Auburn Softball enjoyed its best season since 2018 last year by winning 40 games and making an appearance in the Clemson Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament.
This season, Auburn’s expectations have risen due to the return of several sluggers and solid pitchers. The potential that Auburn brings into the 2023 season has certainly weighed in on the national media, as the Tigers have made the cut in a preseason top 25 ranking.
D1Softball recently released its preseason rankings and has Auburn opening the season as the No. 19 team in the country. Auburn is one of ten SEC programs to earn a place in D1Softball’s initial rankings.
Auburn returns a plethora of hitters to its lineup including [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag], who led the team in home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage in 2022. Notable bats such as [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag], [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], and [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] also return to the roster.
[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] return to the pitching circle as juniors this season. Last year the duo combined to strike out 398 batters, 128 of those strikeouts were against SEC competition.
Here is a look at the initial poll from D1Softball.com
| 1 |  Oklahoma |
| 2 |  UCLA |
| 3 |  Oklahoma State |
| 4 |  Florida State |
| 5 |  Florida |
| 6 |  Alabama |
| 7 |  Northwestern |
| 8 |  Arkansas |
| 9 |  Clemson |
| 10 |  Georgia |
| 11 |  Stanford |
| 12 |  Tennessee |
| 13 |  Virginia Tech |
| 14 |  Texas |
| 15 |  UCF |
| 16 |  Kentucky |
| 17 |  LSU |
| 18 |  Arizona |
| 19 |  Auburn |
| 20 |  Louisiana |
| 21 |  Washington |
| 22 |  Duke |
| 23 |  Oregon |
| 24 |  North Texas |
| 25 |  Ole Miss |
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