NEW ORLEANS – Coming off a season which saw the program advance in the postseason for the first time, the UT Arlington softball team was installed as the predicted 4th-place team in the Sun Belt Conference for the 2019 season, as voted on by league coaches and announced Friday.
 
Individually, senior outfielder Laura Curry and junior catcher Reagan Wright both garnered preseason all-conference honors by being named to the All-Sun Belt Team.
 
The Mavs received 62 points to rank 4th in the poll, behind only preseason favorite Louisiana (98, 8 1st-place votes), Texas State (88, 1) and Troy (82, 1). The complete preseason poll and all-conference team is included at the end of this release.
 
"The recognition for Laura and Reagan is certainly well-deserved," said head coach Peejay Brun, who is entering her second season at the helm of the Mavs. "They both had tremendous seasons last year, and put in a lot of work in the offseason, so it's nice to see them named among the league's best players.
 
"It's an exciting time of year for us as we're about to get our season underway, and the preseason ranking is nice, but it's important for us to remain focused on our ultimate goal," Brun continued. "It's a long season, and as nice as the preseason acknowledgements might be, where we are at the end of the season is what matters most and how our year will be judged."
 
Curry and Wright were both named to the All-SBC First Team and NFCA All-Region Second Team last year as they ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively, on the team in batting average.
 
A native of Temecula, Calif., Curry is coming off a campaign in which she hit .355, boasted a .425 on-base percentage and walked 18 times while striking out a team-low five times – the fewest by any player in the Sun Belt and tied for the 13th-least in the nation. Her batting average was 5th in the SBC, on-base percentage was 9th and 11 sacrifice bunts were tied for the most in the league.
 
Curry also went 17-20 on stolen-base attempts, with the 17 thefts ranking 6th in the SBC. She added 21 RBI, scored 27 runs and made 52 starts – all of which came in center field.
 
Wright set the single-season program record with 53 RBI last year, spearheaded by a team-leading 12 home runs – including three in one game at ULM as part of a program-matching 8-RBI performance. Those dozen home runs were tied for the 3rd-most in the SBC, while her 53 RBI were the 2nd-most in the league and she was one of only two players who drove in 40 or more runs.
 
The Mansfield, Texas, product finished with 90 total bases – the most on the team by 20, and tied for the 6th-most in the conference. Wright also led the Mavs in walks (22) and slugging percentage (.584), and struck out just 14 times – an impressive amount considering her power numbers. She played in all 58 games, making 57 starts mostly at catcher or designated hitter.
 
Wright, Curry and the rest of the Mavs get their season underway in the islands next week at the Hawaii Paradise Classic, taking on a quintet of opponents Thursday, Friday and Saturday. UTA opens its 2019 season with the #1-ranked team in the nation, UCLA, on Thursday, and takes on another foe receiving votes in the national polls, Fresno State, later that day.
 
Preseason Sun Belt Coaches' Poll
Rank   Team (1st Votes)       Points
1.         Louisiana (8)               98
2.         Texas State (1)            88
3.         Troy (1)                        82
4.         UTA                              62
5.         Georgia State              59
6.         South Alabama            57
7.         Georgia Southern        39
8.         Coastal Carolina          27
            ULM                             27
10.       Appalachian State       11
 
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Summer Ellyson, Louisiana (Jr., P, Lafayette, La.)
Annie Willis, Troy (So., P, Huntsville, Ala.)
Lexie Comeaux, Louisiana (Sr., C, Tomball, Texas)
Reagan Wright, UTA (Jr., C, Mansfield, Texas)
Haleigh Davis, Texas State (Jr., C, Houston, Texas)
Hailey MacKay, Texas State (Jr., 1B, Leander, Texas)
Katie Webb, Troy (Jr., 1B, Salem, Ala.)
Kristin Hawkins, Georgia State (RSr., 2B, Dacula, Ga.)
Kara Gremillion, Louisiana (Sr., 3B, Gonzales, La.)
Alissa Dalton, Louisiana (Jr., SS, Cypress, Texas)
Jayden Mount, ULM (Jr., SS, Longview, Texas)
Courtney Dean, Coastal Carolina (So., OF, Indian Trail, N.C.)
Sydney McKay, ULM (Sr., OF, Pearland, Texas)
Laura Curry, UTA (Sr., OF, Temecula, Calif.)
Jenny Dodd, Appalachian State (Sr., DP/C, Mocksville, N.C.)
 
Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year
Alissa Dalton, Louisiana (Jr., SS, Cypress, Texas)
 
Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Summer Ellyson, Louisiana (Jr., P, Lafayette, La.)
 
Ticket Information
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2019 UT Arlington softball season, beginning at just $50. All seating is general admission, and tickets can be secured by logging on to UTATickets.com.