| Illinois (0-0) Begins Season with Tournament at Auburn |
| When & Where |
Feb. 9-11 // Auburn, Ala. // Jane B. Moore Field |
| Friday, Feb. 9 |
RV/#23 Virginia Tech // 10 a.m. CT
Belmont // 7 p.m. CT
|
Saturday, Feb. 10
|
#19/20 Auburn // 4 p.m. CT
Belmont // 7 p.m. CT |
Sunday, Feb. 11
|
RV/#23 Virginia Tech // 11 a.m. CT |
| Series History |
Virginia Tech // 3-2
Belmont // First Meeting
Auburn // 1-2
|
| Television |
vs. Auburn // SEC Network+
|
| Stats |
Live Stats |
| Notes |
Illinois // Virginia Tech // Belmont // Auburn |
| Social Media |
@IlliniSB  | @IlliniSB  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
FIGHTING ILLINI TRAVEL FOR TIGER INVITATIONAL
Illinois softball begins its 2024 season at the Tiger Invitational from Feb. 9-11. The Fighting Illini face off against RV/#23 Virginia Tech, Belmont and host #19/20 Auburn during the three-day affair. The game against the Tigers on Saturday can be streamed on SEC Network+.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech went 39-20 in 2023, making an NCAA Regional appearance. The Hokies went 14-10 in ACC play, earning the 5-seed in the conference tournament. Virginia Tech is receiving votes in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll and comes in at #23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
Second baseman Cameron Fagan and outfielder Emma Ritter were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Fagan was a key component to Virginia Tech's offense, posting a .335 batting average and 42 RBI, ranking second on the team. Ritter led the team in batting (.368) and also paced the squad with 68 hits, 46 RBI, and 124 total bases.
Illinois holds the 3-2 advantage in the series with the Hokies, but Virginia Tech has taken the last two meetings between the programs. In 2019, Illinois dropped a pair of contests to Virginia Tech at the Lexington Regional during the NCAA Tournament.
LOOKING AT BELMONT
Belmont heads to the Tiger Invitational following a 29-24 season with a 12-14 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play. The team started the year 7-0 last season, including wins over Troy, SIUE, UAB, Samford and Lindenwood. The Bruins saw their season end in the MVC semifinal game, dropping a 4-3 contest to Southern Illinois.
Emily Cockrill returns for her junior campaign after leading Belmont with a .331 batting average in 2023. The Texas native's 60 hits, 17 doubles and 89 total bases paced the Bruins a year ago. Last season, Maya Johnson recorded a team-best 2.26 ERA with 207 strikeouts and an 11-6 record in the circle.
The contests against the Bruins will be the first-ever meetings between the two programs.
NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AUBURN
#19/20 Auburn comes into the 2024 season following a stellar 2023 campaign where the Tigers posted a 43-19 mark overall and a 15-9 record against SEC opponents. At Jane B. Moore Field, the squad went 26-4 with South Alabama dethroning the Tigers for their only non-conference loss at home.
Maddie Penta and Nelia Peralta were honored as Preseason All-SEC selections with Penta also earning a spot on he USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. The reigning Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and All-American, Penta led the SEC and ranked 15th nationally with 27 wins last season. She closed out her junior campaign with a 1.33 ERA while fanning 303 batters. Peralta started every game at shortstop for the Tigers in 2023 and paced the team with a .329 batting average, 39 runs scored and 54 hits.
Illinois trails Auburn, 1-2, in the all-time series. The meeting with be the first outside of the Sunshine State, as the three previous meetings took place in Clearwater, Fla. Last season, when the programs met, the Tigers downed the Illini, 10-0, in five innings.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Illini softball head coach Tyra Perry is one of 19 Black female head coaches in all of Division-I softball for the 2024 season. Additionally, the Fighting Illini leader is one of just three at the helm for a program in a Power-5 conference, along with Marissa Young at Duke and Sharonda McDonald-Kelley at Michigan State.
The 2023 series between Michigan State and Illinois marked the first time two Black female head softball coaches faced off during Big Ten play and was believed to be the first meeting between two Black female head softball coaches at the Power-5 level.
