Catcher Kayla Kowalik is rated as the nation's No. 3 player going into this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky softball is ranked in the preseason top 25 for the 13th straight season and coach Rachel Lawson certainly has another challenging schedule for the Cats, who finished 43-16 in 2021 and lost to host Alabama in the Super Regional.
The UK schedule includes games with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Alabama, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 10 Missouri, No. 11 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Michigan, No. 15 Arizona, No. 17 LSU, and No. 24 Liberty. Overall, Kentucky has 18 games scheduled against preseason top-25 teams.
The good news for UK fans is that the game with No. 1 Oklahoma will be in Lexington March 22 and the UK home opener March 4 will be against No. 12 Michigan.
“We are really young. We have a ton of freshmen but a ton of really talented players, too,” junior outfielder Tatum Spangler said. “All of us have to try and find our role and see what we can do for the team.
“I think we can have a really good team when we all start to mesh and get the hang of everything. When it comes to real games, we will be ready to roll.”
Kentucky returns All-American catcher Kayla Kowalik, the No. 3 player in the country according to Extra Innings Softball. Sophomore shortstop Erin ‘Coffee is listed at No. 69.
Kowalik became only UK’s fifth All-American — all during Lawson’s tenure — last year when she led the nation in batting average (.495) and hits (100). She had 11 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs and drove in 37 runs. She also had a .993 fielding percentage. She also had 23 stolen bases, the most by a UK player since 2009.
Coffel, the first freshman to start at shortstop for Lawson, hit .337 last season with 16 home runs and 56 runs batted-in, both team highs.
