Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball is back in action this weekend as it heads down I-77 to Columbia, S.C. for the Carolina Classic Feb. 15-16.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Coming off a 1-0 road win at Long Beach State in eight innings
- Megan Powell tossed a complete game shutout allowing four hits to go along with eight strikeouts and three walks
- Opened the season with a 4-1 victory over Portland State on Feb. 7
- It was the third straight year the Eagles won their season opener and the eighth time in the last nine seasons
- Powell turned in a strong performance in the circle allowing one unearned run on two hits and eight strikeouts to two walks
- Powell is 2-0 after she tossed 3.0 innings allowing one hit with five strikeouts and two walks in a 9-0 (5 innings) victory at UC San Diego
- Sophomore Emma Roberson is off to a strong start at the plate as she leads the team with a .400 batting average and five runs
- Tia Beckham has three extra base hits and is second on the team with four RBI
- Grayson Buckner leads the team with five RBI and is tied with Beckham with the most home runs (2)
- Through five games the Eagle offense is averaging five runs per game (Third most runs per game among league teams)
- Mili Watts and Madelyn Miller are riding three-game hitting streaks while Powell has a team-best streak of reaching base in four straight games
- Return a total of eight players from the 2024 roster with four of them returning starters in Megan Powell, Emma Jackson, Grayson Buckner and Aspen King
- Powell was the 2024 Big South Newcomer of the Year
- Powell batted .240 with 11 runs, four doubles, six home runs and 19 RBI
- In the circle Powell tossed 120 innings going 9-10 with a 3.33 ERA and 111 strikeouts to 72 walks
- Jackson led the team with 29 walks and was second with 27 RBI as she batted .261 on the year
- Buckner batted .228 with 13 runs, three doubles and 14 RBI
- King started 26 of the 38 games she appeared in behind the plate
- Also returning are Kaylyn Little, Emmy Cardenas, Peyton Bryden and Emma Roberson
- There are 13 newcomers on the roster this year with nine freshmen, three sophomores and a junior
- There are only two seniors on the roster (Powell/Jackson)
- This is the 52nd season in the history of the Winthrop softball program
- This will be the 3,059th game in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,249-1,105-3
- Captured 1,200th victory in program history on Feb. 18, 2024 in a 7-2 victory over North Carolina A&T at Terry Field
HEAD COACH KENDALL FULLER
- Kendall Fuller is in the second season of her second stint with the Eagles
- She joined the Winthrop staff as an assistant coach in 2013, was promoted to Associate head coach in the fall of 2014 and with three games remaining in the 2015 season was promoted to Co-Head Coach with Mark Cooke
- Fuller remained Co-Head Coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons
- In July of 2020 she was named the head softball coach at Lees-McRae and in three seasons compiled a 65-68 overall record
- Led the team to a 32-18 mark in 2023, setting the program record for victories in a single-season
- That season they had a runner-up finish in the Conference Carolinas regular season
- For the team's success in 2023, Fuller was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year
- In her two-plus seasons as Co-Head Coach of the Eagles, Fuller is 71-105 (136-173) career record)
- In her first season with the Eagles she led the team to within game of a Big South title and NCAA Regional appearance
LOOKING BACK AT 2024
- Eagles came within a game of a Big South Conference championship and trip to an NCAA Regional
- Played their way into the conference tournament (Top 4 teams) in the final week of the regular season by taking 2-of-3 vs. top-seeded USC Upstate, garnering the #3 seed
- Prior to that the Eagles had to finish a halted game vs. Charleston Southern at home and won 7-0 to put themselves in position to reach the tournament
- Won eight of the final 11 games of the season to finish 26-29 overall
- Had four all-conference selections in Megan Powell, Reese Basinger, KaDedra Temple and Peyton Rivas
- Powell was voted the Big South Conference Newcomer of the Year
- As a team the Eagles batted .251 and averaged 3.5 runs per game
- Ranked 2nd in the Big South with a team ERA of 3.01 and led the conference in strikeouts (286)
- The team stole 82 bases on the year, which were the 7th most in program history for a single-season
2025 SEASON HONORS
- Megan Powell – Senior – Pitcher/Utility
- 2025 Big South Preseason All-Conference Team
- Big South Co-Pitcher of the Week
- Picked up two wins in the circle, allowing just one unearned run in 10 innings
RECORD BOOK WATCH/CAREER MILESTONES
- Grayson Buckner (includes stats from Lees-McRae)
- Is closing in on 100 career hits (95)
- Reached 50 career RBI after driving in five on the opening weekend (51)
- Emma Jackson (includes stats from Lees-McRae)
- Reached 100 career hits last year and now has 114
- Is 17 runs away from 100 and 18 RBI away from 100
- Megan Powell (includes stats from Lees-McRae)
- Reached 100 career hits (124) last season and surpassed 100 career RBI (109)
- Hit her 28th career home run in the 8-3 win over Longwood in the opening game of the Big South Tournament (May 9)
- It was the sixth home run of her Eagle career
- In the circle, Powell reached 400 strikeouts at Radford (Game 1 of doubleheader) and now has 452 in her career
- Recorded her 10th career shutout on Feb. 11 at Long Beach State (4 hits, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts)
- The win at UC San Diego was the 40th of her career
UP NEXT
Eagles return to Rock Hill for their home opener on Wednesday, Feb.19 as they host UNC Greensboro in a single-game at 3 p.m.
STAY SOCIAL WITH THE EAGLES
For everything Winthrop softball visit
www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or
www.facebook.com/aWinthrop-Softball.