OUT[FIELD] OF THIS WORLD
Illini outfielders Kelly Ryono and Serena Starks earned preseason accolades, courtesy of D1Softball. The publication named the duo in its 2024 Preseason Power Rankings among outfielders.
Ryono came in at 34th, according to the publication. The 2023 All-Big Ten Second-Team member paced the Fighting Illini with a .352 batting average and a .619 slugging percentage in 2023. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native tallied 48 RBI, tying for ninth in the record books for a single season. She also garnered NFCA honors last year, being named to the Midwest All-Region second team.
Starks placed 42nd on the power-ranking list, having joined the Fighting Illini for the 2024 slate after spending four seasons at Princeton. The outfielder earned a multitude of accolades following her career with the Tigers, including First-Team NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region in 2023, First-Team All-Ivy League in 2022 and 2023, Ivy League All-Tournament Team in 2023, and Honorable-Mention All-ECAC in 2022. During her time in New Jersey, she slashed .384/.412/.457, owning 135 hits and 69 runs with 18 doubles, a triple, and two home runs. In 2023 alone, she led the Ivy League with a .397 average and 69 hits, the most for a Princeton player since 1996.
WELCOME TO THE FAMILLY
The Illinois softball program added seven newcomers this off-season, including a pair of transfers. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Serena Starks joined the Illini following a stint at Princeton. Briana Bower returned to her home state following two years at Mississippi State. No stranger to the Illini program, Adisyn Caryl joined sister Zoe Caryl on the Orange and Blue squad.
NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES
The Fighting Illini saw changes in personnel during the offseason. Kirsten Verdun joined the Orange and Blue staff, serving as the Illini's new pitching coach. Verdun spent the last eight seasons at Big Ten foe Wisconsin as the Badgers associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.
An Illini great also joined head coach Tyra Perry's staff, as Sydney Sickels was named an assistant coach this past July. With the NCAA's coaching limit increase going into effect, Sickels was able to join the coaching staff following an impressive career on the field. The Indianola, Iowa, native rewrote the Illinois softball history book during her time in Champaign-Urbana. Sickels closed out her stint in 2023 as the program's leader in career strikeouts (714), strikeouts looking (204), and saves (19). She owns the single-game strikeout record, fanning 21 batters in an extra-inning thriller against Fordham this past season. The NFCA All-Region selection also tossed the 14th and 15th no-hitters in program history.
RYONO TAKES HOME HARDWARE
The 2023 season was one to remember for Kelly Ryono, as the outfielder received NFCA Midwest All-Region Second-Team honors and All-Big Ten Second-Team accolades following her most impressive season in the Orange and Blue.
A standout at the plate last season, Ryono tallied a career-best six RBI in a tilt with conference foe Rutgers. Her 12 home runs in 2023 led the Orange and Blue and included her first collegiate grand slam during the Fighting Illini's 13-4 rout of SIUE. Coming into her final season, Ryono owned a .307 batting average with a .484 slugging percentage in 172 games played.
MORE THAN A GAME
Prior to the Illini's opening weekend, the team will head to Selma, Ala., to co-host the 2024 B1G Impact Youth Clinic. The B1G Impact is an initiative of the Big Ten Conference as a part of its commitment to positively impacting communities.
LOOKING BACK AT 2023
The Illinois softball team closed out the season with a 29-27 record, including a 6-16 mark in Big Ten action.
The season opener against Southern marked a special occasion for head coach Tyra Perry, as the matchup was against Perry's sister, Brittney Williams. Against Fordham on opening weekend, Sydney Sickels broke the career strikeouts record and the single-game record when she fanned 21 batters in the 6-4 victory over the Rams in extra innings.
The Fighting Illini hosted the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history and continued to etch their name in the Big Ten record books. The Orange and Blue became the first-ever 12-seed to take down a 5-seed at the event, topping Wisconsin, 8-4.
Kelly Ryono and Kailee Powell were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, while Delaney Rummell was an All-Defensive Team selection. Miranda Gallardo was the team's Sportsmanship honoree.
THIS YEAR'S BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
The 2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament will be held in Iowa City, Iowa at Bob Pearl Field. Of the 14 teams in the Big Ten, 12 qualify for the single elimination tournament. This is the first time that Iowa has hosted the conference event since 2003.
