Coming off of consecutive Big East regular season titles for the first time since the period of 1996-1997, UConn softball will get a first glimpse of their 2024 roster as they open their fall ball schedule against Boston College.
Last season, the Huskies were the top dog in the Big East once again, finishing with a 34-15 record to secure a Big East regular season title for the second consecutive season. Despite clinching the number one overall seed in the conference tournament, Connecticut would fall just short of an automatic bid for the second consecutive season to extend their NCAA tournament drought to 12 seasons.
This season, Connecticut has its sights on winning the Big East Championship and more as they return significant pieces from last year’s roster plus major additions from the transfer portal. Amongst those returning are the duo of Big East all-first team selections, Lexi Hastings and Peyton Kinney. Hastings is coming off of a monster sophomore season, leading the team with a .410 batting average, six home runs and 59 runs scored. In addition to leading the team in almost every hitting statistic, Hastings also broke the program’s single season stolen base and walks record with 40 steals and 29 walks. Kinney was without a doubt the ace of the staff last season, leading Connecticut in earned run average (2.99) and strikeouts (114) after missing the entire 2022 season due to injury.
In addition to the all-Big East first teamers, the Huskies will welcome back a dominant freshman class from a year ago, including last year’s Big East freshman of the year, Grace Jenkins. Last season, Grace Jenkins started all 49 games behind the dish for the Huskies, slugging her way to .352 batting average along with five home runs and 16 multi-hit games. Team wins leader Hope Jenkins also returns for her second season in Storrs, a year after she lead Connecticut with 15 wins and was tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 114. Look for the Jenkins duo and the rest of the sophomore class to take substantial strides in 2024.
UConn also welcomes two pitchers from the transfer portal in Hallie Siems and Sydnee Koosh. Siems joins the Huskies after spending the first three seasons of her collegiate career at the University of Memphis where she made 89 appearances, pitching 289 innings and tallying 206 strikeouts. Koosh comes to Storrs looking to find a role in year two of her collegiate career after one year at Robert Morris Univerity. Siems and Koosh should add plenty of depth to an already deep group of arms for head coach Laura Valentino.
