Georgia softball featured in all four preseason top 25 polls, with multiple players earning spots on preseason rankings and watchlists.
Georgia opens its 29th season as a program at No. 12 in the NFCA/GoRout Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. The Bulldogs rank No. 15 in the D1Softball poll and No. 17 in the Softball America poll, and eighth in the 2025 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Senior pitcher Lilli Backes is one of 53 players on the watchlist for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. The SEC leads with 23 representatives on the watch list. Backes was also ranked No. 57 on Softball America’s Top 100 Preseason Player Rankings and No. 56 on D1Softball’s D100 Preseason Player Rankings. Outfielder Dallis Goodnight was named No. 91 on Softball America’s list.
The Bulldogs’ roster features eight newcomers, seven of whom are freshmen. Infielder Paislie Allen and utility player Mua Williams earned spots on both D1Softball’s and Softball America’s Freshman Watch Lists. Additionally, rookies Tyah Charlton and Esther White were recognized on D1Softball’s D100 Freshman Watch List.
Allen recently competed with the U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Cup Group C Stage event in Dallas this September. With her help, the U.S. secured a spot in the 2025 WBSC World Cup Finals, as Allen led the tournament with a team-high nine RBIs.
The coaching staff will see some new faces as well with the addition of assistant coach Mike Davenport and player development coordinator Karly Heath. Davenport joins Georgia after 24 seasons as the head coach at North Georgia, where he led the Nighthawks to two DII national championships in 2015 and 2023, amassing over 1,000 career victories and holding a 1,094-280 record at the helm for the Nighthawks.
Heath joins the staff after serving as a graduate assistant at her alma mater of Louisiana last season. Heath played from 2021-2023 and was a former All-American pitcher and outfielder at Louisiana.
The Bulldogs will open their 2025 season on Thursday, Feb. 6 at the Black & Gold Classic in Orlando, Florida. They will compete against NC State at 1 p.m. in the season opener, then take on UCF later that night at 6:30 p.m. Every Black & Gold Classic game airs on ESPN+.