With the Mizzou Softball season set to kickoff Friday at 9 a.m. against Penn State, it’s time to get busy!
Rock M’s softball staff is bigger than ever this season and we hope to provide all the content you need to stay up to date throughout the season.
We thought it made sense to do a preseason roundtable looking back at last season, along with looking at what’s next for a Tigers team that failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years. Coach Larissa Anderson will be looking for a stronger
season following the worst of her coaching career. Without further ado, let’s start talking ball!
Missing the playoff for the first time in 18 years sounds bad. Was last season really that bad?
True Deck: I’ll be Mr. Sunshine here and say no. LA said in her preseason press conference, “When you break down last year’s season, it really came down to four games.”
They had the strength of schedule, they just couldn’t break .500. The Tigers hosted THREE top-ranked programs last season and still were just six games under the .500 mark. They played a tough schedule; they just didn’t have the firepower to get enough wins. The losses to teams like Kansas and Southern Illinois really hurt Mizzou’s odds later in the season.
The Tigers likely won’t play three No. 1 teams this season, and they actually don’t have Texas, Oklahoma or Texas A&M on their schedule. It was a season to forget, but I don’t think the Tigers were that bad.
Karen Steger: I’ll be the rain cloud and say yes, it was pretty, pretty bad. Because you have to consider the context of Mizzou Softball history. Since its inception some 50 years ago, the Tigers have had JUST FIVE LOSING SEASONS. I also covered the last “bad” season of the HCLA tenure in 2023 (#blessed), when they finished with a winning record of 35-26, but were just 7-17 in conference play. I can tell you, friends, last year was much worse, even with a couple of big wins like True already discussed. Several times we didn’t even get media after games or waited so long it felt like a game of chicken, wondering who would hold out and go home first. It wasn’t particularly fun to watch them give up big innings in an astonishing 26 games, and while they never stopping fighting back, it got old having to watch them try and claw their way back into a game after giving up a crapload of runs.
This is a proud softball school with rich history, but follow too closely and this team will give you whiplash. Make it to Supers, then next year, ick. Make it to Supers, next year, ick. Following that pattern, does that mean this year will be great?! Let’s hope so, for all our sake’s. Nothing I love more than watching good teams, which maybe led to part of my disappointment. The juxtaposition of covering softball and gymnastics side-by-side last year was… something.
However, per reports, the team isn’t letting all that unpleasantness of last season define what comes next. “It’s a new year, new team,” Marissa McCann said. “We’re just excited to move in the same direction together,” she told assembled reporters this week.
Dylan Heinrich: Last season’s team was not bad or untalented, but failed to win games which they had one in previous years. After losing only three games in non-conference play in 2024, that number jumped to 13 in 2025. While many of those came against talented teams, three losses came against teams that missed the NCAA Tournament.
Another issue last season was the inability to take games on the road in SEC play. The Tigers were swept on three separate occasions, including twice on the road against Kentucky and Oklahoma.
Like True talked about earlier, just four games across any of the matchups talked about earlier would have been enough to turn the tides and qualify the Tigers for a postseason appearance. For a team that made the postseason for 18 consecutive seasons and was one game away from the College World Series in 2024. It’s hard to not view last season as a disappointing departure from the norm and has shifted the perspective of LA as a coach.
What do you think was the biggest piece missing from last year’s team? Do you think they have an answer this season?
True Deck: I think the biggest flaw to last season for Mizzou was its inability to close out games. Specifically pitching.
Mizzou put up 14 combined runs in its three games against Kentucky. The Tigers lost all three because the Wildcats scored 20 combined runs. Mizzou scored 17 runs against then-No. 1 ranked Texas A&M, while the Aggies only scored 12 in the series, and the Tigers only went 1-2 because of their inability to close out games.
It doesn’t help that Mizzou lost its star closer in Taylor Pannell — who joined the Aggies — but freshman Abby Carr could be an answer. She’s a dual threat pitcher/designated hitter and she was a top recruit out of this offseason.
LA said she plans on the pitchers, “relieving for each other”. She mentioned that they don’t have a true reliever like they did last season in Pannell.
I don’t know this this means the problem will be solved, but it’s definitely being addressed.
Karen Steger: Pitching. Krings graduating in 2024 left a seismic hole, and M&M seemingly wasn’t healthy and CC wasn’t ready to shoulder that responsibility. Are they now? We’ll see. But now they also have to replace the fierce competitiveness of Taylor Pannell, who left in the offseason for Texas A&M.
Additionally, though you just asked for one piece, True, I’d be remiss not to mention that for the second year straight, this team lost its best hitters to either the portal or graduation. In 2024, it was Honnold, Laird and Gallagher. In 2025, it was Walker, Crenshaw, Ebbs and Daly. I honestly don’t know if they have the replacements; they picked up just one portal hitter when the whole SEC retooled around them with highly sought after stars.
Needing to rely on freshmen to step up in the SEC is a tall, tall task no matter how talented you were in high school, so I’ll be interested to see how Abby Carr does, as she’s been tabbed as an absolute stud in the circle and at the plate, as well as some of the other freshmen like Sidney Forrester and Addy Waits. It’s a lot of pressure.
