NEW ORLEANS – After earning first-team all-league honors last season, juniors Devin Brown and Kaleigh Todd were each selected to the 2017 Sun Belt Conference preseason all-conference squad as voted on by the 10 league coaches and announced by the conference office on Monday.

The preseason honor for Brown marks the second-straight season for the Mobile Ala., native and is the first for Todd.

As a sophomore during the 2016 campaign, Brown became one of the top pitchers in the Sun Belt Conference as she appeared 38 games, starting in the circle 32 times, and recorded 27 complete games and 11 shutouts.  Brown finished the season with a 20-12 record with a 1.66 ERA, while also registering 324 strikeouts in 206.2 innings of work.  She struck out 10.97 batters per seven innings – which ranked second in the NCAA – and held opponents to just a .165 batting average.  Brown was third nationally in shutouts, fourth in strikeouts and 11th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.13).  

Brown ended the season ranked in the top 10 in numerous single-season categories at USA – first in strikeouts, strikeouts looking, most strikeouts per seven innings per game and shutouts and second in complete games, fourth in opponent's batting average and seventh in ERA.  Brown posted 20 double-figure strikeout games and finished with nine two other times en route to earning first-team all-Sun Belt Conference honors while also becoming a National Fastpitch Coaches Association all-South Region selection.  She was selected as the Community Coffee Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week six times throughout the season.  

The Jag right-hander recorded no-hitters at Appalachian State (3/26) and vs. Kennesaw State (4/30) and registered her first and the program's third perfect game in a five-inning, 8-0 win over the Louisiana-Monroe where she struck out 11 of the 15 batters that she faced.  For her efforts in the series against the Warhawks, she was selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Co-Pitcher of the Week on March 22 after a pair of five-inning shutouts in which she struck out 18 ULM batters that she faced and allowed just one hit and one walk in the series.  

Brown also starred in the classroom as she was named to both the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List and NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete list for the second-straight season.  Entering the 2017 season, Brown among the career leaders at South Alabama as she is first in most strikeouts per seven innings (10.95), second in opponent's batting average (.168), third in career saves (5), fourth in career wins (32), complete games (31), shutouts (13), innings pitched (324.0) and strikeouts (507), sixth in ERA (2.07) and ninth in fewest career walks per seven innings (3.28).

Last week, Brown was named to the Madness 2017 All-American Fourth Team by CollegeSportsMadness.com.

In just her second season with the program, Todd emerged as one of the top hitters not only on the Jaguar roster, but also in the league.  With Todd and now graduated senior Emily Messer, South Alabama had one of the top one-two combinations at the top of the lineup in the country as the duo each batted over .400 a year ago.  Todd was selected First-Team all-Sun Belt Conference at second base after ranking third in the league in batting average (.415), fourth in on-base percentage (.495) and stolen bases (22) and seventh in hits (68).   Her batting average and on-base percentage during the 2016 season ranked second on USA's single-season chart and her hits were fourth-most in a single-season in program history.  

Todd's batting average from last season also ranked as the highest in program history for a sophomore and both her runs scored and hit total were second-most.  Todd scored 40 runs and drove in 16, while posting 17 multi-hit outings, which were second-most on the Jaguar roster.  She had 10 two-hit, six three-hit and one four-hit outings.  Todd also recorded three multiple RBI games and was South Alabama's best hitter in SBC play, batting .431 in 72 at-bats, while also posting a .523 on-base percentage in those games.  She reached base safely in 17-straight games (2/28 – 4/2) which ranks in the program's top 20.  

Todd's best performance at the plate came against Texas-Arlington in the series finale against the Mavericks where she was 4-for-4 with two runs scored, a RBI and a pair of stolen bases.  She was 3-for-4 in game two of a doubleheader at Georgia Southern on April 16.  She also had six hits in nine at bats in the conference tourney, including a 3-for-3 effort in an elimination game against Louisiana-Monroe (5/12).  

The Bessemer, Ala., native was named to both the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List and NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes list for the second-straight season.  Entering the 2017 campaign, Todd ranks third at South Alabama in career on-base percentage (.450), fourth in career batting average (.346) and fifth in career stolen bases (38).

Louisiana-Lafayette led all schools with five all-conference selections, including the Sun Belt's Preseason Player of the Year Aleah Craighton.  Georgia State was second with three selections, while Texas State also had two student-athletes honored.  Bobcat junior pitcher Randy Rupp was named the league's Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

South Alabama will officially open the season on Thu., Feb. 9, at 5 p.m. when the Jags welcome Central Arkansas to Jaguar Field.  

2017 Softball Preseason All-Conference Team
Ivie Drake (Georgia State, Junior, C)
Mandy Blackwell (Georgia State, Senior, 1B)
Haley Hayden (Louisiana-Lafayette, Senior, 2B)
Kaleigh Todd (South Alabama, Junior, 2B)
Sandra Mendoza (Texas-Arlington, Junior, 2B)
DJ Sanders (Louisiana-Lafayette, Junior, SS)
Corrina Liscano (Texas State, Senior, 3B)
Taty Forbes (Coastal Carolina, Sophomore, OF)
Aleah Craighton (Louisiana-Lafayette, Junior, OF)
Rochelle Roberts (Louisiana-Monroe, Senior, OF)
Megan Litumbe (Georgia State, Junior (RS), DP)
Dixie Raley (Georgia Southern, Sophomore, P)
Alex Stewart (Louisiana-Lafayette, Senior, P)
Devin Brown (South Alabama, Junior, P)
Randi Rupp (Texas State, Junior, P)
 
Preseason Player of the Year
Aleah Craighton (Louisiana-Lafayette, Junior, OF)
 
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Randi Rupp (Texas State, Junior)

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).