Under head coach Dot Richardson, the Liberty softball team has seen its profile continue to rise in recent years. The Lady Flames have made five NCAA Regional appearances and four NCAA Regional finals appearances.
Just last year, Liberty won both the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles in its first year in the league. The Flames also earned a program-record six victories over Top 25 opponents, a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and a second straight Regional final. The squad finished the season with an RPI of 31 and the second toughest non-conference strength of schedule in the nation.
That’s all well and good but Liberty has its eyes set on reaching new heights in 2025.
Liberty is a preseason Top 25 team, receiving a national ranking in both the D1Softball.com and Softball American preseason polls. Behind several key returners, Coach Richardson and the Flames are hoping to not just reach the NCAA Tournament again but potentially reach the Super Regionals or even further.
The preseason CUSA favorite once again, Coach Richardson will lean heavily on preseason CUSA Player of the Year Rachel Roupe. One of the best players in the country, Roupe is entering her fourth and final season starting in right field for the Flames. She finished last season with a .362 batting average with 17 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, 42 RBI, 48 runs scored, a .509 on base percentage, .764 slugging percentage, and a program single-season record 48 walks.
Roupe will be joined in the outfield by KK Madrey and Oregon State transfer Paige Doerr, forming one of the most potent and top defensive outfields in CUSA. Madrey, a former transfer from LSU, will make the move from left field to center field this season, replacing Mary Claire Wilson in the center of the outfield. She is entering her third year starting for the Lady Flames and had four plays featured on SCTop 10 last season. She batted .272 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 12 RBI, 28 runs scored, and a .339 on base percentage. She enters her senior season ranked 10th in program history with 43 stolen bases. Doerr joins Liberty from Oregon State where she spent her freshman season. A 2024 Pac-12 All-Freshman team member, she batted .235 with two doubles, one home run, six RBI, and 10 runs scored.
More experience leads the way in the infield for Liberty. Brooke Roberts will transition from second to first base this season. The former JUCO transfer was the CUSA Tournament MVP last year. She batted .237 with four doubles, six home runs, 26 RBI, 17 runs scored, and a .305 on base percentage, finishing the year on a nine-game hitting streak. Rachel Craine is back to conclude her career and has started her first three seasons on the Mountain. At third base, she finished last season with a .169 batting average with three doubles, two home runs, 19 RBI and six runs scored. Savannah Jessee is back at catcher after starting 33 times there last season. A member of the CUSA All-Tournament Team, she finished the year with a .246 batting average with eight doubles, two homers, 11 RBI, and four runs scored.
Veteran Savannah Woodard is back after missing the entire 2024 season due to injury. She transferred to the Flames after playing three seasons at Alabama. In 2023, Woodard started 51 games, primarily at second base, while batting .205 with two doubles, two homers, 15 RBI, 27 runs scored, 24 walks, and a .349 on base percentage.
There are a couple of faces vying for the shortstop position. Savanah Whatley transfers to Liberty after spending three seasons at Oregon State where she made 80 career starts including 44 at shortstop last season. She was a part of Oregon State’s run to the 2023 Women’s College World Series and posted a .966 fielding percentage in 2024 at shortstop. JaMaya Byrum started 13 games on the infield for Liberty last season as a freshman and she is vying for playing time again this year.
Richardson thinks she has the deepest pitching staff she has had during her time at Liberty. It’s led by CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year Elena Escobar. A former North Alabama transfer, Escobar went 16-7 with a 2.75 ERA with eight complete games, one shutout, 43 walks, and 130 strikeouts in 31 games last season. She was supplemented by CUSA All-Conference first team member as a freshman Kaylan Yoder. In 37 games, she was 11-9 with a 2.99 ERA with nine complete games, five shutouts, 138 strikeouts, and 63 walks. In conference play, she was 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA.
Liberty also welcomes back Paige Bachman who struggled at times during 2024, finishing the season with a 2-3 record, 6.30 ERA, 25 Salk’s, and 18 strikeouts in 17 appearances. In 2023, Bachman posted a 10-9 record and 2.35 ERA in 30 games. She was the CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year entering last season. As a freshman last year, Katie Love was only outshined by Yoder. Love was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team after posting a 7-4 record and 3.96 ERA in 25 appearances which included 15 starts.
Tyler Oubre was slowed by injuries some last year but did appear in 12 games and finished with a 2-2 record and 3.73 ERA. Others that could make an impact in the circle this season include Haley McManus and Danner Allen. McManus comes to Liberty from Virginia Tech where she redshirted as a freshman in 2024. Allen is a freshman from Randolph-Henry High School in nearby Charlotte Court House, Virginia where she was the 2024 Class 21 State Player of the Year, posting a career record of 77-10 with 0.60 ERA, 1,178 strikeouts, and 62 walks.
Liberty opens its 2025 season against Radford on Feb. 7 at THE Spring Games in Leesburg, Florida. The Lady Flames are scheduled to play Louisville later that day while also facing Cleveland State and Rutgers twice during the opening weekend before heading to Orlando to take on UCF on Feb. 12.