Softball

2024 ACC Softball Begins Thursday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – All 13 Atlantic Coast Conference softball programs begin their 2024 campaigns this weekend. Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State and Georgia Tech are in action on Thursday, Feb. 8, while the remaining eight teams hit the field on Friday, Feb. 9.

The action begins Thursday at 2 p.m. when No. 11/9 Duke faces No. 1 and defending national champion Oklahoma at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

No. 5 Clemson, NC State and Notre Dame are all heading to Clearwater, Florida, to compete in the 2024 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic. All games will be available to watch on the GameChanger mobile app.

A total of 44 games are scheduled across Friday and Saturday, featuring 22 games across the league each day. Friday's slate is highlighted by the Blue Devils' matchup against No. 18 Nebraska on FloSoftball, while the Tigers will face No. 15 Oregon on Saturday at 7 p.m. on MLB Network.

Thursday Schedule
No. 11 Duke vs. No. 1 Oklahoma | 2 p.m. | FloSoftball
Villanova at Georgia Tech | 3 p.m. | ACCNX
Boston College at FGCU | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Charlotte at No. 3 Florida State | 6 p.m. | ACCNX
No. 5 Clemson vs. Missouri State | 7 p.m. | GameChanger Mobile App

Click here for the full schedule.
 

Opening Weekend Highlights

  • Florida State was voted the preseason favorite to win the 2024 ACC softball title by the league’s 13 head coaches and 14 student-athletes were named to the Preseason All-ACC team.
  • Three teams are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll with Florida State tied at No. 3, Clemson at No. 5 and Duke at No. 11. The ACC is the only conference with two schools in the top five.
  • Four ACC softball teams are ranked among the top 25 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll. Florida State leads the group at No. 4, followed by No. 7 Clemson, No. 9 Duke and No. 23 Virginia Tech.
  • In the D1 Softball Preseason Poll, Florida State is No. 4, Clemson is No. 7 and Duke is No. 8.
  • Three ACC student-athletes were named Preseason All-Americans by D1 Softball. Clemson’s Valerie Cagle was named a First Team All-American (UT/P) while Duke’s Cassidy Curd (P) and D’Auna Jennings (OF) earned Second Team honors.
  • Cagle was also named a First Team All-American (UT/P) by Softball America. Duke's Aminah Vega (UT), Florida State's Kalei Harding (UT), and Notre Dame's Karina Gaskins (1B) earned Second Team honors.
  • Seven members of the 2024 All-ACC Preseason Team were named to USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List, featuring the 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Valerie Cagle. She was joined by Duke’s Cassidy Curd and D’Auna Jennings, Florida State’s Michaela Edenfield, North Carolina’s Autumn Owen and Virginia Tech’s Emma Lemley and Emma Ritter.
  • The 2024 season features three new coaches across the league, Megan Smith Lyon at North Carolina, Lindsay Leftwich at NC State and Jenny Allard at Pitt.
  • SiriusXM aired an ACC softball preview special that featured interviews with each head coach and a student-athlete to provide an inside look at the upcoming 2024 season. (Listen Here)
  • All 40 games of the 2024 Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational presented by EvoShield (Feb. 15-18) will be presented across ESPN platforms, including 22 televised contests. Games will be available on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, Longhorn Network and ESPN+, with the Invitational’s finale between No. 4 Florida State and No. 2 Tennessee – a rematch from the 2023 Women’s College World Series – slated for primetime on ESPN on Sunday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m.
  • Florida State is one of five teams competing in the invitational that advanced to the Women's College World Series last season.
  • The then-No. 3 Seminoles advanced to the 2023 Women's College World Series Championship after taking down No. 4 Tennessee. FSU hit three home runs - the second most in a WCWS game in program history - on their way to the Championship for the second time in three years.
  • Florida State head softball coach Lonni Alameda was inducted into the 2023 NFCA Hall of Fame class, joining legendary coach JoAnne Graf as the two Seminole coaches to be named an NFCA Hall of Famer.
  • ACC Network will televise nearly 45 regular season games throughout the season, as well as the entire ACC Softball Tournament, with the championship set for ESPN2. ACC Network Extra will stream more than 240 additional ACC softball games.