The Southeastern Conference unveiled its sixth annual preseason team to highlight the upcoming season of SEC softball and not one Missouri Tiger made the list. That should be a great source of motivation for head coach Ehren Earleywine and his Mizzou softball team that is ranked seventh in the nation and returns 15 letterwinners from their 2012 squad that went 47-14 overall en route to an NCAA Super Regional appearance.
Left off the list was two-time First Team All-America pitcher Chelsea Thomas (Pleasantville, Iowa). A redshirt senior, Thomas posted an earned run average (ERA) of 1.16 with a 27-9 record last season, allowing just 127 hits while recording 306 strikeouts.
Tennessee led all schools with four selections, followed by Alabama with three. Texas A&M had two members named to the preseason team while Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss had one selection each. Tennessee’s Raven Chavanne and Alabama’s Kayla Braud are making their third consecutive appearance to the team.
The Preseason All-SEC Team consists of a minimum of 12 players. Each SEC head softball coach voted for four infielders, four outfielders, two pitchers, one catcher and one utility/DP player. No ties were broken.
In a class-by-class breakdown, the 2013 team consists of seven seniors, four juniors and one sophomore. A complete list of the 2013 SEC Softball Preseason All-SEC team follows:
Preseason All-SEC Team Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown
Kaila Hunt, Alabama IF 5-6 Jr. Evans, Ga.
Raven Chavanne, Tennessee IF 5-8 Sr. Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Lauren Gibson, Tennessee IF 5-6 Sr. Pasadena, Md.
Madison Shipman, Tennessee IF 6-1 Jr. Valencia, Calif.
Kayla Braud, Alabama OF 5-6 Sr. Eugene, Ore.
Morgan Estell, Auburn OF 5-7 R-So. Kimberly, Ala.
RT Cantillo, Ole Miss OF 5-1 Jr. Santa Ana, Calif.
Kat Dotson, Tennessee OF 5-9 Sr. Savannah, Ga.
Jackie Traina, Alabama P 5-10 Jr. Naples, Fla.
Rachele Fico, LSU P 5-7 Sr. Oxford, Conn.
Meagan May, Texas A&M C 6-0 Sr. Spring, Texas
Mel Dumezich, Texas A&M UTL/DP 5-8 Sr. Whitney, Ind.