Dylan Heinrich: When looking at the 2025 team compared to 2024, what stuck out the most was the dip in pitching production. Mizzou saw drops in almost every pitching stat as Cierra Harrison and Marissa McCann couldn’t fill in the huge hole that Laurin Krings left in the staff.
What stood out the most was the stark increase in home runs, increasing from 45 in 2024 up to 64 last season. These quick runs allowed opponents to create quick separation as many games got out of game in a hurry.
While the Tigers lost Pannell, the addition of Carr plus the maturity of Harrison and McCann gives the Tigers an opportunity to try and recreate the magic of the 2024 pitching roster. At the very least the team should try and use more pitchers, throwing more looks at various opponents; especially come conference play.
Including both the transfer portal and incoming freshman, who’s the biggest addition for Mizzou this offseason?
True Deck: While the easy answer here is probably Abby Carr. I’m going to pick a transfer who has already proven that they can compete at the collegiate level.
After losing Madison Walker — who finished with a team-leading 18 home runs — this offseason, the team brought in East Carolina outfielder Emma Jackson as a new force on offense.
Jackson, over two seasons with ECU, batted .362 over 113 starts and had 105 runs, 104 RBI and 34 home runs. Solid numbers headed to Columbia. It’s just a matter of whether she can translate her game to the SEC.
Karen Steger: I’ll take the easy way out and say yeah, what he said— Carr and Jackson. I don’t honestly know enough about this team at this point. The freshmen all had stellar high school numbers, but it was just that… high school.
Dylan Heinrich: One newcomer when looking at this roster who stuck out to me was catcher Gracie Britton. She is a Missouri local, playing at Southern Boone High School just 10 minutes south of Columbia. Britton graduated a semester early in the fall, meaning she didn’t get to campus until January. In fact, she is still just 17 years old.
I got a chance to speak with her and watch her play during her high school days and was impressed by her discipline, maturity and pure power. While her at-bats may be few and far between, I could envision her being a sparkplug for this Mizzou offense.
However, her role may be larger than expected as Stefania Abruscato missed the Black & Gold Game with an apparent injury. Britton is currently listed as the only other available catcher on the roster, and may see some major action early on if Abruscato is indeed unable to start the season.
In what aspect do you see the Tigers struggling this season?
True Deck: I could see depth defense once again playing a big role this season and I don’t think one stud freshman saves the world on that. The team did not get a lot of defensive firepower to help pitching after losing Pannell. Cierra Harrison and Marissa McCann didn’t get it done last season. We’ll see if things change but it would’ve been interesting if the Tigers picked up a solid pitcher from the portal.
Karen Steger: From what I’ve gathered, there are a couple of holes in the field so I’m going with defensive depth. Abruscato was out at the Black & Gold game with injury and she’s backed up by a freshman who graduated early in Gracie Britton— yikes. Sophie Smith appears to be the lone second baseman, but possibly Saniya Hill ends up there as well? Madison Uptegrove appears to be the lone SS. I do think the defense will be better, as Gwynn is supposed to be very good at this. When there is hardly any depth at some key positions, what do you do if they aren’t hitting?
Dylan Heinrich: One area that concerns me with this team is the offense, specifically when it comes to explosivity. Last season Mizzou hit 71 home runs, but 55 of those were hit by people who have either graduated or left the team in the transfer portal.
There are plenty of players who can step up and fill those roles. Abby Hay struggled with injury issues last season, but has managed to hit eight home runs during her two seasons as a Tiger. Uptegrove is the top returner, finishing her freshman season with five home runs.
But home runs aren’t always tied to winning, as the Tigers only hit 40 back in 2024 when they nearly made the World Series. So who knows, maybe an emphasis on getting more hits and solid production up-and-down the lineup could be just what the doctor ordered.
Prediction Time! Who’s going to lead this Missouri team? How much success does it find?
True Deck:
Offensive MVP: Stefania Abruscato
Defensive MVP: Marissa McCann
Final Record & Post Season Result: 29-26. I think there are slight improvements from last year but I still think there are holes that restrict the Tigers from making a deep playoff run.
Karen Steger:
Offensive MVP: Madison Uptegrove
Defensive MVP: Nevaeh Watkins
Final Record & Post Season Result: I do not feel like I can make this determination at this point; ask me again after this first weekend of play. I do think they’ll make the postseason but not host a regional, and despite D1 Softball stating they’ll finish last in the SEC, I do not think they will.
Dylan Heinrich:
Offensive MVP: Claire Cahalan (editor’s note: Her name is TINY CLAIRE.)
Defensive MVP: Kayley Lenger
Final Record & Post Season Result: 31-24. I think this years’ schedule is much more favorable, both by design in the non-conference and with the luck of the draw in the SEC. I think Mizzou will learn plenty from its showing last year, and I believe they will not finish last in the SEC and work their way back into the NCAA Tournament.
