MOREHEAD, Ky. – On Thursday, the Ohio Valley Conference released its softball preseason poll and "Players to Watch" list, and two Morehead State Eagles were included. Also recognized were a pair of Eagles returning as all-conference award winners from 2025.
Senior pitcher
Rylie Burney and junior catcher/third baseman
Sydney Farmer were selected as "Players to Watch". The two returning all-conference selections are junior outfielder
Maddy Christopher and junior infielder
Sela Pickford.
Burney, from Kincaid, Ill., finished the 2025 campaign with a 5-21 record, a 6.54 ERA, while pitching 153.0 innings, including 28 starts and 10 complete games. She tallied 48 strikeouts and 85 walks.
She was counted upon as a workhorse for the Eagles last year, tying for 39th in Division I in games started, tying for 43rd in appearances (with 40) and tying for 87th in innings pitched. In the OVC, she was second in total appearances, tied for second in games started, fourth in innings pitched and fifth in complete games.
"I am thankful for the recognition. This fall and preseason practices have been great; (there's) a lot of competition within the team this year," Burney said. "(I'm) just excited to bring all of our hard work together!"
With five pitchers on this season's roster, she is not expected to carry as much of the load as was necessary last spring and Coach Griffith anticipates those numbers improving significantly this year.
"Rylie has done a fantastic job growing and implementing what she learned from last year," Griffith said. "We're excited to see her compete on the mound and be a real presence for us out there. Her demeanor and capability are great assets for our pitching staff and team. "
Farmer is in her first season as an Eagle after having transferred from Tyler Junior College in Texas. As a sophomore there, she batted .434 with 79 hits, 55 runs, 23 doubles, 14 home runs, 81 RBI, 148 total bases, 21 walks, seven stolen bases, an .813 slugging percentage and a .498 on-base percentage.
"Syd has been a great addition to our team this year," Griffth said. "She brings a strong bat and power to the lineup offensively. Defensively, we're excited to see her compete against base runners and work for our pitchers."
"I'm very grateful for the recognition as a 'Player to Watch'!" Farmer said. "I'm just so excited for my team to hit the field and turn their hard work to a great season this year, and I think we've got so much potential to do it."
Christopher, a native of Marengo, Ill., was named to the 2025 All-OVC First Team, the first such honoree since 2023.
She finished the campaign hitting .368, scoring 27 runs, collecting 57 hits in 155 at-bats, with three doubles, 11 RBI, 60 total bases, seven walks and seven stolen bases, while recording a .387 slugging percentage and a .395 on-base percentage over 48 games, all of which she started. She also notched a 14-game hitting streak, from March 30 to April 27, the second longest known mark in MSU history.
"Maddy returns a strong bat in our line up and covers a lot of ground in the outfield for us," said MSU head coach
Megan Griffith. "Her speed on the base paths and the work she's done to better herself as an all-around athlete are huge assets to our team."
Christopher's batting average was the 10th-best in MSU history. She also tied for seventh in single season hits and tied for second with 55 singles. In the OVC, she ranked seventh in batting average, fifth in hits and seventh in at-bats. She led the team in batting average, hits, sacrifice bunts and stolen bases.
"(I'm) very grateful to be recognized," Christopher said. "We had a great fall and first few weeks back practicing. We have a lot of strong talent taking the field in a couple weeks. I'm excited for this season!
Pickford was a Second-Team All-OVC choice last year after compiling a .331 batting average, with 157 at bats, 25 runs, 52 hits, 12 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 28 RBI, 82 total bases, 11 walks, three total sacrifices, a .522 slugging percentage, a .380 on-base percentage and a .966 fielding percentage primarily as the team's shortstop . She started every game she played (49). She even saw spot duty pitching, appearing in nine games, with a 0-2 record, a 6.13 ERA, with four strikeouts and three walks in 16 innings.
"Sela is bringing back a big bat with power and run-producing consistency. She's done a ton of work improving her offense and defense. She's a consistent presence in our infield with a high game IQ," said Griffith. "Sela brings a lot to the table for our team."
Pickford also recorded the longest hitting streak on record at MSU at 15 games, from March 30 to May 3. She also opened the year with a nine-game hitting streak.
The Poquoson, Va., native finished seventh in hits, 10th in doubles, tied for fourth in triples, seventh in total bases, third in assists (112) and tied for eighth in fielding double plays (seven) in the OVC. She led the team in doubles, triples and at-bats.
"I'm grateful for the recognition," Pickford said. "The team has put in a lot of work and I'm excited to see how it will translate on the field in two short weeks! We are all looking forward to competing each game and putting up the fight to get wins!"
Every returning all-conference performer along with as many as two individuals from each team were named to the "Players to Watch" List.
The former group included: Eastern Illinois' Morgan Hance and Karlie McKenzie; Lindenwood's Tori Hatton, Nicole Henson and Avery Wapp; Southeast Missouri's Brooklyn Saysoff and Madison Winkler; SIU Edwardsville's Avery Arwood; Southern Indiana's Jordan Mackey, Caroline Stapleton and Kylie Witthaus; Tennessee State's Hailey Hunt and Western Illinois' Payton Brown; in addition to Christopher and Pickford.
The Watch List featured: Abi Hatton and Bryana French from Eastern Illinois, Ryleigh Owens from Lindenwood, Maddie Carney and Aubrie Shore from Southeast Missouri, Kaylin Fahy and Raegan Duncan from SIUE, Sydney Long and Kate Satkoski from Southern Indiana, Jace Jackson and Kailyn Jean-Baptiste from Tennessee State, Emily York and Olvia Evans from Tennessee Tech, Avary Makarewicz and Dylan Scott from UT Martin, and Lillie Wools and Sophia Sanchez from Western Illinois, in addition to Burney and Farmer.
Ten players return from last year's team, including seven letter winners, six positional starters and all three pitchers. In addition, Coach Griffith infused the roster with 11 newcomers.
Last spring, the Eagles were an offensive force. For the season, the team had more home runs than any year since 2019; more hits than any season since 2016; more runs and RBI, and fewer strikeouts than any campaign since 2013; more walks than any year since 2011 and more doubles than any season since 1009. The Eagles improved their batting average by 52 points and posted their highest mark since 2013. Their eight triples matched the 2023 total but were more than any other year since 2017. They also had 12 games with double-digit hits, the most since 2016.
The OVC also announced its annual preseason poll, a ranking that was compiled by the votes of each of the league's 10 head coaches and 10 softball communication contacts. Southeast Missouri (27-19/17-9), which finished third in the regular season last year, was chosen as the preseason favorite. The Redhawks received 148 total points, including eight first-place votes.
To read the OVC release and see the entire predicted order of finish, click the link:
https://shorturl.at/h7GOp.
Morehead State opens its season next weekend at Presbyterian's Blue Hose Invitational. It marks the third straight year the Eagles will begin play in a tournament at PC. MSU will face LeMoyne (9 a.m.) and Western Michigan (11:15 a.m.) on Saturday, Feb. 7, and then Dayton (12:15 p.m.) and Presbyterian (2:30 p.m.) on Sunday, Feb. 8.
