Kats picked sixth; land two on CUSA preseason team

DALLAS — The Sam Houston softball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Conference USA preseason poll, the league announced recently.

In addition, Senior Elia Hebel and transfer Bella Perez were selected to the preseason All-CUSA squad.

Sam Houston wrapped up its inaugural season in CUSA with a seventh-place finish, going 8-15 in conference play a year ago. The Kats closed the season with a 20-33 record and will return 12 letterwinners and bring in six transfers that include Perez, who played catcher at McNeese.

Hebel has been a standout for the Kats in her time at Sam Houston. She closed out the 2024 season with 43 hits, including nine home runs and a .424 on-base percentage. She was a double threat accumulating 240 putouts with a .988 fielding percentage.

Perez is tall behind the plate as she had 108 putouts and 19 assists in her freshman season at McNeese. She hit .295 for the Cowgirls last season with 11 hits for extra bases and 18 runs driven in.

Liberty was selected to win CUSA followed by Western Kentucky, New Mexico State, La Tech, Jax State, the Bearkats, UTEP, FIU, Middle Tennessee and Kennesaw State.

Sam Houston hosts the Bearkat Classic Feb. 6-9 to open the 2025 season. The Kats will face the New Mexico Lobos at 5:00 p.m. to open the season.

Kats picked sixth; land two on CUSA preseason team

Players Mentioned

Elia Hebel

Bella Perez

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