a groove once the team settles into the season.
“I think the offense will develop itself as we go,” Chastain Woodard said. “We've got a little bit of everything, we’ve got speed, we’ve got power — really dynamic through the order.”
Redshirt senior outfielder Carlie Henderson led all South Carolina batters with a .414 on base percentage last season while Rodi roped 22 home runs and 55 RBI’s with a .353 batting average for the 49ers. Rodi said she is excited to prove her skills in South Carolina through the competition that will be faced on a daily basis.
The SEC added both Texas and Oklahoma to the conference this year which will make the league even more difficult. South Carolina struggled in SEC play last season with a 8-16 record against conference opponents. The Sooners have won the last four NCAA Championships, and the Longhorns have finished runner up to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024.
“We play in (the) SEC, it’s the premier league,” Chastain Woodard said. “We embrace that, we see that as a great opportunity to move the program forward and play really great opponents.”
The Gamecocks went 36-24 last season, with the team's season coming to an end during the NCAA Regional.
Chastain Woodard and the Gamecocks are looking to make their presence felt in the SEC and NCAA this upcoming season, with their eyes set on hosting the regional round at Beckham Field, a feat that the Gamecocks have only accomplished once in the past ten seasons.
“You’re going to see a lot of fight in us. When we step on that field, we’re fighting for each other to get the job done to win,” Gress said. “We’re fighting for all of our supporters. We want to go out there and have that winning mentality in everything we do, and we expect excellence.”
The Gamecocks begin the season against the Virginia Cavaliers on Feb. 6, and first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. at Beckham Field. The game against the Cavaliers marks the beginning of the Gamecock Invitational, an event in which the Gamecocks will host five games during a four-day span.