2025 Softball Preview
There is always some uncertainty when a new coach takes over a program, but for South Carolina Softball’s Ashley Chastain Woodard, her goals are clear in year one of taking the reins at her alma mater.
“We want to get into the top half of the SEC and make a significant jump in the league,” said Chastain Woodard, who led the Charlotte program for the previous five years and guided the 49ers to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments the last two seasons. “That would be a big statement. One of our kids said it really well when she said, ‘We want to increase our influence in the league.’ That’s a big focus of ours. I want to host a regional. If we can focus on being in the top half of the SEC, you put yourself to be in that position. I want to bring that to this community and this campus. Once you win a regional, then you’re in a Super, and it’s another series.”
Chastain Woodard, who pitched at South Carolina from 2009 through 2011 and later established herself as one of the best pitching coaches in the country at College of Charleston, Michigan State and Ole Miss, has a few veteran arms to lead her staff in 2025, including sixth-year Sam Gress, who transferred from Charlotte where she earned first and second team All-Region and All-Conference honors in her last two seasons, and junior Jori Heard, who went 7-2 with a 1.88 ERA for the Gamecocks last year.
“They both have a ton of experience,” Chastain Woodard said. “It’s been cool to see them come together and lead that group. I had a lot of experience with Sam at Charlotte. One of the highlights of the fall practice is the relationship I built with Jori. She is better now than she has ever been. We have two other transfers that have had success at other places. (Soph.) Nealy Lamb was the Big South Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the year at Charleston Southern, which is rare.”
Sophomore Kadie Becker also transferred in from Charlotte and pitched extremely well in the second half of the season last year. Rounding out the staff is freshman Olivia Kotowski.
“We have this underlying theme in the program of people who have been Gamecocks all of their lives and now have the chance to wear the uniform. That passion has been really cool for me to experience as an alumna. We’re working on matchups and them playing off each other. I think it will very much be a staff effort in the spring. You’re going to see all five of them throwing innings. Our five pitchers have all stood out in their own way. I work with them every day, so they’re very much on my mind. They’ve embraced our training.”

“This team believes that they can do something really special this year, so I wouldn’t count us out.”
After going through her first fall training and exhibition season, Chastain Woodard felt that South Carolina’s infield defense will be a strength of the team.
“Our infield defense is really good,” Chastain Woodard said. “That’s been really exciting. We have some key battles going into the spring. Senior Brooke Blankenship (.242, 11 RBI last year) is an elite shortstop. She has grown into a leader. People don’t give her a lot of credit offensively. She was constantly on base in the fall. She has more confidence offensively, and we put more priority on her offensive game.
“At second base, sophomore Karley Shelton (.200, 14 RBI last year) is a younger player, who graduated high school early and was on the team last year. She is a worker! She really wants a spot and is really competitive. Then we have senior Emma Sellers, who is a veteran. She is very consistent in her approach and very consistent emotionally for the team. That’s a good battle there.
“(Sr.) Ella Chancey (.316, 6 HR, 38 RBI, First Team All-Conference at Charlotte last year) is probably our third baseman. She’s really good defensively and has a lot of experience in that spot. Ari Rodi (.353, 22 HR, 55 RBI, First Team All-American at Charlotte last year) is going to be in the lineup because of her bat. She’ll probably play first base. A couple of years ago we challenged her to grow in her defense, and she has become a really good defensive first baseman.
“(Jr.) Lexi Winters (.230, 5 HR, American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Charlotte last year) is our top candidate behind the plate. She is one of the best in the country at receiving. She is a professional who controls the game really well.”
There are some good position battles in the outfield as well.
“(R.Jr., transfer from Oklahoma) Quincee Lilio is a really dynamic lefty,” Chastain Woodard said. “She can slap, bunt, hit away, and slap through the infield. She is very versatile and can get herself on base a lot, so I think she will have to be in the lineup a lot as a table-setter. We envision her at the top of the order. In the fall we realized she might not be our primary at any infield position, so let’s move her to the outfield. Shae Anderson is a true freshman. She is fast and powerful. She is a true shortstop, but with Brooke in front of her we need to figure out where she fits. We want to mentor her with Brooke this year, but still put her on the field somewhere so she can contribute. We’ve tried her in the outfield too for this year.
“There is still a lot to be determined offensively. That takes time to come together. I’m not worried about whether we’re going to be productive, but the verdict is still out on what it’s going to look like. Is it going to be power driven or action driven? We’ve got some speed. There were a lot of moving parts with a lot of new players along with a bunch of players who were already here. The fall for us was about creating cohesiveness and community and creating a relationship base. That takes some time. It’s about creating a culture of who we’re going to be and what we want to do.
“You have to have it all to compete at the level we want to be at. You have to have power, and you have to have run scorers. You have to have people that are on base a lot, gap-to-gap, spray hitters, and hitters that can bunt or hit and run. We’re going to get a lot of people in the game. There are not too many people that are not going to have some sort of role whether it’s defensive or as a base runner in a key situation or as a pinch hitter. I want our power-hitters to know how to bunt as well. Whatever the situation calls for in a game, we’re going to be able to execute it.”
As she prepares for her first season leading her alma mater, Chastain Woodard is firm in her resolve for the Gamecocks to find success this spring.
“This team believes that they can do something really special this year, so I wouldn’t count us out,” Chastain Woodard said. “We’re going to have tough competition for sure, but we all picked it, so here we are! We believe we can put together a championship caliber team.”
Pictured L-R: Arianna Rodi, Jori Heard, Brooke Blankenship
