SARASOTA, Fla. – The New College Mighty Banyan women's softball team will enter their second season as a program when they play Edward Waters University on the road Friday, January 31st.

The 2024 softball season, which marked the birth of the program, came with numerous ups and downs, and the team finished with a 9-32 record. As they look to build upon last season's performance, they will do so as new members of the Sun Conference.

Despite being a recent addition to the conference, the Mighty Banyans are very familiar with it, as the young squad faced many of the conference teams during their inaugural 2024 season. According to assistant softball coach Cheyenne Nunez, last year's experience has given them a good idea of what to prepare for. "We played everyone in the conference last year," shared Nunez. "We kind of have a good idea of what everyone brings to the table, so we know what to expect. But we are excited. We are ready to play."

The regular season will kick off in a few days, but it is preceded by months of training and preparation from the entire roster. Coach Nunez highlighted some key focus areas of their preseason practice: "Really, it's about finding our chemistry. We have 32 girls, so that's 32 personalities. It's just been about finding what works for them and figuring out how they can gel together to make things work."

Finding that chemistry has been possible in part due to the entire roster sharing the same goal: their desire to compete. "It makes everything so much easier because they all have the same mindset and they all want to win," remarked Nunez. "They are all willing to do whatever it takes to win as a team."

The preseason usually serves as a time to clean things up before the regular season while identifying the group's strengths and weaknesses. This has been true for the Banyans during the last few months of practice, and Coach Nunez now has a solid understanding of where her team will find success. "We are really, really strong defensively. These kids will dive and lay out for every single ball; any opportunity they are given, they don't take it for granted."

Along with a strong defense, Nunez also pointed to offensive strengths that will help her group get runs on the board. "Hitting-wise, we are a bit split between speed and power. I've got two slappers, potentially three, but I also have some kids who swing right-handed and are really fast. We also have strong base-running skills."

After several months of practice, it is finally time for the Banyans to put the pieces together. The team will start their season on the road against Edward Waters University on Friday, January 31st, before hosting their first home game on February 13th.