Wallace State Softball Ranked 11th in Nation in Week 1 NJCAA Poll

The Wallace State Community College Softball team is ranked 11th in the nation in the 2025 National Junior College Division 1 Softball Poll for week 1.

 

The Lions are 15-4 so far this season, with their first home game set for Saturday, March 8, when they will cut the ribbon on a new synthetic turf field. The ribbon-cutting will be held at 11:30 a.m., before the Lions take the field against Gadsden Community College.

 

The reigning Alabama Community College Conference champions are guided by first-year head coach Sallie Beth Burch, who played on Wallace State's 2008 national championship and 2009 national runner-up teams. The 2024 ACCC Championship was the teams fourth straight and 16th overall.

 

"We are incredibly proud of our team's ranking and their hard work this season," said Burch. "Our players have shown tremendous dedication and resilience, stepping up to lead us to this early success."

 

The Lions currently stand in first place in ACCC Division I, with conference play beginning for the team on March 6 at Gadsden State Community College.

 

The Lions are a young team, but the freshmen are helping to lead the team. Kaelyn Jones of Hartselle tops the ACCC individual leaderboard in batting with a .593 batting average and is third in stolen bases (12). Charlie Kyser of Tuscaloosa tops the leaderboard for runs batted in at 35 and is third in home runs (5), and pitchers Madeline Howard of Mobile and Ava Smith of Destin, Fla., are first and second, respectively, for win counts of 6 and 5, respectively.

 

Rounding out the top five the ACCC individual leaderboards Brooklynn Sertell of St. Clair, who is second for home runs (6) and fifth on runs batted in (21); sophomore Brandy Phillips of Beulah is third in earned run average (.70) and fifth in stolen bases (9); Blakelyn Austin of Muscle Shoals is fifth in home runs (4).

 

The public is invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 8 on Pete Harris field at Bobby McCrackin Stadium, with special invitations extended to former softball players. Admission to the games will be free, with free popcorn offered as well. Campus Ministries will host a cookout for Wallace State alumni, family and friends.