The Florida Atlantic Owls softball team finished their fall season undefeated, going 8-0. The Owls had their final game on Nov. 11, where they defeated Lynn University 12-1. Last season, the team finished their regular season with a record of 41-16 (21-1 AAC). 

The Owls’ success gave them a shared title with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte of American Athletic Conference (AAC) Regular Conference Winner. They are the first FAU team to earn the title. FAU entered the AAC tournament with the No. 1 seed. 

Unfortunately in the AAC tournament, the Owls lost 12-2 to Wichita State. However, they secured an at-large bid to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) regionals. 

At regionals, FAU fell 1-0 to the University of South Alabama Jaguars. The next day, they came short by one again, losing 3-2 to Florida Gulf Coast University. But their appearance was historic, as the Owls hadn’t made it to regionals since 2016. 

“…We have a lot of newcomers, and we have about half returners, so I think it kind of showed how it looked like last year. And I think that when our girls dive in head first, I think that’s when we succeed,” said assistant coach Katelynn de Leon.

Looking back at the highlights from last season, the softball team won eight out of nine conference matchups, as well as recorded four series sweeps. The Owls closed out their regular season with a sweep against Tulsa. 

The Owls received multiple awards from the AAC with five AAC First-Team All-Conference players; Katelynn de Leon, Kamryn Jackson, Ainsley Lambert, Presley Leebrick, Trinity Schlotterbeck, and Jesiana Mora on the Second Team. The AAC names Kiley Channell Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie Team. The AAC names the coaches the 2024 AAC Coaching Staff of the Year. 

After a successful season winning the AAC tournament and going to nationals, there are high expectations for the team this season. The Owls have twelve returning players and twelve new players, along with former player and now assistant coach Katelynn de Leon. 

“Our girls know that if we want to be the last man standing in the American Conference, they know what it has to take,” said de Leon. She also mentioned that while this phase of your life is very important and meaningful at the moment, it is only a chapter of your life and it does not define who you are as a person. This has allowed her to connect even deeper with her players.

With De Leon now as assistant coach after playing such a vital role on the team, her coaching will be a huge advantage for the team. With half of the team being new players, this season will look different from last year. However, the players have high hopes.

“I think people will have different roles this year, like, we will have a lot more scrappy hitters, instead of like a home run hitter or like double hitters. It’s more like scratch and claw for base hits and quality at-bats, and I think that’ll be a difference. But other than that, I think all around we’re pretty solid,” said Kylie Channell.

The Owls having half a new team was a new adjustment for them, but the new players give the team different strengths that they did not have last season. The team set new goals going into the upcoming season to motivate each other and have an even better season than last year.

“And part of our theme this year is ‘Dare to Race.’ And so, we’ve gone to NASCAR events. We were watching a NASCAR documentary on Netflix right now. And really, it’s us running our own race this year. We’re gonna dare to do it, and we’re gonna be the ones to do it, but it’s us running our own race at our own pace” said pitcher Ainsley Lambert.

Despite a few set backs going into the year, the Owls had a successful opening to their 2024-25 season. Their field was under construction the entire summer, requiring them to take transportation to different baseball fields in Indian River and use batting cages to prepare for their fall season.

“It was frustrating, and you want to see your girls, and we have a lot more work to do. I think this fall showed us some really good and some really bad, but not having the field was frustrating, but also exciting because just like any roadmap or any construction site, you just have to get through the bad, and there comes the good” said head coach Jordan Clark.

The Owls being able to start off on a strong note for the 2024-25 season leaves anticipation and high expectations for their spring season.

Molly O’Flynn is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information on this article or others, you can reach Molly at moflynn2024@fau.edu or DM on Instagram @molly_oflynn_