Liberty softball is coming off its best season in program history. The Lady Flames finished the 2025 season with a 50-15 record, setting a new program record for single-season victories. Liberty won both the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles for the second year in a row. The team made history at the 2025 NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional, winning two out of three games against No. 1 Texas A&M to earn its first-ever Super Regional appearance. The Lady Flames were the first team in the Super Regional era to knock out the No. 1 national seed in the regional round.
It wasn’t a one year flash in the pan season and the Lady Flames want to make sure everyone realizes that this spring. Under head coach Dot Richardson, Liberty slowly built to the level where it could take out the top ranked team and advance to the Supers. The Lady Flames are one of two teams outside of the Power Four conferences to compete in the NCAA Regionals all five years since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, joining Miami (Ohio). The Lady Flames have made six NCAA Regional appearances and five NCAA Regional finals appearances under Coach Richardson, finally knocking down the Super Regional door last year.
“We tasted the blood and we’re hungry for even more,” said Liberty outfielder Paige Doerr. “The people that graduated and the team that was last year, they set us up for success; to s how what kind of work needs to be done to get there. They set the standard. They set the principles. We are trying to take what we learned last year and what got us to where we were, in order to get further.”
Doerr was Liberty’s top postseason run producer last year during her first season as a Lady Flame after transferring from Oregon State. The left fielder batted .346 with nine doubles, 31 RBI, 29 runs, and 17 stolen bases. In the final 10 games of the season, she led Liberty with 13 RBI, including six RBI in the CUSA Tournament and seven in the NCAA Postseason.
Doerr is one of four players named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team, joining redshirt senior infielder Savanah Whatley, redshirt junior catcher Savannah Jessee, and junior pitcher Kaylan Yoder. Liberty’s four preseason all-conference selections led all CUSA programs.
“Doerr has stepped up big time to lead,” said Liberty head coach Dot Richardson. “The other is Yoder. Wait until you see her, the transformation.”
In the circle, Yoder was 9-6 last year with a 2.62 ERA. She was 7-2 and had a 1.99 ERA in conference games. Yoder closed out the biggest win in program history with a five-out save in the “if-necessary” game at the NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional, clinching Liberty’s first-ever trip to the Super Regionals.
“The key is to continue building a legacy,” said Richardson. “The graduates that we had, to show their true value is because they’ve been able to help build that legacy by giving back to those that are younger than them. You can see the fruits of their labor. I think every year is a continuation of not how can we be good but how can we be great.”
Doerr and the rest of her teammates are ready to continue to build off the success from last year.
“The people last year taught me so much,” she said. “They took me under their wing and taught me everything they know. They got me ready for the position I am in now.”
While Liberty loses several of the key contributors from last year’s team, including All-American Rachel Roupe, this year’s team returns several key pieces. In addition to those previously mentioned, Brynn McManus, Brooke Roberts, JaMaya Bynum, and Alexia Carrasquillo are all position players back in the fold after having key roles on last year’s team. UNC transfer Ella Fox, Saint Francis transfer Savannah Nash, and freshman Avery Noel are all expected to have big roles this spring.
In the circle, Yoder should be the ace, but Coach Richardson has several other arms should could turn to including Katie Love and Duke transfer Gabby Mike.
“She is consistent,” Richardson said of Mike. “Throws hard. She is steady Eddy. Katie Love, I didn’t think I’d be mentioning her, she has struggled in the past. She was highly sought after as a freshman. In my opinion, she’s the best pitcher we’ve ever had, but has never really been able to take control of the circle the way she can. She’s heading in the right direction. If she is on, it will be a lot of fun.”
Liberty’s focus is to win a third straight CUSA championship to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals once again. The team will open the year against top ranked foes per usual under Coach Richardson. The Flames open the season this weekend in the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic where Liberty will face three top 10 teams in No. 4 Tennessee, No. 9 Clemson, and a rematch from the Super Regionals against No. 5 Oregon.
“The job’s not done,” said Doerr. “We’ve got way more work to do and way more stuff to prove.”
