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South Carolina players receive preseason recognition from D1Softball, Softball America

Griffin Goodwynby:Griffin Goodwyn02/04/25

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south carolina softball arriana rodi
@RodiArianna on Twitter/X

The 2025 South Carolina softball season is just around the corner. The Gamecocks’ first game of the campaign will take place against Virginia in the initial matchup of the Gamecock Invitational on Thursday.

As Opening Day draws closer, multiple media outlets – namely, D1Softball and Softball America – have been releasing preseason rankings for both players and teams. Multiple South Carolina players have seen themselves included on these lists.

Here is where current Gamecocks rank among the game’s top talents.

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Arianna Rodi

Junior infielder Arianna Rodi joined South Carolina from Charlotte this offseason along with her former head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard, who was hired to lead the Gamecock softball program in June. Coming off a breakout season in 2024, Rodi could be one of the team’s most productive contributors this spring.

Rodi appeared in 57 games for the 49ers last year, starting all of them at first base. She finished the season with a .353 batting average, 22 home runs, 55 RBI, 36 runs scored and a team-high 37 walks. Rodi finished fifth amongst all NCAA Division I softball players in round-trippers, 27th in slugging percentage (.788) and 23rd in total bases (134). She was rewarded for her efforts by being named to both the All-American Athletic Conference First Team and Softball America’s All-America First Team.

Those postseason accolades have translated into preseason recognition before the 2025 campaign. Both Softball America and D1Softball listed her amongst the sport’s top 100 players – at No. 46 and No. 86, respectively. Rodi also checked in at No. 7 on D1Softball’s Preseason First Baseman Ranking.

Sam Gress

Sixth-year pitcher Sam Gress, another incoming transfer from the 49ers, has also earned a preseason accolade from D1Softball. The outlet tabbed her as the No. 30 pitcher in college softball.

Gress had a strong fifth-year senior season at Charlotte, pitching to a 2.57 earned run average and a 14-10 record across 122.1 innings pitched. During that time frame, she accumulated 92 strikeouts and held opponents to a .210 batting average. Gress operated as both a starter and reliever, recording three saves and tossing one complete game across 33 appearances and 13 starts.

2024 was Gress’ second year at Charlotte. Prior to joining the 49ers, she spent the first three seasons of her college softball career at NC State.

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Shae Anderson

The South Carolina softball team enters the 2025 season with one of the country’s top recruiting classes in the country. Extra Innings Softball rated the Gamecocks’ crop of prospects No. 11 in the nation, with one of those incoming freshmen – Shae Anderson – garnering additional acclaim from Softball America, which placed her on its Preseason Watch List.

Anderson, a utility player hailing from California, is listed as the No. 43 recruit in the class of 2024, according to Extra Innings Softball. She led Moorpark High School to a league championship and a trip to the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section semifinals in 2023 after reaching the Southern Section finals the year before. Over the course of her high school career, she had a .393 batting average and an .810 slugging percentage, in addition to 14 home runs and 22 stolen bases.

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