STARKVILLE — Mississippi State softball is gearing up for another season at Nusz Park, and the program is being hyped up with some preseason watchlist members.
Five freshmen were named to the Softball America Freshman Watchlist on Tuesday, tied for the most of any team in the country with Rutgers, UCLA and Washington.
Gretta Grassel, Sara Phillips, Xiane Romero, Kalani Sells and Morgan Stiles were the featured Bulldogs, and the highlights of an impressive 2024 recruiting class for head coach Samantha Ricketts.
The Bulldogs signed the 11th-ranked class in 2024 according to Softball America team rankings.
Phillips in particular is a highly touted prospect from the circle, finishing high school as a MaxPreps First Team All-American, a 72-4 record and 703 strikeouts.
Last week, Phillips landed on the D1Softball Freshman Watchlist after an impressive fall that saw her make five appearances, pitching 16 innings with 15 strikeouts and a 1.69 ERA
Joining Phillips and the freshman class in the preseason hype train was senior Sierra Sacco, who was named one of Softball America’s Preseason Top 100 list.
Sacco ranked as the 76th overall player on the list and the 21st-ranked outfielder. She’s coming off of an impressive campaign in 2024 as an All-SEC Second Team member. She averaged .347 at the plate with 19 RBIs.
The Bulldogs will lead off the season on Feb. 7 in Clearwater, Fla., in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, a tournament MSU won in 2020 during Ricketts’ first season as head coach. The Bulldogs will face off against Texas Tech and Penn State.
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